In 1963, Téléavia asked Roger Tallon to make a TV that didn't look like furniture. He gave them the Portavia P111 — an ovoid ABS case on a white pedestal "neck" the sculptor César suggested, with a tinted screen that fades into the body. The tagline: l'esthétique compte aussi — "aesthetics matter too." Six years later, asked to furnish an unbuilt Grand Palais cafeteria, Tallon designed the Cryptogamme stool — a lacquered polyester base topped with a polyurethane cushion in colors borrowed from Smarties.

Set them next to each other and they're basically the same object — pedestal and bulb, base and cap, swelling at the top. The P111 now lives at the Centre Pompidou, but it’s fun to imagine kicking back with it at home. It’s the exact kind of setup where you can watch The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives without sacrificing taste.