The bedroom as dream factory

KIDS CAN never be sure what career they’ll have when they grow up, and Muharrem Cilek certainly wasn’t envisioning himself selling furniture, but as a child he definitely had the notion that the bedroom was a place for vivid imagination.

The Turkish entrepreneur is all grown up now and, since 1995, he’s been using high technology to produce furniture and decor items for kids’ bedrooms that are environmentally friendly, humorously multifunctional and diverse enough to suit any youngsters’ taste.

The Cilek brand has 400 franchised outlets around the world and, as of last week, there’s one in Bangkok, run by a firm called the Synergy, its sole distributor in Thailand. The store occupies 140 square metres on the ground floor of the Racquet @ 49 community mall on Sukhumvit Soi 49/1.

“My daughter wanted a bedroom of her own,” Synergy chief executive Kamol Bhuanantanondh says by way of explaining how his firm got involved. “My wife and I were overseas and attended a furniture trade fair, and that’s how we discovered Cilek. 

“The car-shaped bed was very interesting, so we talked to Cilek about his designs and then decided to bring the line to Thailand for other parents to enjoy. I believe it has good market potential here because there are lots of parents willing to invest in giving their kids a nice bedroom. 

“And it’s worth the investment, because a bedroom is where creativity begins. You give your kids something innovative and it feeds their imagination.”

Kamol spent almost Bt10 million transforming a two-storey shophouse into a showroom for the Cilek wares, and the whole thing looks like a bedroom, with varying themes to appeal 

 to boys and girls alike, as well as ideas for infants. 

Along with eye-catching beds, wardrobes, bookcases, dressers, study desks and side tables, there are sheet-and-pillowcase sets, lamps, curtains and rugs in all sorts of designs, sizes and colours.

All the furniture is made of MDF (medium-density fibreboard) and vinyl-coated plastic. Rather than potentially harmful paints, they use laser-printing to decorate the base materials, creating lively images of toys, cartoon characters, career choices, sports, fairytales and scenes from popular movies. 

The Car-bed that caught Kamol’s eye resembles a high-performance automobile and children can flash the headlights and set off sound effects with a remote control. Sold in red, black, pink or white, it can be matched with other furnishings from the Champion Racer series, such as a desk that looks like a car dashboard, a bookcase that mimics a fuel pump and even a mock-garage wardrobe.

Then there’s the Black Pirate collection with a bed rigged out like a buccaneer’s ship, complete with “cannon” that slide out in the form of drawers. It comes with an illuminated dresser in the shape of shark’s teeth and a stool like a treasure chest. 

Aspiring pilots and airline hostesses in the family will want something from the First Class selection, such as a bed resembling the fanciest seat you’re ever likely to see on a jumbo jet, or a desk done up like the cockpit. There are even pullout drawers that look like an airline service trolley.

All products come with a five-year warranty, and if you get there before Thursday, a 30-per-cent discount is on offer. 

 

IMAGINATION AT PLAY

Cilek is at Racquet@49 on Sukhumvit Soi 49/1 and open daily from 10 to 7. 

Call (081) 858 7944 or visit www.CilekThailand.com.