Modern Icons: Sori Yanagi's Butterfly Stool
Rooms take flight with the organic beauty of this sculptural midcentury modern seat
It's hard to believe the Butterfly Stool was first manufactured in 1954. While Charles and Ray Eames' technological advances in bending plywood were integral in its design, this stool's graceful shape and style are timeless. It looks just as fresh today as it did more than 50 years ago, having fit into rooms around the globe for decades.
The stool's minimalist aesthetic, organic form and timeless beauty make it a flagship example of Japanese design. Creator Sori Yanagi was a prolific designer until his death at age 96 in 2011. He tackled everything from kitchen whisks to large bridges; he even designed a torch for the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo. See it in a range of settings and see if there is a place in your home for one.
The stool's minimalist aesthetic, organic form and timeless beauty make it a flagship example of Japanese design. Creator Sori Yanagi was a prolific designer until his death at age 96 in 2011. He tackled everything from kitchen whisks to large bridges; he even designed a torch for the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo. See it in a range of settings and see if there is a place in your home for one.
Vitra Yanagi Butterfly Stool
The stool is composed of two identical pieces and a brass connector. This is the rosewood finish. One product description calls it "functional poetry" and "a Japanese haiku in plywood." I wish I'd thought up those lines.
The Butterfly Stool is a photo stager's dream; its sculptural form is the right pick for a white box of a room that needs one powerful piece to make it interesting. However, don't dismiss it as purely sculpture; Yanagi's philosophy was to build functional objects, as he believed useful things are never tossed aside as different styles fall in and out of fashion.
See more of this clever Manhattan studio
See more of this clever Manhattan studio
For a lighter look, the stool also comes in a natural maple finish.
The stool was originally manufactured and produced only in Japan, but luckily for the rest of us, Vitra has secured the rights to produce, license and distribute it through retailers worldwide. Here a stool sits across the hall from its contemporary, the Nelson Bench.
Although Yanagi was an industrial designer, he had a strong appreciation for hand-crafted design. His father, Sōetsu, founded the mingei movement in Japan, which celebrated and preserved Japanese folk craft. Both father and son saw the beauty in useful, everyday objects.
The stool's petite silhouette means it can fit into smaller rooms, like bathrooms, whether under the counter or next to a bathtub. It is 15.5 inches high, 17 inches wide and 12.5 inches deep.
Daniel Leibermann, a former Taliesin West student of Frank Lloyd Wright's, originally designed this house back in 1960. The home's strong connection to nature make it the right place for a Butterfly Stool.
This one has the optional cushion on top, which is available at Hive Modern for an additional $175.
See the rest of this home
This one has the optional cushion on top, which is available at Hive Modern for an additional $175.
See the rest of this home
The Butterfly Stool helps unite art deco and contemporary elements in this suite.
Vitra Mini Yanagi Butterfly Stool
Yagani's design has two ringing endorsements that give it icon status: It is part of the Museum of Modern Art's collection, and it is part of Vitra's Miniatures Collection.
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