NM06 by NM3: design stools conceived as dual-function objects
The dual-function stool is not a new idea. The combination of seating and side table in a single compact object appears in design history often enough to be a category rather than an invention. What makes the design stools from NM3's inaugural collection interesting is not that they do two things but why they do two things — and why that decision was embedded in the construction logic rather than arrived at as an afterthought.
The NM06 is the circular version of that argument. At Ø 35 cm and H 40.5 cm, it is the widest of the NM3 stools, and at 9 kg in 3 mm Mirror stainless steel it is also the lightest per unit of material used in the collection's flat-plate geometry. The circular top is not cosmetic. It is structural, and the relationship between that top and the intersecting base below it is what defines both the visual identity and the practical range of the piece.
Intersecting geometry and the concealed connector
The NM06 is built from laser-cut metal sheets assembled through intersecting geometries, without welding. Two elements cross to form a base, and the circular top sits above them, locked into position through the geometry of the joint and a concealed connector system integrated within the structure. Nothing is visible beyond the steel itself.
That last detail — the concealed connector — is worth attention. In a dry-assembled object, the joint is usually part of the visual language. The NM07, the NM06's immediate sibling in the inaugural collection, makes the cross-base geometry clearly legible: you can see the two plates, trace the slot where they meet, understand the load path. The NM06 does something more contained. The base geometry is present and readable but the mechanical resolution of the joint between base and top is hidden within the volume of the structure. The object reads as a unified form rather than as an assembled one, which is unusual for a piece with no welding anywhere in its construction.
This is a different formal register from most dry-assembled steel stool design, where the joinery is either celebrated as a feature or left visible as a consequence of the method. The NM06 chooses to show the geometry and conceal the hardware, which produces a cleaner visual result without compromising the demountability that defines the NM3 construction approach. The piece is still fully reducible to flat metal components for transport, storage, and reconfiguration.
The circular top and what it changes
The NM06's Ø 35 cm top is the largest circular seating surface in the NM3 stool range. The NM07 is Ø 32 cm, the NM13 is Ø 28 cm, the NM22 is Ø 28 cm. Those 7 cm of additional diameter relative to the NM07 make a meaningful difference to both functions the object covers.
As a stool, Ø 35 cm is a comfortable perch for most adults — wide enough to sit on without the circular edge cutting into the backs of the thighs, which is the practical failure mode of stools with very small circular tops. As a side table, Ø 35 cm accommodates a full standard glass, a coffee cup, a phone, and a book simultaneously, which Ø 28 cm does not reliably do. The NM06 is the version of this object that leans toward generous utility; the NM22 and NM13 lean toward spatial compactness.
The circular format also produces a specific spatial quality. A square or rectangular top reads as a surface with orientation — it has edges that align with walls, furniture, and floor patterns, and it implies a position relative to the room's geometry. A circular top has no orientation. The NM06 can be placed at any angle beside any piece of furniture without creating a visual misalignment, which is part of why it works easily in variable contexts, moved and repositioned without any loss of spatial coherence.
Why 9 kg in 3 mm steel
The weight of the NM06 — 9 kg — is lower than the NM07's 11 kg despite the NM06 having a larger top surface. Both use 3 mm Mirror stainless steel, so the difference comes from the geometry of the base and the amount of material in the structural components. The NM06's intersecting base uses less total material than the NM07's cross-base configuration while maintaining comparable structural performance, which is a direct result of the geometric efficiency of the joint and the circular top's distribution of load across the base structure.
In practical terms, 9 kg is a weight that most adults can move with one hand in a controlled way — not effortlessly, but without needing to clear a path or use two hands. A stainless steel stool at this weight can be repositioned across a room, moved from indoors to outdoors, or carried between floors as part of normal use rather than as a deliberate furniture-moving exercise. This keeps the dual-function logic of the NM06 active: an object that needs to be in a different position to serve its second function is more likely to actually be used that way if moving it is not an event.
The NM06 in the dual-function stool tradition
Among modern steel stool designs that position themselves as dual-function, the most common failure mode is height. A stool that works as a side table needs to be at the right height for the seating context it accompanies — too low and the surface is below the arm of the sofa beside it, too high and it becomes a table rather than a stool. The NM06 at H 40.5 cm sits at the correct height for use beside a standard-height sofa or armchair: the top surface lands at approximately the height of the sofa's armrest, which is where a side table surface is actually useful.
This is the same height specification as the NM07, NM13, and NM22 — NM3 has standardised the stool height across the collection at this level, which means the four pieces can be mixed within a seating arrangement without any one of them reading as wrong relative to the others. The NM06 can sit beside an NM07 in the same room without height conflict, which matters in projects where multiple stools are deployed.
The stainless steel counter stool queries that appear in the search landscape around this category are worth addressing honestly. The NM06 at H 40.5 cm is not a counter stool. Counter stools sit at H 60–75 cm, calibrated for kitchen islands and bar counters at standard worktop height. The NM06 is a low stool for living and working environments at the height of standard seating. If counter height is the requirement, the NM06 is not the answer — but for standard domestic and contract seating contexts, the height is precisely correct.
The NM06 and the NM3 stool collection
The four NM3 stools share a height, a material standard, and a dual-function logic, but they cover different formal and material positions within that shared framework. The NM06 and NM07 — both €500, both 3 mm Mirror stainless steel, both flat-plate intersecting geometry — are the inaugural collection versions: direct, structural, legible as constructions. The NM13 — €475, 6 mm Raw aluminium, welded — is the sculptural version: a closed volume where the material and the form are the point. The NM22 — €520, 1.5 mm + 3 mm Mirror stainless steel, box-section — is the compact neutral version: smaller footprint, lighter, calibrated to be useful without drawing attention.
The NM06 occupies the position of the inaugural collection piece that is most immediately functional: the largest top, the lightest weight in its material category, the most generous surface for actual side-table use. It is the designer stool you choose when the brief is dual-function first and formal statement second.
NM06 at a glance
Material: 3 mm Mirror stainless steel; powder-coated RAL available
Dimensions: Ø 35 cm, H 40.5 cm
Weight: 9 kg
Construction: Laser-cut, intersecting plate geometry, concealed connector, no welding
Function: Stool and side table
Use: Indoor and outdoor
Price: €500
Lead time: 4 to 6 weeks
Availability: Add to cart
Shop the NM06 design stool
The NM06 is available for direct purchase through the NM3 online store at €500. Lead time is between 4 and 6 weeks. The full NM3 stool collection — NM06, NM07, NM13, and NM22 — is available in the NM3 catalogue.