Girard Color Wheel Ottoman
by Herman Miller
designed by Alexander Girard
An energetic mix of color and versatility, the Girard Color Wheel Ottoman brightens any space. Playful, colorful, and graphic, the Girard Color Wheel Ottoman is unmistakably the work of Alexander Girard. Available in an array of bold colors, this low upholstered piece serves equally well as a footrest, coffee table, extra seat, or conversation starter. By a legendary furniture and textile designer.
- Functions as footrest, extra seat, or coffee table.
- Bright, contrasting pinwheel colors.
- 5-Year Warranty
- Polished aluminum legs
- Polyurethane foam cushion over MDF top
- Kvadrat Hallingdal fabric upholstery (70% wool, 30% rayon)
Dimensions:
Overall: 15" h x 36" w x 36" d
Inspired by folk art, typography, and vivid color, Alexander Girard was a design polymath whose signature aesthetic touched every project he undertook. As the director of Herman Miller’s Textile Division from 1952-1973, his designs helped imbue postwar modernism with playfulness, and wit. A Modern Master of Color and Pattern Inspired by folk art, typography, and vivid color, Alexander Girard was a design polymath whose signature aesthetic touched every project he undertook. As the director of Herman Miller’s Textile Division from 1952-1973, his designs helped imbue postwar modernism with playfulness, and wit.
Alexander Girard trained as an architect, but he’s best known for designing objects and textiles that brought fresh color and pattern into the postwar American interior. Born in New York and brought up in Florence, Girard studied architecture in London and in Rome, opening his first studio in 1932 in New York. He curated the exhibition “For Modern Living” at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1949, and became friends with Charles Eames when they discovered their shared interest in experimental plywood chairs.
Girard’s 1960 interior for New York’s La Fonda del Sol restaurant brought him wide acclaim; patrons were dazzled by its sunburst icon, and the way it seemed to reappear with a wink at every turn, from matchbooks and napkins to waitstaff uniforms. In 1965, Girard was hired to help rebrand Braniff International Airways. In his signature holistic fashion, he brought eye-catching colors into every facet of Braniff’s operation, from aircraft to sugar packets, seat cushions, and ticket counters.
When Girard joined Herman Miller in 1952, there was a limited appetite for color and pattern at the company. A noted collector of international folk art, he found inspiration working with a textile mill in Mexico, developing what he called “mexidots” and “mexistripes.” He would eventually create more than 300 textiles for Herman Miller, along with wallpapers, objects, furniture, and a series of Environmental Enrichment Panels as part of the Action Office system in 1973.
Alexander Girard designs for Herman Miller remain cheery icons of postwar modernism: the Color Wheel Ottoman combines geometric pattern with soft upholstery—as cozy and inviting as a vividly hued Girard throw. Though he’s famous for his textile designs, his aesthetic approach was cohesive and transcended genres. “I have no favorite material,” he once said; “anything can be used to create beauty if handled well.”
- Vacuum fabric as needed, using an upholstery attachment.
- Do not brush fabric or use a vacuum attachment with a rotary brush.
- Do not apply water or any liquid solution to the panel cloth.
Warranty: With limited exceptions, Herman Miller products are covered by a 5-year warranty that includes parts and labor. And when warranty work is performed in the U.S. and Canada, it covers the cost of service.
We're an authorized Herman Miller retailer. This means we're official. We sell new factory-direct chairs complete with Herman Miller's own 5-year warranty. You can purchase confidently from Smart Furniture knowing you'll be receiving genuine Herman Miller product.
