"The single common element in all man-made things is that they are designed."
-George Nelson

Offering a pleasing mix of materials, the richly textured cane is surrounded by a wood frame, and stands on metal legs. Because the cane is taut but gives ever so slightly, this bench is ideally suited for use as a seat, table, or both.

Herman Miller founder D.J. DePree saw an article in a 1945 Life magazine featuring George Nelson's Storagewall unit, which was causing a sensation in the furniture industry. He was so impressed that he paid a visit to Nelson in New York and convinced him to be his director of design, which spurred Nelson to found his design firm, George Nelson & Associates. The warm personal and professional relationship between Nelson and DePree yielded a stunning range of products, from the playful Marshmallow Sofa to the first L-shaped desk, a precursor of today's workstation. The 1955 Herman Miller catalog states that the bench "has proved to be one of the most flexible and useful units in the collection." The bench was reintroduced in 1994.

George Nelson infamously designed the first version of his Platform Bench to discourage visitors to his New York office from staying too long. He figured that having to sit on a slatted bench would be uncomfortable enough to drive people he didn't want to see away. It didn't work. People liked the bench, and they stayed.

The Nelson Cane Bench is available in three sizes with either solid maple or walnut frame with a natural woven cane insert over cantilevered steel legs. The Nelson Bench is also offered in the slatted wood top with ebonized, finger-jointed wood legs or polished chrome legs.