Information         services         journal







post Archive 


(All)
 
 
2024  

May
June
July
August
November











05.21.24 | In Defense Of the Noguchi Table



I got a text from my best friend late the other night asking my opinion on a Craigslist coffee table. It was none other than the Noguchi. 


After we spoke, I started thinking about just how underrated of a table it is. The glass top is clear which makes it feel light, but the thickness of the piece gives it enough heft to still feel substantial. The sculptural bottom is unexpected, and the fact that it’s open lessens the physical and energetic space it takes up. It’s not a loud table, doesn’t scream at you when you walk in the room, and its soft curves keep it from being this obstacle that you trip over or stub your toe on.

It’s also seemingly missing from many of the screenshots and reference images I’ve saved as of late, and beautiful rooms I’ve spent time in. When I was 22, I ran a store in the West Village and we had one that sat quietly by the front door. I didn’t pay much attention then, but in hindsight it was, and still is, perfect. 
Screenshot from a 1950’s Herman Miller catalogue.

To take the argument further, I’d push that the Noguchi table is the standard all others should be measured against. A coffee table should give you enough room to stack things and hold stuff, but you also want something that still feels airy. Big solid rectangles and opaque bases leave no breathing, or literal walking room. In rare instances, you could make the case for a table that’s weird or interesting enough to break these rules, but those are few and far between. Case(s) in point:

   
Screenshot from an image of Château de la Haute Borde, a guest house & artist residency in the Loire Valley of France. Perfect stacks, perfectly anonymous.


 
   
Coffee table in Dakota Johnson’s LA Living room; interiors by Pierce & Ward. A table that has lived in my brain rent free since her AD House Tour. 



I think the biggest thing the Noguchi table has going for it is that it’s interesting. Deceptively simple, it’s a classic case of “why did no one think of that before ?”. 
Judging by the number of knock offs that populate on Pinterest, everyone wishes they had.

If you are looking for a coffee table or need assistance with styling one you already own, I look forward to connecting with you through a consultation.   



Furniture For Thought

A selection of tables that are decidedly not-Noguchi, (but still feel just as great). 

Janni Van Pelt 1950’s Round Table 
$8,750 | via Morentz
Arles Coffee Table
1,595 EUR | via Alice Lahana Studio


Privacy Policy   Instagram   Newsletter

                                                       © 2024 Kate Feigles