Isamu Noguchi was a Japanese-American sculptor born in 1907 who introduced a totally new form of furniture in America. He believed in sculpture as a form of art that should blend completely with space, and all of his designs reflect this very belief. Isamu Noguchi primarily worked on coffee tables, Akari lamps, sofas and stools. Here is a little insight into why each of these types of furniture is unique and still popular.

Ottoman Coffee Table

Isamu Noguchi's most important work is his coffee tables. He made his first table out of revenge to a furniture designer who has asked him to make a sample but had rejected it later saying that anybody could make a three legged table. Thus came into being the most loved coffee table in history. The Noguchi table is extremely simple in design, incorporating only three parts; two linked wooden pieces for the base with a softly curved glass top. The Noguchi table is considered the best example of the perfect union of design and practicality.

Ottoman Coffee Table

The second most important Noguchi furniture is the Akari lamp. The word Akari means 'weightlessness' and that is exactly the image Noguchi lamps present. They are made from bamboo and paper and designed organically to blend into the most contemporary settings. Infact a Noguchi lamp enhances the ambiance of the room it is installed in.

Noguchi sofas and stools too remain faithful to the organic design themes common in Isamu Noguchi's furniture. The sofa, also called the 'Ottoman' is a beautiful example of east-west design harmony. The first piece was made for Herman Miller in 1948 and the design has lived on, still used today in the décor of lavish homes and hotels lobbies. The feet of these sofas are made Maple wood, the frame from Beachwood, adorned with a freeform, smoothly curved spring foam and draped with choicest flame resistant woolen fabric.

The final item in our list of Noguchi furniture is the 'rocking stool'. The sculptor designed them in 1954 for Hans Knoll. The stool has a very innovative hourglass design. The top and bottom are made either from Maplewood or dark walnut. These two wooden bases are cambered and joined together by steel rods plated with chrome. The stool is fun to sit on and you can rock on it gently in all directions.

Isamu Noguchi was a master craftsman and all his designs carry an air of fusion with their surroundings. The furniture is toward the expensive side but a truly long term investment because such designs never tend to go out of vogue and the strength on their making ensures that they last a lifetime.

Types of Noguchi Furniture

Ottoman Coffee Table