How to Make Your Own Noguchi Table
In the 1940s, the Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi built some furniture for the Museum of Modern art. His original Noguchi coffee table is still there. Since then the tables have been copied by several companies and the design has become one of the most recognizable in the world. The basic table consists of two identical pieces of wood with an irregular glass top of pleasing shape that makes it possible to see the supporting structure of the table. The three-point base is as stable as any tripod and as beautifully balanced as a sculpture by Moore.
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Things You'll Need
- Large piece of ¾-inch glass
- Two pieces of knot-free hardwood
- Woodworking tools
- Drill
- 4-inch-long half-inch dowel
Instructions
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Buy the glass top. It will be very difficult to get anything close to Noguchi’s original design unless you are a professional glass cutter. The shape is a triangle with sides of 30 inches, 40 inches and 50 inches. The corners are rounded so the triangle appears to be bulbous and the edges are beveled.
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Find two pieces of high-quality hardwood without flaws. Start with two pieces that are 16 inches by 36 inches. You only need an arch that uses about half of the wood, so flaws or missing pieces in the middle on one side are acceptable. The two pieces need to be shaped and sanded into the Noguchi shapes.
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Look at the Noguchi shapes in the museum of modern art, almost any good furniture design book or hundreds of places online. There is no name for the shape – it has to be seen. Both pieces should be identical. It is worth your time to build a small model only a few inches big, just to get a feeling for the shape of the two wooden parts. It is better to waste a dozen tiny models than one or two full-sized models.
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Assemble the table. At the point where the two wooden pieces meet, drill a 2-inch hole in each piece and insert a 4-inch dowel to hold the pieces together. Do not glue the dowel in place – it will make the table easier to disassemble and move. Position the glass so that the “corner” between the 30-inch side and the 40-inch side is over the point where the wooden legs meet at a 90-degree angle.
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Tips & Warnings
It is not obvious from the model, but the wooden pieces are not flat on the long straight side. There is a gentle low bow-shaped curve that makes one long piece contact the floor in two places, and the other wooden piece contacts the glass top in two places. Along with the other piece, this means that the table contacts the floor in three places so it is very stable – it will never “rock.”
You need to constantly check at every stage in the construction that the tabletop will be level. You will need to dedicate a space for the glass top that is covered with some soft material and has a cardboard covering piece for protection, so the top is always handy for a check.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Getty Images
