Everyone likes a cocoon. Dogs love sleeping inside crates or under porches-
or, better still, in a snow burrow of their own making. I've heard from cat people that felines too like to jump into paper bags or sleep in kitchen pot drawers. Humans, it turns out, aren't much different: they too have the nesting instinct. Carving out a little protected space for oneself may be an evolutionary leftover. Architects and designers recognize this quest for personal space, especially in the modern world, where population density is making it more and more difficult to claim one's territory.

Nestrest. Designed by Dedon.

Wonderful Weatherproof Wicker

New from outdoor furniture company Dedon is a fabulous individualized niche-Nestrest. This hanging lounge chair/private room takes the form of "an over-sized bird's nest offering you a secluded, suspended sanctuary." Designed by Paris's Daniel Pouzet and Fred Frety, Nestrest offers a window to the world that allows you "to look out while preventing outsiders from seeing in-a perfect feeling of security!" A similar idea is behind Prooff's Ear Chair, which gives you privacy within public spaces. But Nestrest is more at home in a bucolic setting, floating above a sparkling river or emerald meadow. And who's to say you have to be alone in your Nestrest? It accommodates a duo nicely, making it a hanging escape for lovers as well (in this capacity, Dedon's piece has something in common with the romantic Mua by Victor Alemán).

Like most Dedon furniture, Nestrest is made of the Dedon fiber, an industrial textile that's weatherproof, pliable, strong, environmentally friendly, and "supple enough to be woven into the artful patterns of the world's most skilled weavers." The Dedon company is also an interesting story: begun by professional soccer player Bobby Dekeyser while he was in a Munich hospital recovering from a "devastating blow to the face," the outdoor furniture brand was a way for him to change his life calling. Dekeyser, who initially had no idea what his new company might make, eventually settled on fabulous woven furniture that could really withstand the elements (his family had been in the business of plastics extrusion for two generations, so it's less of a stretch than you might imagine).

In a way, you can ascribe the existence of Nestrest to the pain inflicted by the world's most popular sport (note: Dekeyser was a goalie). Whatever the explanation behind this hanging piece of paradise, Nestrest is a genius idea from an inventive pair of Frenchmen, Daniel Pouzet and Fred Frety, who seem to have thought of everything. Nestrest is available in chalk or natural, with a wide range of fabrics in a wide range of colors: from acrylic to leather, light red to frost blue. You can also choose from a few fun patterns such as green leaf and orange dot. For people who want to keep their Nestrest as peaceful as possible-sort of like a blank slate in which to think, muse, or drift-there is a diverse range of neutrals such as toffee, taupe, slate, and champagne.