Today's uncertainty (from politics to pandemic) is played out in design that prods and pokes at the idea of perfection. In a kind of engineered wabi-sabi (the Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection), these pieces appear off-balance and even celebrate asymmetry, whether in the innumerable configurations of the Camaleonda modular sofa system that could be a metaphor for creating one's own equilibrium€”gloriously haphazard and changeable€”or the Provide x Lock and Mortice table that's spectacularly askew. Seemingly incongruous forms fit together (like Autonomous's Constantinople table) and quite literally hang in the balance (Flos's Arrangements light). Lines tilt, and never meet in expected ways (see: the Ti table). And that's the point.

Constantinople nesting tables by Autonomous Furniture ($7,500/set), switzercultcreative.com

Arrangements light by Michael Anastassiades for Flos (from $2,230), livingspace.com

Camaleonda modular sofa by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia (price on request), informinteriors.com

Ti coffee table by Tonelli Design ($2,295), inspirationfurniture.ca

Kangaroo chair by Cassina (price on request), informinteriors.com

Dining table by Provide x Lock and Mortice ($8,750), providehome.com

Barb Sligl

Barb Sligl