A Perfect Pair: Michael Yates' Omikoshi and Joe Cariati Lamps!

Since we profiled the fabulous Dale Chihuly, master glass artist, yesterday we thought for today’s perfect pair we’d go with someone a little more local. Austin woodworker Michael Yates creates gorgeous Japanese-inspired furniture with exquisite detail, known for not using any nails or screws in his work—just great Japanese joinery techniques. We’ve chosen one of his pieces of furniture and paired it with some Swank Lighting lamps!

Yates’ Omikoshi is unique because it’s actually a line of stackable furniture pieces. Shown in these photos are three separate units which can be rearranged based on the owner’s needs. The piece is even offered with a tall stand or a low stand, allowing for any number of configurations. The piece is a great mix of modern and ancient, both having sleek lines and stunning details known in Japanese design. Featuring Yates’ signature style of intricate joinery techniques, you’ll love this piece for as much as it looks as how it’s put together.

We profile Joe Cariati lamps a lot on the blog; we can’t help it—they’re beautiful! This pair of Swank Lighting Joe Cariati contemporary hand blown glass lamps are in the Barovier and Toso style of three stacked balls. Simple yet interesting, we love their height and the fun silhouette they would create against a wall. Our favorite part, though? The color! Available in this soft, subtle mint frost green they’re the perfect way to add a little color, without taking away from other pieces in a room!

Together, Yates’ Omikoshi and Cariati’s contemporary lamps making a smashing couple. The soft hues of the wood of the Omikoshi are complemented perfectly with the equally soft colors of the lamps. The three sections of the Omikoshi are mirrored with the three stacked balls of the lamp! Rather than take away from each other, these pieces really enhance one another’s best features!

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A Perfect Pair: A Panton Phantom Chair and Vintage Murano!

In honor of yesterday’s design influence Verner Panton, we decided to choose a rather colorful combination for today’s perfect pair. Known for his gutsy and bold color palette choices, you might not immediately think about pairing the two colors we’ve chosen today, but know that just about any two colors can make a pretty dynamic pairing when on the right pieces.

Verner Panton’s Phantom Chair is a study in confusion. According to Panton, "sitting should be funny—like playing—an experience". And so he designed his Phantom chair (also known under the name Lupoflex) as more of an experience than just a static piece of furniture. This piece of furniture can be used as a chair, a 2-seater, a bench and a table. It’s also an important piece because it is his last piece of furniture before his death in 1998. Made from blow molded plastic, this chair (or table, bench, whatever) is also made in a vibrant, crimson orange-red color, making it bold and sculptural!

These Swank Lighting Barovier & Toso Two Piece Murano Lamps in Canary Yellow are the absolute definition of elegance. Tall and with an interesting, stacked body shape, the lamps themselves also become sculptural statements. The color is a gorgeous creamy yellow with a subtle oval polka dot pattern. Though a bright yellow, their softer hue makes them a more delicate counterpart to the bright crimson of the Phantom Chair.

Together, the Barovier and Toso Murano Lamps and the Panton Phantom Chair make a sunny combination of color and shape. The fact that they both possess such arresting colors and outlines makes them a dynamic and powerful combination, and would look amazing in a modern or minimalist interior where not many other colors are present. A pair like these two would be a scene-stealing combination, so it would be best to place them in a space where they can be the spotlight.

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A Perfect Pair: Bertoia's Diamond Chair and Amy Grigg's Turned Wood Lamps!

Yesterday we brought you the fresh and modern designs of Mid-Century furniture maker, sculptor and artist Harry Bertoia. We loved the Diamond Chair as much yesterday as we have for years, and thought it was high time we featured it in a Perfect Pair!

We think Bertoia said it the best when he described his Diamond Chair (or any of his grid-like, steel welded furniture) “If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." We love the description of a chair made of air, one of our earth’s elements. It makes something otherwise completely industrial looking have a more natural-feel to it. Not that the undulating curve of the back of the chair doesn’t give off a natural feeling itself. Altogether, the piece is a stunning example of furniture standing for something other than just a piece of furniture. It's good-looking, and if you’re worried about the comfort of sitting on a metal grid, know that many upholstered cushions are available for this style chair.

We’ve yet to feature an Amy Grigg hand turned wood lamp in a Perfect Pair yet, and that’s a shame! Her wood lamps are at once nature-inspired and completely Mid-Century Modern-esque. This particular pair is sleek, thin and tall, with a lovely glossy sheen. Made of stacked walnut pieces in a reversed grain pattern, the piece comes with lovely and subtle horizontal stripes. These lamps are also signed by the artist herself.

Though it might seem like we’re trying to pair two completely different styles by suggesting the Diamond Chair and the Amy Grigg turned lamps go together, at closer inspection the two have more in common than not. On the outside, sure, the Diamond Chair is a lot of metal giving off a modern and industrial-feel, but remember that it also represents one of Earth’s elements: air. In the same vein, the Grigg lamps seem sleek and Mid-Century Modern, but they are made of another one of Earth’s elements: wood. Together, these two pieces represent a powerful natural combination---and they look good together to boot!

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