Naoto Fukasawa

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I’ve been obsessed with furniture design, specifically chair design, for some time now. My all-time favorite chair designer is none other than the brilliant Hans Wegner. If you’ve never heard of the name, you’ve probably seen one of his classic chairs.

Recently though, I’ve become obsessed with the chair designs of Naoto Fukasawa. Fukasawa is best known for his MUJI CD player, Plus Minus Zero Humidifier, and au/KDDI INFOBAR and Neon phones, all of which are part of MoMA’s permanent collection.

Since 2008, Fukasawa has designed a furniture series for Japanese company Maruni Collection for their Hiroshima line. The collection includes a dinning set and a living set, all constructed with beech and oak wood. The entire line is simply stunning, but what stands out for me are the small dining chairs pictured here. The simple, streamlined design, the mix of sharp and rounded edges and corners, along with the choice of wood make for a beautifully designed chair. Too bad it costs an arm and a leg or I’d fill up my apartment with them.