Furniture for bicycles: bringing fashionable bike storage to London

Bicycle storage is traditionally a fairly ugly affair. But what if you could have a bike stand that could fit in nicely in a modern home or trendy office? That’s what London design studio Quarterre have come up with.

I caught up with the team at Look Mum No Hands to hear about their first three products.

The first is called the Shadow. It is a beautifully simple piece of furniture that holds your bike upright. The Shadow is finished with a leather stitched trim to provide an area to hang a bicycle helmet.

If you are looking for more storage then the Branchline is designed for two bikes. It can be placed against a wall and has adjustable arms to accommodate for different bikes. The Brooks saddle-like leather finish on the contact points provides protection for the bicycle frame.

Finally, the Hood is a folded steel sheet that allows you to hang your bike on the wall. It also has a loop where a bike lock could be placed through it.

The four designers behind the bicycle furniture all agreed something was lacking for anyone who wants to store their bike in their home and not hide it away in the garage. As cyclists themselves they set out to see what they could come up with.

After a strong reception at the Clerkenwell Design Week they decided to launch the products to the public. Purchases are possible through the Quarterre website and also a select few bicycle boutiques in London such as Suka Sports.

For now production is being made in small batches of 15 – 40 at a time and in the UK. Whilst this means the price of the products is high (the Shadow will set you back a cool £399) it does mean they can stay on top of production and maintain close control.

It’s excellent to see bicycle storage working its way into the home in a fashionable manner and I’m excited to see what else the Quarterre team come up with in future.

See also:

• Bicycle storage in a cosy London home
• MiCycle: The Swiss army knife of bike shops