Eva Chen, Instagram’s director of fashion and shopping partnerships, has a heartfelt dedication in her first children’s book, *Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes*, thanking her parents for always allowing her to read at the dining table. These simple yet impactful gestures shaped Chen into the passionate reader she is today. This love of reading is something she wants to cultivate in her own three children, Ren, Tao, and River.
“I was very shy as a child and growing up a first-generation American, I learned a lot about culture and the world through reading,” Chen shares with Vogue over Zoom. This passion for reading led her to team up with West Elm Kids to design a line of playful, functional children’s furniture where books are at the heart of it. “I wanted to design a collection around the concept of raising readers and being surrounded by books. It’s something that I believe strongly in—giving children access to as many good old-fashioned paper books as possible.”
This philosophy is evident throughout the 26-piece West Elm Kids collection, available exclusively online on September 5th. Standout items include a modern lofted bed with soft pale-yellow accents, featuring built-in nooks and crannies perfect for both book storage and peaceful reading moments. “The lofted bed features bookshelves and includes a built-in fortress-slash-reading nook, giving kids their own little quiet space,” Chen shares. “Honestly, I’d love to crawl in there myself,” she laughs.
The collection is further enhanced by vibrant pieces such as a shape-embellished rug, perfect for playtime, along with cozy, portable floor cushions. Nearly every piece caters to budding bookworms, including an arched reading bench-bookcase, wall-mounted workstation, adjustable desk chairs, pastel reading lamps, and a colorful play table and stools. “Even the clothing dresser has bookshelves on the side. There’s no such thing as too much book storage,” Chen adds.
For Chen, creating opportunities for kids to cuddle up with a good read is something she sees the benefits of daily, from bonding through storytelling to sneaking in a few minutes of much-needed rest. “My kids are huge readers and it’s really been a joy seeing my three-year-old start to show more interest in books. He’s like the world’s busiest boy—constantly running, rolling, and climbing. And, now that he’s getting into reading more, it’s like a 15-minute break here and there.”
Beyond encouraging a love of reading, the collection also reflects Chen’s design background, offering stylish shapes, patterns, and a cohesive color palette. The line is practical for busy families, with a focus on functionality. “As a mom, you’re looking for furniture that has style but is functional. Too often in the design space you have one or the other. It’s either useful but doesn’t speak to you visually or it’s gorgeous and design-forward, but you’re constantly worried the kids are going to get crayon or maybe a little bit of slime on it,” she chuckles.
Chen also drew inspiration from her recent interior design experiences, incorporating learnings from the renovations of her upstate home and NYC apartment. “It’s been a process of discovery for me. I’m renovating an apartment in the city right now and did a pretty big gut renovation of a house upstate, so it’s been a fun adventure dreaming about what I would want to see from a kids’ collection.”
One problem she kept coming back to? The game of tetris that is family storytime—squeezing multiple people onto one chair. The solution? The Chair and a Half. “When reading to the kids, we had our go-to chair but as they got bigger, there was just no way to be comfortable with a 40-pound child on our lap. We designed a piece called the Chair and a Half, that’s just the right size for a fully grown adult to sit there with a child comfortably without one leg going numb. I have also taken a few naps in it myself, and can attest that it’s very comfortable for adults, too.”
Every piece in the collection serves a purpose, promoting page-turning and acting as an invitation for kids and parents to connect. “I hope families feel a sense of play and can just be themselves, discovering what they love. So much of the collection is centered around play, reading, and the joys of being a kid.”
