Author Topic: Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables  (Read 3362 times)

lizzzi

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Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables
« on: October 24, 2016, 01:07:52 PM »
So I've just fallen in love...no, not with a guy...with those triangular, guitar-pick shaped, glass-topped, Noguchi (or good knock-off) coffee tables. Does anybody have one? Are they practical in a home with kids or pets? Are they sturdy, or are they easy to tip over? Since I doubt that a Mustachian would buy one unless it was considered a BIFL item, or possibly was a second-hand purchase, where did you get yours and do you think it was financially prudent? Any wise counsel would be much appreciated.

Proud Foot

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Re: Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables
« Reply #1 on: October 24, 2016, 01:24:37 PM »
I don't know anything about those particular coffee tables so can't help you with that part of your question.  However my wife and I used to have a glass top coffee table.  It wasn't too bad with just our dogs but we got rid of it once our child became mobile.  It was a pain to keep clean of fingerprints and we eventually opted to sell it and leave the space open for our child to be able to play on the rug.

Jack

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Re: Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2016, 01:40:44 PM »
I have a similarly-modern glass top coffee table (not a famous design, as far as I know; more kidney-shaped than triangular; metal legs; bought at a yard sale for ~$0) and it's fine. I don't have kids and my only pet is a cat, though.

Unless you have a similar yard-sale-find situation, I think getting the genuine Herman Miller item is probably better in the long run than getting a knock-off because it's more likely to hold its value. Do not buy it new, and do your research about market value so you don't overpay (Wikipedia says "buyers can expect to pay $500 and up for an undamaged example" but who knows how accurate that is). If you can't get a good deal, do without.

lizzzi

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Re: Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2016, 11:52:01 AM »
Thanks--I've been scouting around the Internet, and can see that knockoffs can be had on sites such as Houzz or Wayfair for varying prices--saw one at $267 on a special deal at Wayfair today. Quite different from the $1700 for the real deal.  Agree that for this item it probably would be better to buy the real thing, if I could find one used. Actually though, comments on these tables from family-oriented folks seem to indicate that they are not the most practical tables around kids or pets. (My table would have to cope with both.) So I'm thinking maybe I'll scout around some more, looking for something in this guitar-pick shape but made entirely of wood...or even keep my eyes open for some other cool coffee table that has an interesting shape...not just a rectangle. I honestly had not seen the Noguchi table before, and like the time I wanted the hedgehog doormat, or the Alessi teakettle with the dinosaur "Tea Rex" on the spout...while I just had to have these drop-dead cool items, believe it or not, I gritted my teeth, made myself wait and get a couple good nights' sleep--and Hallelujah--I'm actually surviving without them. (But, but, but...oh, come on...but they're just sooooooo neat...sigh.)

Jack

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Re: Need advice on Noguchi coffee tables
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2016, 11:57:54 AM »
Shop yard and estate sales in affluent neighborhoods developed in the 1960s (i.e. ranch-style homes).