Interiors plus

Climbing high

If you can't reach the books on your shelves, desperate measures are called for - like nabbing a bunk-bed ladder

Does anyone out there have an exceptionally bouncy small child? And no, I don't mean exuberant or hyperactive, I mean one with legs like springs. It's just that being of the short-arsed persuasion, I have trouble reaching the books on my shelves. I've tried standing on my chair, but the seat is springy and it's on wheels, so it's a bit precarious. No, what I really need is a library ladder. But do you know how hard they are to find? It's amazing, I've scoured the shops and you can buy any size of folding aluminium ladder, which are too ugly to use, and any number of pretty wooden leaning ladder/towel racks which are too flimsy to stand on. But nothing in between.

I would have one of Konstantin Grcic's lovely lectern/step hybrids, but it's not tall enough (high ceilings + short legs = bad combination). I've tried junk shops (no luck) and office suppliers (great if you're running a national archive, rubbish if you want something for your upstairs back room). And finally I found myself in Ikea, contemplating the bunk beds, and wondering if anyone I knew had a super-springy child.

Because surely - perhaps with the help of a small trampoline - a very bouncy infant could manage to get in and out of bed without those steps? So far, no joy, however. For some reason no one seems to want to sacrifice their child's shins to my interiors vanity. Spoilsports.

So you can imagine how tempted I was when I saw a set of library steps in the auction catalogue for a design sale at Christie's, Paris, this Thursday (see for details). It's an absolute beauty. Black lacquered steel, oak steps... those swoopy handrails, the perfect height. Designed in the Fifties by Jean Prouve. What's not to like? Only two drawbacks: first, those back wheels are no good when your books go down to the floor; and secondly, the price tag (estimated £7,000-£10,000). Darn. Anyone want to go halves on a set of bunk beds?

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