Overhead light makes a room visible. Accent light makes it feel like somewhere. That final layer — one warm, low glow at eye level or below — is what mid-century interiors get right, and it is exactly the job Isamu Noguchi designed the Akari 1A for in 1951: an egg of handmade washi paper on three wire legs, 18.5" tall, small enough to land on a nightstand, a sideboard, a bench, or the floor itself.
Because the 1A is so small and so light (the shade is paper, the base is three lengths of wire), it is the rare accent lamp you can restyle in thirty seconds. Below are five complete design boards built around the same little lantern — the wall colors, the flooring, the furniture, and exactly what to buy. Steal the one that matches the room you already have.
Look 1 — The Japandi Bench
A low oak bench running under the window, a hand-thrown stone vessel with one magnolia branch, and the lantern lit at the far end. This is japandi accent styling in a single move: three objects, three heights, one glow. The trick is the trio — vessel (heavy), branch (tall), lantern (light) — so the bench reads composed, not decorated.
- Walls: soft plaster white — Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008, or a limewash finish for the same warmth with texture.
- Floor & bench: pale honey oak, low and horizontal — the bench is the japandi answer to a console table.
- Vessels: one rough ceramic or stone urn; matte, never glossy, so the paper lantern is the only thing that glows.
- The light: the Akari 1A washi paper table lamp — the included warm LED at its lowest color temperature is the whole mood.
Look 2 — The Gallery Sideboard
A long black-oak sideboard full of books, one oversized framed print, and the lantern lit directly beneath it. At night the 1A becomes a picture light with a personality — its glow washes up the art while the black tripod disappears against the black oak. If your art wall has ever felt flat after dark, this is the cheapest fix in the room.
- Walls: warm gallery greige — Benjamin Moore Classic Gray OC-23 keeps white frames and black casegoods friendly.
- Casegoods: black-stained oak, long and low; books shelved spine-out do the coloring.
- Art: one large piece beats three small ones — the lantern needs a single partner, not a gallery cluster.
- The light: the Akari 1A paper lantern lamp — about 700 lumens with three switchable color temperatures, so it can run gallery-neutral by day and candle-warm at night.
Look 3 — The Bauhaus Side Table
Handmade Japanese paper on polished tubular chrome — this is the East-meets-Bauhaus pairing that defined mid-century interiors, and it still works because the two materials trade favors: the steel keeps the paper from reading rustic, the paper keeps the steel from reading cold. Stack two or three art books under the lamp and let the smoked-glass top double the glow.
- Walls: crisp architectural white — Benjamin Moore Decorator's White OC-149 against pale grey panel doors.
- Floor: a flat-woven jute or sisal rug — natural fiber underfoot keeps the chrome honest.
- The table: any cantilevered tubular-steel piece in the Breuer tradition; carry the chrome line into seating with the Mart Stam S34 cantilever armchairs.
- The light: the Akari 1A table lamp — at 3.5 lbs all-in, it sits safely on glass.
Look 4 — The Collector's Corner
A modular chrome cart stacked with design books, a teak-and-cane lounge chair, wooden blinds striping the afternoon light — and the lantern perched on top like it grew there. This is the corner for people who actually use their corner: the cart holds the reading pile, the chair holds you, the 1A handles every hour after sunset.
- Walls: mushroom taupe — Farrow & Ball Elephant's Breath No. 229 flatters both teak and chrome.
- Floor: braided jute rug over wood — texture below keeps the metal cart from feeling like office storage.
- Storage: a modular chrome-frame piece — the USM Haller-style nightstand is the same idea with a door.
- The seat: teak and cane, low and easy — the Pierre Jeanneret lounge easy armchairs are the reference.
- The light: the Akari 1A washi table lamp, moved wherever the reading pile goes — the wire-loop handle at the crown exists for exactly this.
Look 5 — The Floor-Level Glow
Here is the styling move most Western rooms never try: put the lamp on the floor. Noguchi designed his first Akari lanterns for rooms where life happened at tatami height, and the 1A's tripod was made to lift the paper just off the ground. Beside a low lounge chair, the floor-level glow throws long, soft shadows up the wall and instantly makes the seating feel enveloping rather than exposed.
- Walls: woven texture — a grasscloth or fine linen weave in warm ivory; if paint, Farrow & Ball School House White No. 291.
- Floor: large-format grey tile or concrete — the warm paper glow needs a cool, quiet ground plane.
- The seat: the sculptural sled-legged Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh Kangaroo lounge chair — its low cane back and the low lantern share the same horizon.
- The light: the Akari 1A paper lantern — keep the cord tucked along the chair's shadow line.
Which Akari size is right for your room?
The 1A is the smallest lantern in the family — 18.5" (47 cm) tall with an 11" (28 cm) shade — sized for nightstands, sideboards, benches, and the floor beside a chair. If your corner needs more presence, the Akari 7A brings the same glow at 25", the Akari 10A is the statement floor lantern at 47", and the Akari 14A rises to 64" as a slender column of light. Prefer the washi glow overhead? See the Akari washi paper pendant.
Take the boards with you
Want the design-board treatment in one shoppable file? Download the Paper Lantern Styling Guide (PDF) — complete mid-century paper-lantern looks with full colour palettes and a shoppable buying list, plus a bonus 15% discount code for our entire Akari lamp collection — it more than covers the guide on any lamp in this post. It's $1.99, delivered instantly.
Shop the Look
- Akari 1A Washi Paper Table Lamp — the little lantern in all five looks
- Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh Kangaroo Lounge Chair — the floor-level companion
- Pierre Jeanneret Lounge Easy Armchairs (Set of 2) — the collector's-corner seat
- USM Haller-Style Nightstand — modular chrome storage under the lamp
- Mart Stam S34 Cantilever Armchairs (Set of 2) — the tubular-chrome line
- Akari 10A Washi Paper Floor Lamp — the statement-scale upgrade
— BreuerHome Editorial
