The Botanist line of benches, end tables and cocktail tables by Orange22 takes minimalist sensibility and adds a splash of femininity to an otherwise austere template. Each piece is composed of a single piece of bent aluminum with rounded corners and is available in three varieties: Natural, Flow and Flora.

The Natural version is covered with an epoxy coated real wood veneer, with your choice of seven different finishes. I love the selection – if you’re looking for a lighter template, maple and rift oak will suit you best, while those who want a richer palette can choose from dark ebony and wenge.

Both the Flow and Flora versions sport a high impact powder coat with five colors: blue, red, white, black or brushed aluminum. The obvious showpiece is the Flora version, which sports a flowery graphic that is precision-cut by water jets. While black or white look sharp, nothing beats the amazing energy of the red flora bench!
$675-$1550, plushpod.com

Extra seats are always a good thing to have, especially when you have unexpected guests. First up: it’s easy to stack the sturdy Tribo Stool ($198) when not in use, thanks to three indentations that fit the stool’s chromed stainless legs. Made out of Tauari and Tamburi Brazilian hardwoods, the Tribo has an expensive, classy look yet is undeniably functional.

Slightly less functional but eminently more intriguing is the Twister Stool ($475) by Yuriko Takahashi. Each seat features a gently torqued surface, but the real fun starts when you chain them together to form undulating benches. Made from sustainable birch and steel hardware, the stools don’t look all that comfortable – but they’ll definitely entertain your friends.

If the Tribo is “functional and classy”, the Falter Stool ($198) is “flatly utilitarian”. The lightweight, portable seat is able to fold away into a thin, 1″ panel when not in use. The Falter Stool is hingeless, instead relying on flexible 3F board to simultaneously retain its shape and allow for repeated opening and closing. Although it appears flimsy, I was surprised to learn that it can easily hold up to 300 lbs–easily enough for even the heftiest of friends. It’s not pretty, but I think it’s perfect fit or people like me who live in tight spaces: no more relegating friends and family to the floor!

Contemporary decor is generally dominated by products from Europe and North America, so it’s always a nice change of pace to find furniture from Asia. Located in Toronto, Greentea Design carries a beautiful inventory of Korean hand-made tables and storage pieces. Asian furniture tends to focus heavily on the natural patterns and forms of wood, and the company continues this custom by primarily using Gingko and Elm hardwoods. Many of their furnishings likewise emphasize traditional shapes, including the intriguing Wheel Tansu mobile cabinet ($625) and the unforgettable Joy Jones step chests ($2800).

Each Greentea piece is hand-crafted down to the hand-rubbed finish and hand-forged metal hardware, and can be customized to your specifications. I’m particularly impressed by how their furniture manages to be simultaneously traditional and modern. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the combination of clean, simple lines, restrained use of ornamentation, and rich, solid woods – all of which parallel contemporary sensibilities. The Wicker TV Stand ($1600), Wide Maru Coffee Table ($2600) and Large Rice Chest ($2400) easily complement any existing modern décor.

The award for maximum “Wow!” factor needs to go to their Mizuya kitchen collection. Pictured above with a Fruitwood stain and Iron Hirute hardware, The Counter ($3200) and Island ($2500) are amazingly architectural in design. From bamboo-themed fluted doors to cantilevered frames, the Mizuya pieces are miniature buildings in their own right. Even Donald Trump–a man who knows a thing or two about buildings–featured the Mizuya Collection in a contestant suite on his show, The Apprentice. If those pictures don’t make you say “Wow!”, I don’t know what will!
greenteadesign.com

One of my favorite modern furniture designers is downtown LA’s Steelogic, a company which regularly employs stainless steel and anodized aluminum in its designs. Their name naturally connotes cold and rational thought – and their minimalist bent (engineering pun, take cover!) would certainly embrace that description.

It is therefore a pleasant surprise that many of its pieces manage to stir up powerful emotions; from the smoothly undulating lines of the Wave Dish ($228) and Radius End Table ($1789) to the nitty gritty urban feel of Magrak A ($155), Steelogic’s innovative yet fundamental approach to metal shaping inevitably places its furniture at the spiritual locus of any room (or conversation contained therein). As if its stylistic strengths weren’t enough, the company is also ecologically warm and fuzzy (not exactly the terminology you’d apply to steel adherents) — all of its steel products utilize 85% scrap metal.

My favorite Steelogic products are the Planks Table ($7,031), Planks Bench ($2,482) and the Low Coffee Table ($2,331) all three of which constantly play up perpendicularly-oriented shapes in what I think amounts to a geometrician’s wet dream. The trio and its other shiny siblings could likely be rebuilt using wood constituents, but it is with metal and its intrinsic sheen that many of Steelogic’s pieces manage to transcend functionality and take on a sculptural beauty.
2modern.com

Furniture that looks good enough to eat: good or bad? I don’t often find myself waxing philosophical, which makes the Hollow Ottomans above all the more interesting. The ottomans are part of a line of furniture by Los Angeles-based designer Lebello that utilizes polycarbonate “strings” roped into a wicker-like consistency. “Hollow” is composed of a pastel interior wrapped in a rich chocolate shell, which results in functional yet eye-catching footstools.

The ottomans are outdoor and indoor friendly thanks to their durable polycarbonate construction. Primarily a functional material, polycarbonates can be found in everything from DVDs and eyeglasses. An imaginative designer eventually realized that the plastic was also easily molded and dyed. Thousands of upscale dishes and rainbow Apple iMacs later, the pretty but practical Hollow Ottoman was born.

Rest your feet, store books in the middle, or expose them to the elements – Hollow Ottomans can take it all. They are, unfortunately, inedible. Which brings me to my last point: these footstools look a lot like fruit-flavored taffy candy. It’s a toss-up between calling these “delicious” or “delightful” ottomans, so don’t be surprised if you catch me nibbling on the corners.
$220, lebello.com, surrounding.com

I love furniture that is both simple yet functional, and Componibili storage units fit that definition handily. Created in 1969 by the late Italian designer and architect Ms. Anna Castelli Ferrieri, “Componibili” are little more than plastic cylindrical and square containers – but what fantastic containers they are!

Created in the same year that saw the last episode of the original Star Trek, you can almost hear the futuristic “whoosh” of Componibili’s sliding doors. Kids in particular seem to be enamored by its cubbyhole characteristics; adults use them as anything from nightstands to bathroom storage. Extremely versatile, Componibili can be stacked or moved around on small wheels.

Is it just me or do these guys look a bit like the Kodama from Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke? Alright, it’s probably just me – but with over 30 years in production and a presence in NY MOMA’s collection, these little guys have definitely developed a life of their own.
$50-$140, unicahome.com