Modern Asian Style Furniture

Modern Asian style furniture with clean, simple lines adds calm beauty to your interiors.

George Nakashima Collection

George Nakashima regarded cabinetry and woodwork as a noble art form – a view evidenced in the pieces he designed for Knoll. Nakashima was an MIT-trained architect who was known to describe himself as “Japanese Shaker.” This was meant to express his belief that his designs should be treated as everyday functional objects, not precious possessions. Such thinking was consistent with the Mingei Movement that influenced Nakashima and his work. The Movement sought to rescue common crafts that had been discarded as a result of industrial revolution, like traditional Japanese joinery and the use of natural materials. His work has been presented at many exhibitions worldwide, including the retrospective “Full Circle” at the American Craft Museum in New York.


Splay-Leg Coffee Table	Nakashima Straight Backed Chair
His Splay-Leg Coffee Table (1948) exhibits his gifted sense of grain, texture and balance. The veneered walnut or hickory top has a reverse slip-matched cathedral grain, which allows the table to be placed facing either way. Mortise and tenon joints and brass hardware secure the top to the angled solid walnut legs, creating a simple, heirloom-quality modern classic. A signature plate on the underside of the table attests to its authenticity. This Table is manufactured by Knoll.	Presenting a very special re-introduction: the Nakashima Straight-Backed Chair (1948), designed by George Nakashima for Knoll. What’s remarkable about his work for Knoll is that Nakashima was able to maintain the sculptural lines and fine craftsmanship of his Straight-Backed Chair even at the mass production level. This reconciliation of art and industry, and the contradictions that accompanied it, continued to fascinate Nakashima throughout his career.

Takeshi Nii Furniture

Said Nii of the chair’s design, “I wanted to produce a chair where one can just sit and relax after eating a nice meal.”


Ny Rocking Chair	Ny Ottoman
Takeshi Nii designed the Ny Rocking Chair and Ottoman in 1958, after he was inspired by an ad for a director’s chair in an archival magazine from the 1930s. Using the same basic structure – a simple folding frame wrapped with durable canvas – he designed Ny to be a lounge chair. Ny, which is pronounced nee and is the Danish word for “new,” remains an innovative concept in folding chairs 50 years after its introduction.	Takeshi Nii designed the Ny Ottoman in 1958, to coordinate with his Ny Rocking Chair – a folding lounge chair that was inspired by the classic director’s chair. At just under five pounds, the Ny Ottoman folds into a compact form that can stand on its own discreetly in the corner, or be easily picked up and moved to wherever it’s needed, with or without the Ny Rocking Chair

Classic Modern Furniture by Isamu Noguchi

How does one sculpt space? How do objects give form to the surrounding emptiness? This puzzle creates a theme that runs through the work of Isamu Noguchi. It is not one he attempted to solve, but like the Zen master, posed the question in different ways. One of the great sculptors of the 20th century. He also sought to bring sculptural qualities to the many objects he designed for common use. Foremost a sculptor, Isamu Noguchi softened the edge of 20th century modernism with his satisfyingly organic furniture designs. The son of a well-known Japanese poet and an American writer, Isamu Noguchi grew up in the tumult of WWII, during which he often shuffled between the U.S. and Japan. Simultaneously influenced by Eastern tradition and Western innovation, Noguchi’s work bridges the cultures and artistic heritages of Japan, the U.S. and Europe like no other artist of his generation.


Noguchi Table	Noguchi Free Form Ottoman	Noguchi Free Form Sofa	Noguchi Prismatic Table
The Noguchi Table conceals nothing; reveals everything about the nature of simplicity. Two simple, smoothly shaped pieces interlock to form a tripod that supports a 3/4" thick slab of transparent glass.	Foremost a sculptor, Isamu Noguchi softened the edge of 20th century modernism with his satisfyingly organic furniture designs. His sought-after classic Free Form Sofa and Ottoman (1946) have been newly reissued by the Vitra Design Museum in partnership with the Isamu Noguchi Foundation.	A statement-making piece, the sofa has a grandly scaled, open form that accommodates multiple people. The design is lightly padded and provides a firm seating surface for public spaces and formal living rooms.	The aluminum Prismatic Table (1957), the last piece of furniture that Noguchi designed, is an example of his return to the medium in the 1950s, during which time he created both functional and fine arts objects out of metal sheeting. Evoking the Japanese art of origami, the table features carefully bent and folded angles that lend dimension and a sense of solidity to the design

Asian Style Chairs and Stools

Pleasingly simple lines add elegance to modern Asian style dining room furniture.


Kyoto Chair	Kyoto Barstool	Yanagi Butterfly Stool
Clean, minimal lines, richly grained wood and generous proportions combine in this elegantly versatile design for the home or business.	The Barstool's clean, minimal lines, richly grained wood and generous proportions combine in this elegantly versatile design for the home or business.	The concept of symmetry is beautifully manifested in the joined wings of Sori Yanagi's Butterfly Stool. Executed using the pressed plywood molding technique invented by Charles and Ray Eames, this graceful stool marries ancient Japanese forms with modern Western materials

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