Tribecan and interior designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel wasn’t planning to design furniture until her son was born into a New York apartment. That’s when she realized for those of us in compact spaces, everything needs to do double duty.

I wanted to make things for my son that did this and this and this and this,” she said. The first object: a bench that could also hold his toys. “In New York especially we don’t have space so we need multifunctional furniture.”

So she started building for her own family, and lived for a long time with the prototypes. And since she was building these in her apartment, she wanted them to be simple — no hardware, no glue, no waste. Once she decided she had something to sell, “I wanted to make it locally and keep it affordable.”

House of RoRo — named for her son’s imaginary friend — was launched last October and now includes 11 charming products all made from 3/4″ birch plywood. There are chairs, rockers, stools, tables and a book tower with access on both sides that comes in five colors. And they take me back to the excellent children’s furniture design days of Conran’s and Workbench.

“These pieces can be heirlooms or a keepsake — something you want to hold on to,” Anne-Sophie said. That’s why she kept them simple and appealing, even to an adult aesthetic. “You can always put a plant on it. If it has bunny ears or it’s made of plastic, you’re a lot less likely to keep it years from now.”

Anne-Sophie started out in architecture, but was drawn to interior design because the projects are more fast paced. “I just didn’t have the patience for architecture. It’s a slow process.”

She worked as an in-house architect for Louis Vuitton while living in Paris and when she and her husband moved to the States, she worked with David Rockwell before launching her own design company. Many of her design projects require custom work, which is how the idea finally came to mind.

To create the line, she worked with local manufacturers in Brooklyn to construct the prototypes; the products are now made in Canada and flatpacked directly to the consumer, where they can be assembled with easy locking devices she designed. “Each piece is super compact. You can walk out with a stool in a tote bag. For upholstered pieces, she sources deadstock from Maharam or vintage fabric on Etsy.

And they just launched a new limited edition collection of pieces hand-painted with patterns and details inspired by the animal kingdom. Anne-Sophie will also take appointments so people can view some of the pieces in person (annesophie@houseofroro.com).

As for the much-loved teddy bear RoRo, he was once white — no more. But his two little eyes remain on box stool as a dual purpose: finger pulls for easy maneuvering.