Art Furniture - A Form-Function Twofer - NYTimes.com Kelly Behun is an interior designer with the eye of a gallerist. "The way I look at things," she said, "designing a space is an exercise in curating: the chairs, the lamps and all that stuff is sculpture." So it follows that Ms. Behun, 50, would staff her Manhattan studio with artists, who bring a fresh perspective to the practice of interior design. "I've had great success hiring artists," she said. I don't hire people from the design world. The furniture and objects that they help her produce fall somewhere between art and design. Neo Laminati, for example, is a collection of laminate furniture introduced earlier this month by Suite New York that was inspired by the minimalist forms of Donald Judd and the exuberant colors of the Memphis design movement. And After, a collection of limited-edition furniture shown last year at R 20th Century gallery, paid tribute to artists. "I love the idea of art being an actual piece that you can use," Ms. Behun said. It's not only something to look at, but has a function. At Artware Editions, a showroom on the Bowery that specializes in artist-designed furniture and accessories, she pointed out several examples of what she was talking about, including a chess set designed by Man Ray in 1920. Players often sit at a chessboard for hours at time, she said, so "it should be a beautiful thing." Next, she tried out a simple, boxy pine table and stool designed by Donald Judd in 1989. "This is by the master himself," said Ms. Behun, an admirer. The proportions are just perfect, and timeless. It would work just about anywhere. But she was equally impressed with a wooden child's chair by Keith Haring from the Gagosian Shop website, which was more playful in its shape and color. "It's a great, graphic, bright, fun, happy piece," she said, describing how she would use it - in multiples and various colors. And at $200, she said, "the price is what it should be for a kid's room." In the right hands, Ms. Behun pointed out, even a shower curtain can add something extra to a room. Case in point: the PEVA shower curtain designed by Dave Eggers for The Thing Quarterly, a publication that produces object-based issues with artists and other creative collaborators. Most people don't think twice about their shower curtains, she said, but a piece like this "elevates a simple white bathroom to something much more graphic and interesting."