Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Some pieces of contemporary furniture try to command attention with statement-making forms, while others aim to seduce with pared-down, meticulously detailed perfection. Nendo is remarkable in its ability to blend these two seemingly disparate qualities in objects that are simultaneously provocative and beautiful in their simplicity. And this ability has made the Tokyo- and Milan-based studio one of the most sought-after design firms of the moment.
Nendo is best known for its expansive portfolio of furniture and accessories designed for such luxury makers as Baccarat, Bisazza, Boffi, Cappellini, De Padova, Emeco, FLOS, Foscarini, Fritz Hansen, Kartell, Lasvit, Louis Poulsen, Moroso and Swarovski, as well as for the one-off and limited-edition pieces presented by galleries like New York’s Friedman Benda. But its range is much broader.
Nendo’s full oeuvre runs the gamut from product packaging for such brands as Coca-Cola and Kenzo to large-scale urban-planning and architecture projects, including Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun, which populated the space in front of a Japanese rail terminal with a series of conical pavilions, turning it into a sort of urban playground for people of all ages.
Whatever the undertaking, the studio’s approach remains the same: embodying lighthearted insights into the human experience in minimalist forms and details. Nendo’s Gaku collection, for the legendary lighting company FLOS, for instance, is based on a simple cup-shaped lamp in a square frame, which can be personalized and changed over time by adding magnetic accessories, including a bookend, mirror, vase and bowl, making it almost as playful as a grown-up dollhouse.
The now iconic Cabbage chair, Nendo’s most recognizable design, offers a whimsical way to deal with trash from the fashion industry. A fat roll of discarded paper used in the production of Issey Miyake’s pleated fabric is simply cut down the middle and its individual layers peeled open to create a seat.
It wasn’t always evident that chief designer and Nendo cofounder Oki Sato would spend his life finding subtle surprises in tables, floor lamps and chairs. He was born in Toronto, where his father worked for Pioneer Electronics, and moved with his family to Tokyo when he was 11. He studied architecture at Waseda University but found the program a little too narrow and rigid for his liking.
After graduating, in 2002, he traveled with friends to the Salone del Mobile in Milan and stumbled into the biggest aha moment of his life: He realized that architects could do more than design buildings — they could also design furniture, lighting and other objects. And the architects at the fair appeared to be enjoying plenty of creative freedom while doing so.
Upon returning to Tokyo, he founded Nendo, whose name means “flexible clay” in Japanese, with his classmate Akihiro Ito, the firm’s managing director. In 2005, they established a second office, in Milan. Within a few years, Nendo had become an omnipresent name at the fair that had inspired them.
Nendo’s wares have been acquired by such institutions as New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; London’s Victoria and Albert; and Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Centre Pompidou.
Find Nendo furniture on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Upholstery
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Art Deco Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Leather
1940s French Louis XV Vintage Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary American Louis XVI Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Art Deco Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Leather
2010s American Modern Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Art Deco Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Leather
2010s Portuguese Modern Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Fabric, Wood
2010s American Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Metal, Steel
Late 20th Century American Neoclassical Revival Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Leather, Foam, Polyester, Wood, Burl
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Leather, Ash, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Nendo Bedroom Furniture
Fabric, Lacquer
