We all admire them, desire them, dream about them but what do we really know about the most iconic mid century modern chairs ever?
Today I will start to answer to this question with the first of two posts about 10 of the best chairs ever designed during the mid century period.
The Arne Jacobsen Ant Chair
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(via Pinterest)
Arne Jacobsen designed the Ant chair for the Danish manufacturer Fritz Hansen in the early 50s that -thanks to its characteristics and design- became one of the most iconic mid century modern chairs.
The Ant is made of nine layers of heated and molded plywood -beech, teak, oak and maple some of the woods used- that contributed to make a light, sturdy, stackable and flexible product with a complex and elegant shape.
Jacobsen designed several other products for Fritz Hansen, but none of them achieved the level of mid-century icon as the Ant chair.
The Eames Molded Plastic Chair
(via thebrickhouse)
(via vastudc)
Designed for a daily service this Charles and Eames chair -in its 50s version- was made of fiberglass and resin, a new plastic used to manufacture crash helmets. This new material made the chair sturdier than any one else, it could be rolled down a mountain and hardly be damaged.
The story of the molded plastic Eames chair begins in 1948 when an early model -made of metal- won second prize in The Museum of Modern Art’s Low Cost Furniture Design competition.
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When its production started -two years later- the metal was replaced by the strongest and more flexible mix of fiberglass and resin in six colours; greige, lemon, elephant-hide gray, yellow, parchment and seafoam green.
Still in production, it is also part of the permanent collections of MoMA‘s mid century modern chairs.
The Osvaldo Borsani Tecno Chair
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This incredible mid century modern lounge chair was born by the collaboration between Osvaldo Borsani and the Italian manufacturer Tecno in 1955. Its mobile parts, height adjustable backrest and auto adjusting armrest make it almost architectural in scope.
The metal structure with a dark grey painted or satin nickel base also made the Tecno chair highly recognizable and iconic.
The Harry Bertoia Diamond Chair
(via icollector)
Main elements of this chair are light and air enclosed by a grid of chrome-plated stainless-steel wire.
Continuously produced by Knoll since 1950, this chair -also named Diamond- is still hand executed using a wooden equipment for bending the wire, that proved to be more handy and cheap than bending it using a machine.
(via etsy)
Amongst all the mid century modern chairs ever produced, the Diamond is one of the most long-lived. Several versions were designed over the years and still commonly used for lobbies, cafes and restaurants’ decoration.
With Charles and Ray Eames, Bertoia experimented the use of plywood in the 40s but soon realised to have a better match with metal as the Diamond chair proves.
The Sling -Butterfly- Chair
(via thebrickhouse)
The Sling -Butterfly- chair has a story of scandal behind it. The team of Argentinian architects that designed it ‘borrowed’ the concept by a folding wooden British officer’s chair produced in the nineteenth century, incurring in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Within the numerous mid century modern chairs, the Butterfly is one of the most desired by collectors and mid-century enthusiasts. Its legitimate version has been produced by Knoll in over five million copies in the post war years.
Visit the Mid Century Icons page to see more amazing piece of art from the mid century era.
(via Pinterest)
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Stay tuned to discover the next five amazing mid century modern chairs, but in the meanwhile LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE AND/OR IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THEM!
Like the mix of materials (ply, fibreglass, wire, leather) and methods (heated, moulded, adjustable, folding) you’ve chosen here – in just five chairs you’ve illustrated how imaginative the designs/designers of this era really were.
Soon the other 5! Stay tuned
Great selection and beautiful chairs! Of what you have here, I think I love The Osvaldo Borsani Tecno Chair best. I have to say though, just to be devil’s advocate. The most famous of all chairs, the Eames Lounger is not here. Was it purposefully not selected? I’m not saying it absolutely SHOULD be here, but well… it should
. I would think that maybe it was actually a lounge chair and not part of this list, but you do have the Barsani Tecno chair and that looks loungey to me. Just saying.
But this is a great post, thanks for putting it together!
Thanks for the great comment! Well…as you can see, this is Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 with the last 5 amazing chairs
Ciao,
Marco.
What about the Wassily Chair, the “S” Chair (leather with laces up the back) and the Barcelona chair? The Fledermaus chair?
I just read that these are “mid century modern” top chairs! Oops! My faves are from earlier in the 20th century, but they do work with mid-century modern decor.
Hey Samantha, unfortunately I could not include all the beauties I would have like to…otherwise it should have been ‘the top 1000 mid century modern chairs’
But thanks for the suggestions…maybe I could write a second post about the best 10 chairs from the first part of the 20th century. Would you like that?
Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao,
Marco.