Tag Archives: Wooden Furniture

Modular wooden bookshelf is inspired by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s vision

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I’m always on the lookout for new furniture that will help me store and display all the knick knacks that I have lying around my house. Most of the time I choose those that are mostly functional and of course, affordable. But I’d also like to have some pieces that are decorative and can even look like sculptures or art pieces, even if they probably won’t hold a lot of my stuff. This modular wooden bookshelf would be a nice addition to my space, especially as it pays tribute to the late great Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Designer: Kengo Kuma for More Trees

The acclaimed Japanese composer and pianist founded design company More Trees to create products made by local craftsmen using materials found in local forests in Japan. But before he could make the dream a reality, he passed away a year ago in 2023. His long-time friend Kengo Kuma has now taken over the company and is making the dream a reality by unveiling 〇〇□ (Marumarushikaku), a modular wooden shelf made up of different shapes stacked together. It can also looks like an art piece because of its unusual look and concept so you have a decorative shelf as well.

The structure of this piece of furniture is made up of rectangular shelf boards and round pillar boards stacked on top of each other. You can arrange the round parts randomly between the shelves so you can create your own look and design. It may not look that stable at first glance but you can place things like books, plants, bottles, pots, and other knick knacks that you need to display in your living space. The boards have slots where you can place the round parts in so it becomes an actual shelf that can hold and partition your various items.

The rotating plates and multi-leveled shelves made from wooden materials from local forests can add an interesting and minimalist look to your office or living room. The modular wooden shelf will be unveiled on the anniversary of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s passing on March 28 at the Ace Hotel Kyoto. They will be stacked up to eight levels so you can see that it works despite its seemingly “fragile” appearance.

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Minimalist wooden furniture uses curved shapes to add storage spaces

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Furniture takes up space, there’s really no getting around that. Of course, you need that space to actually use the furniture, but the furniture themselves aren’t always in use. You might not sit on those chairs or couches all day, and tables might be empty at certain points in time. During those moments, they might just be wasting space, so it sometimes pays to have them perform some other purpose, even if it means just looking pretty. That’s not to say you have to stop at looks, especially if such aesthetic furniture can also function as storage spaces, like what this collection of design concepts tries to achieve using nothing but simple curved layers of plywood.

Designer: Julian Topor

Partly thanks to the popularity of flat-packed products from the likes of IKEA, minimalist wooden furniture has become a popular choice in households. Their simple designs save space not only in packaging but sometimes also on the floor. Furniture, however, can also become a space to place some of your things, from books to accessories to even shoes. The KURVE furniture collection accomplishes this without having to resort to complicated construction or mechanisms, using only curves that wrap around an empty space to create a hollow nook for your stuff.

The throne-like KURVE chair, for example, has no legs but instead has a curved backless box for its bottom half. What makes its design particularly interesting is that the seat, backrest, and arms are all made from the same single sheet of layered plywood, just bent on the back and sides to create those support structures.

The KURVE Couch stretches out this concept, quite literally, to provide sitting for two. A central console splits the couch in half and provides a small area to place cups and phones, as well as a compartment below for things like the TV remote. The bottom of the couch is an even wider space for more things, whether or not they have business being there.

The table is admittedly the simplest of them all, nothing more than a wooden trapezoid to hold things above and below it. Its lengthy shape makes it more suited to be placed against walls rather than being a center table, perhaps somewhere near the front door so your shoes and keys can easily find a home for easy access next time you step out.

Last but not least, the KURVE Night Stand is also a trapezoid, just taller and narrower. Like other nightstands, it has a drawer, but this compartment is oddly located a little below the top. This creates yet another space for your things, maybe for a phone that you don’t want to tempt you while you’re resting.

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