The tambour was used to great effect in the nineteenth century for roll-top desks. Since then, we haven’t seen enough of this method integrated in furniture design. The narrow strips of wood glued to canvas make the seemingly solid wood pliant and therefore make the piece of furniture changeable. This advantage is excellent for people with storage needs or messy tendencies. Now UK company Unico is reviving the tambour with their “Miss Lily Cabinet”.

Miss Lily Tambour Cabinet. Manfufactured by Unico Design.

“Furniture that fits,” is Unico’s motto—and one that Miss Lily subscribes to. The cabinet employs sliding tambour doors constructed of solid elm or sycamore—either wood comes from sustainably managed forests in the British Isles. When closed, Miss Lily is “clean and neat, whilst also warm.” Of course, it also hides any disarray you might have going on behind its bendable doors. If you can manage to clean up your act, then Miss Lily looks great with the tambour doors partially open, exposing the five interior shelves that can be natural or painted. And the wood inside the cabinet is just as eco-friendly: it uses FSC Birch ply or sustainable beech.

Shown at 100% Design with a bright yellow sprayed interior, the Miss Lily Tambour Cabinet really pops when interior paint contrasts with its wooden exterior. Use it in magenta for a playful den, where you can cache books or board games. In Robin’s egg blue, the cabinet can look serene in a dining room, where it might display Wedgwood plates or Aalto vases. In a mid-century living room, paint Miss Lily in acid green and hide electronics or showcase one-of-a-kind blown glass pieces such as Kauri and Blown Glass. For a warm minimalism—key for those with Scandinavian proclivities—keep the Miss Lily Tambour Cabinet’s interior natural; the result is one of organic simplicity—highlighting the texture and contrast of the smooth interior and corrugated exterior woods.

The ability of the Unico Cabinet to open and close cannot be underestimated. I could use Miss Lily to generate familial harmony. How? Instead of re-gifting or donating those pesky little presents I get from aunts and cousins for various holidays, I can tuck them into the sides of the Tambour Cabinet where I won’t have to see them. When the aunties visit, I can open Miss Lily’s doors and pretend a love for their kitschy objects. Voila kinship! Miss Lily can make your family as close-knit as its own wooden slats.