Designer Chairs
Designer chairs from early and mid-century are all the rage! What is it about these chairs that resonate with today’s consumers? We would argue that designer chairs are timeless, modern classics. They work well with our modern sensibility, combining modern design with exceptional craftsmanship.
The field of furniture design appeals to architects who are preoccupied with beautiful design, fine materials, and careful detailing. Many well-known architects have designed chairs that have stood the test of time. In fact, designs from the early 1900’s, such as the Barcelona Chair, are more popular than ever and command a high price.
A chair is a very difficult object. A skyscraper is almost easier. That is why Chippendale is famous.
-Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe
Architectural Esthetic
Designer chairs by famous architects reflect the esthetic for which the designers are known.
- Architect Eero Saarinen is known as much for his design of the Womb Chair as he is for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Both have become readily recognizable icons of the modern movement.
- “Design is for living.” was the maxim of architects Charles and Ray Eames, leading to their lean and modern furniture designs that are beautifully functional. The Eames lounge chair has “a warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.”
- Le Corbusier is credited with bringing architecture into the technological age. “Modern life demands, and is waiting for, a new kind of plan, both for the house and the city.” His design for the sling chair projects an esthetic that came to symbolize the International Style.
Collectors Prefer Designer Chairs
In recent years, designs from the mid-century have experienced renewed interest from collectors and homeowners. We feel their interest is a testament to the simplicity and ingenuity often found in timeless modern chair designs. The recent popularity of designer chairs may be attributed to collector alignment with the philosophies of the famous architect designers.
The very collectible iconic seating designs are modern, timeless, and refined. The unique designs are also innovative in terms of the material use and form. Integral to the designer’s philosophy, the iconic chairs are high quality and often handcrafted of beautiful materials that improve with age.
Get Your Own Designer Chair
So where can you see (and perhaps purchase) these beautifully-crafted modern designer chairs? Many of the most desirable chairs can be found at Knoll and Designs Within Reach. They will be happy to help you with your selection. Here are some of our favorite designer chairs and the architects that designed them:
Wassily Chair designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925
Materials: Cowhide belting leather or haired hide; seamless polished chrome finishes tubular steel frame; plastic glides.
LC2 Petit Modele Armchair designed by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand in 1928
Materials: Resilient down- or Dacron-wrapped leather pillows within an external stainless steel frame buffed to a mirror finish.
Barcelona Chair designed by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe in 1929
Materials: Cowhide-covered urethane foam and dacron polyester fiberfill cushions; cowhide belting leather dyed to match upholstery straps; chrome frame polished to a mirror finish; aluminum rivets.
Risom Lounge Chair designed by Jens Risom in 1943
Materials: Maple hardwood in a clear lacquer or ebonized finish or walnut hardwood in a clear lacquer finish; natural cotton webbing.
Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946
Designs Within Reach and Knoll
Materials: Molded 5-ply seat and back; 8-ply legs and back brace; cherry, walnut, white ash, santos palisander, red-painted ash, red-stained ash or black-stained ash veneer; rubber shock mounts.
Bertoia Side Chair designed by Harry Bertoia in 1952
Materials: Welded steel rods; polished chrome finish with chrome connections or bonded Rilsan® finish with stainless steel connections.
Tulip Chair designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956
Materials: Molded fiberglass seat shell; molded cast aluminum painted base; Knoll Textiles and Spinneybeck leathers.
Eames Lounge Chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1956
Designs Within Reach and Knoll
Materials: Seven-ply walnut or santos palisander veneer; molded plywood frame; die-cast aluminum swivel base and back braces; polyurethane foam cushions; stainless steel leveling floor glides; Spinneybeck® Vicenza leather upholstery.
A Classic for your Office
Coming up on 23 years, the design of the Aeron chair was unlike anything else when it was released in the 1990’s. It was a pioneering design in terms of ergonomics and material innovation and changed the way people thought about office chairs. One of the many innovations was the invention of a new type of breathable fabric (Pellicle) that supported the sitter without the use of cushioning materials. Herman Miller has recently updated the design to incorporate current thinking on task chairs and advancements in materials, manufacturing, and technology.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience, and yet the chair is still going to be an Aeron chair.”
-Don Chadwick, designer
Aeron Chair designed by Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick in 1994, recently updated by Don Chadwick
Materials: Painted satin aluminum finish frame, chassis, and base; 8Z Pellicle elastomeric suspension seat and backrest; durable black nylon 2.5-inch diameter casters.
Designer chairs from early- and mid-century can be very successfully integrated into modern spaces. They are beautifully crafted and offer a timeless, modern design that complements just about any living or work space.
