2 Seats By Raka

At first glance, the beguiling furniture creations of Raka Studio look like optical illusions. A joint project of three brothers — Saleh, Waleed and Rayan Ahmed Salman — this exciting modern Pakistan-based company marches to the beat of its own drum. Its one-of-a-kind coffee tables, floor lamps and sofas serve as functional pieces of furniture and sculptural works of art.

Raka Studio was established in 2018 after the self-taught brothers produced their first pieces for the family home. The driving force behind all of their visually stunning designs is a love of nature and natural variance. Each piece is made entirely by hand, usually from ash wood imported from the United States, and can take weeks to complete.

In the studio, furniture is curved using ancient Japanese wood-bending techniques, giving the pieces an organic fluidity. The goal is to disrupt prevalent design trends while prioritizing quality craftsmanship. “This approach to our work helps us create distinct pieces that are also technically and aesthetically intriguing,” the brothers explained to StyleRow.

These unique designs have earned Raka Studio critical acclaim and partnerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The brothers have exhibited at galleries and completed commissions for hotels. 

Since its establishment, the studio has grown to include not just the brothers but a team of skilled craftsmen, with plans to introduce new materials and techniques over time. At Raka Studio, it’s all about pushing the limits of design.

On 1stDibs, find Raka Studio tables, lighting, seating and more.

Organic modern furniture is characterized by clean lines, an overall uncomplicated aesthetic and a prioritizing of natural, sustainable materials, such as wood and stone. There are lots of earth tones and natural-world textures rather than bright color palettes or fabrics embellished with busy patterns.

Organic furniture is minimalist and, owing to the ideas of venerable architect Frank Lloyd Wright, designed for warm spaces that promote harmony between human habitation and the great outdoors. Organic modern design, including in furniture and architecture, emerged in the 1930s.

Designers such as Andrianna Shamaris, Alguacil & Perkoff and Jörg Pietschmann — all known for organic modern design — have created furniture that brings dynamic and unpredictable energy to home interiors while emphasizing the importance of a relationship with the natural world.

Striking an appealing balance between our living spaces and nature doesn't have to be an arduous task — the broad selection of original organic modern furniture on 1stDibs includes solid wood tables, bamboo seating options, hand-knotted wall tapestries and more.

Sit back, relax and get all of the ergonomic support you could ever need by introducing an alluring antique or vintage chaise longue in your living room or by your outdoor fire pit.

The chaise longue is an upholstered piece of furniture that was made popular in France in the early 16th century. This low reclining seat — a “long chair” in English — boasts an elongated form and low back that extends about half the length of the furnishing, affording the welcome opportunity for a sitter to put their feet up and relax. A comfortable common ground between sofas and daybeds, early iterations of chaise longues were discovered in Ancient Egypt and were later frequently used in both Greece and Rome.

In the late 1700s, the first chaise longues were imported to America, and English speakers have struggled with the name ever since. (In the United States, the term is frequently spelled “chaise lounge.”) So, how do you pronounce chaise longue? It sounds like “shayz lawng,” but limiting it to shayz is perfectly acceptable in the States.

Antique Victorian chaise longues and 19th-century chaise longues bring luxury and perhaps extravagance to your living space while mid-century modern chaise longues, designed by the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Vladimir Kagan or Milo Baughman, can alter an interior with dazzling geometric contours and richly varied textures.

On 1stDibs, find many kinds of chaise longues for your home — from sculptural works by Charlotte Perriand to plush and velvety Louis XVI pieces to minimalist contemporary versions to suit your understated decor.