Chair #59

CONTOUR ROCKING CHAIR

—Designed by Vladimir Kagan

This ain't your grandma's rocking chair—this is a ROCKIN' rocking chair, made of walnut wood and upholstered in sexy leather.

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Praying is like a rocking chair — it'll give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere.

—Gypsy Rose Lee

Chair #58

CHILDREN'S MINI "OK" CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Kids would love this mini sized... and maybe some pets too. 

Chair #57

NEPALESE TEMPLE CHAIR

—Designer unknown

This blue painted chair has 3 rows of cute little brass bells dangling on the seat back.

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Nepalese handicraft began during the 5th Century A.D. when different religions began to form their bases among the people of Nepal. Therefore, we see a lot of religious influence on Nepalese handicrafts. Traditional Nepalese crafts such as metal statues, ethnic costumes, traditional silver jewellery, wood carving, along with religious and ritual objects such as bells, vajra, stone sculpture, ceramics, and paubha painting are common.

Chair #56

SPINE CHAIR

—Designed by André Dubreuil

OK, I really, really, really, really want this chair! You need to see the chair from the front view to understand the name. The single vertical back support looks like a spine between the myriad horizontal lines. Love the scrolling profile, the slats that taper off to the top crescendo. The only way it could be more perfect is if it had arm rests, but I suppose that would ruin the lines. It's utterly elegant—for welded steel anyway—and I think it would look FAB tucked into a corner my garden, parked next to another spine chair.

Chair #55

WOODEN CHAIR

—Designed by John Raible

Brevity is the soul of wit.

—William Shakespeare

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See another minimalist wooden chair by John Raible—Chair #113 on April 23rd of this blog.

Chair #54

LOW CHAIR

—Designed by Christian Adam

This reminds me of those pouffy, clover rolls. Break open a steaming hot section, put some butter on it, and you're in biz.   

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Crimson And Clover lyrics

Ah and I don't hardly know her
But I think I could love her
Crimson and clover

Ah, when will she come walking over
Now I've been waiting to show her
Crimson and clover
Over and over

Yeah
My mind's such a sweet thing
I want to do everything
What a beautiful feeling
Crimson and clover
Over and over

Da da da da da da...

Crimson and clover
Over and over
Crimson and clover
Over and over...

—Tommy James And The Shondells

Chair #53

HANNA CHAIR

—Designed by René Holten

Picture dozens of these chairs covered in crisp white in a posh European hotel lobby... or covered in lime green and scattered around tables in a swanky New York bar. Trés cool. Sculpted elegance in a compact form, the Hanna Chair is as comfortable to sit on as it is beautiful to look at. Perched on three slightly tapered steel legs, the robust shell hovers just above the floor. A René Holten signature, this chair is sure to make a striking statement in your home or office. Available in several fabric and leather upholstery options, it's up to you if you want to keep it simple or jazz it up with one a bold colors or pattern. 

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René Holten was born in The Netherlands in 1961. Same age as me, by the way. He studied Architectural Design at the Academy of Arts in Maastricht, The Netherlands and eventually worked his way into furniture and industrial design. And he’s very environmentally conscious.

“Leaving the world better to our children than we got it.” 

           —René Holten

Chair #52

BREWSTER TUB CHAIR

—Designed by Nina Cambell 

When British interior designer Nina Cambell decided that “...we had to have a furniture line,” this chair, among others, was born. The design of her Brewster Tub Chair—with its sleek wooden rails—was inspired by a pair of small 1930’s chairs bought for Nina’s own flat. Nina scaled the chairs up to the perfect size. These are very useful chairs to add into a seating group. And who doesn’t love a tub chair? Very practical, the tub chair can be found in many different forms and designs, but its main shape will always remain as a chair that is small enough to squeeze into any corner, yet big enough to breathe life into any room.

Chair #51

GEORGE III-STYLE MAHOGANY SIDE CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Offered through Arthur Brett antiques—On their website they write: The unusual design for these Hepplewhite-style mahogany chairs is based on a unique set of original 18th century chairs that were part of the Brett family collection in the early 1960s. It is also interesting to note a similar example is included in the Royal Collection. The unique design of the back with its graceful radiating sun burst spokes is a simpler interpretation of the ever popular wheel back design. An oval boss veneered in exotic and rare burr thuya wood is positioned in the centre of the beautifully shaped backrest. The generous seat of the chair, featuring a serpentine front rail, is raised on square tapering fluted front legs that terminate in simple moulded pad feet. 

Chair #50

ODEON TUB CHAIR

—Designed by Joe D'Urso for Donghia

This fully upholstered chair has a tight seat and curved back. Woah! Yeah, we're still talking about chairs here. The upholstered frame is raised on a formed and polished stainless steel tube cantilever base. This piece is pre-upholstered in muslin to minimize puckering of upholstery fabric. In the early 1970s, Joe D’Urso defined the high-tech look of the loft with chrome, glass, leather, rubber, and industrial supplies, and also made slick chairs like this.

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“If you really want to torture me, sit me in a room strapped to a chair and put Mariah Carey's records on.”

—Cameron Diaz

Chair #49

RATTAN CHAIR

—Designed by Adam Tihany for McGuire

I call this the Shrek chair. Something about the back of the chair reminds me of Shrek's ears. And like the friendly green ogre, it is strong on the outside, yet all softhearted on the inside. The chair has those sturdy legs, but then then it goes all soft on us with that circular disk of delicately woven filigree rattan on the back.

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We're sitting at the bar at Sloppy Joe's down in the Florida Keys. Earnest Hemingway is there late tonight nursing a cold Papa Dobles* after wresting all afternoon in the back of a boat with a very angry blue marlin. Hemingway swirls his drink, while thoughts of Carlos Gutierrez, the marlin fisherman he was with all day, slowly blossoms into a character named Santiago in a book called "The Old Man and the Sea."

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*Papa Dobles

Mix two and a half jiggers of white Bacardi, the juice of two fresh limes, the juice of half a grapefruit, and 6 drops of maraschino all into a rusty electric blender.

Chair #48

5 LEGGED CHAIR 

—Designer unknown

This chair is brilliant with all its gorgeous, intricately carved detail on it. It hosts two elegantly intertwined birds on the chair back, claws on the chair arms, and has a contrasting Greek key motif around the perimeter of the seat. Highly unusual.

Chair #47

SLIPPER CHAIR 

—Designer unknown

This low rider slipper chair is absolutely darling, daaaahhling! A slipper chair is a small, high-backed upholstered chair. It often has a fairly low seat and is used in bedrooms and smaller rooms for extra seating or dressing and FAB for sitting in while slipping on those Jimmy Choo shoes!

Chair #46

WALNUT CHAIR

—Designed by Ladislav Czernek

Poetically handcrafted from a contemporary U.S. designer, this chair is crafted as a single, continuous, flowing gesture. It’s light weight with a hardwood appearance, and available in various veneer options. Czernek was born in Czechoslovakia, but has lived in the United States since he was 6 years old. He spent most of his life in Maryland and New York, but currently resides in sunny California. 

Chair #45

HEART CONE CHAIR

—Designed by Verner Panton

Be still my heart! In honor of St. Valentine's Day today, I just had to post this chair. Those over the top wings are surely a contemporary take on the classic wingback chair, oui? Designed by yet another Great Dane designer, Verner Panton, this chair as a variation of his cone chair. He designed it in 1959 and  it's covered in red, of course.  It’s all about the drama daahhhhling.

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Valentine's Day History

There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball. In the United States, a Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. The spirit of love continues as valentines are still sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school. See, so it wasn't just a money making holiday invented by Hallmark!

Chair #44

VOIDO ROCKING CHAIR

—Designed by Ron Arad

At a really quick glance my husband thought this chair looked like a Venetian Carnevale mask. I think he's right. So in honor of Carnevale di Venezia, which begins today this year, I am posting this chair. 

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Carnevale di Venezia

Everyone has heard of Carnevale di Venezia, but it is extra special to me because my last name is in fact, Carnevale! The name Carnevale means "farewell to meat" or "meat is gone." The Catholic Lent obligated people to fast during the period up to Ash Wednesday. All meats, butter and eggs had to be used up, so this religious formality gave Venetians a good excuse to have one heck of a party. Carnevale starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday — day before Ash Wednesday — also known as Mardi Gras. The international carnival is also one of the oldest, dating back to 1268, when the use of masks were first documented. The masks were used to shield the identity and social status of the wearer, so no differentiation could be made between the commoners and the nobility. They all mingled together, visiting brothels, theaters, cafe's and wine shops. Or they could gamble, see exotic animals, rope walkers or jugglers. I hope to go Carnevale di Venezia one year — I hear it's a good time. Eat drink and be merry!

Chair #43

TAKE A LINE FOR A WALK ARMCHAIR

—Designed by alfredo häberli for moroso

This chair is for serious cocooning. Not your average high-back, swivel chair, the rabbit ear extended wing back envelopes you with motherly comfort. AND it has a great footrest! The chair is named for the lines of stitching that curve around its form. Characterized by angular lines, this armchair is constructed of a steel frame covered with injection-moulded foam making it amazingly comfy. You should see it covered in distressed leather. Like Buttaaaahh.

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Alfredo Häberli is an internationally established designer based in Zurich. He was was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1964. He easily blends tradition with modern. The result? Fabulously hip. 

Chair #42

AMOEBE LOUNGE CHAIR

—Designed by Verner Panton

Verner Panton was credited with creating the very first single-form injection moulded plastic chair. His Amoebe Lounge Chair shown here was originally dreamed up for Panton’s famous Visiona Installation in 1970. The playful name refers to the organic, flowing shape, and it's a FAB example of close-to-the-floor lounge furniture. The early model’s rigid internal structure, made of tubular steel, has now been replaced by a laminated back shell. This increases the flexibility of the backrest and greatly enhances the chair’s comfort. 

Chair #41

ROCKET STOOL

—Designed by Steve Holman

Steve Holman is an interesting guy. He’s from Vermont, so he’s already cool. After escaping a life in the family car biz he spent a year after college building wooden boats on Cape Cod, a year building farmworker housing in California, and a year working for a furniture maker in Oakland. Then In 1981 he moved to Vermont and built post and beam houses for a quick stint before opening his own furniture making shop. Being young and ignorant —“so stupid you don’t know you’re stupid”— his grandfather would say to him, he says he made some mediocre work before building his first decent piece of furniture in 1985. His furniture is solid, functional and fun!

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“These stools are from my Buck Rogers’ period. I know they’re strong because my toddler pushed one down the stairs and it didn’t break.”

                              —Steve Holman

Chair #40

THREE LEG RHL DINING CHAIR

—Designed by Robert Marinelli

Tailored. That's what this chair is—very tailored. In 2001 Robert Marinelli opened up his showroom and first retail shop in the Meatpacking District of New York. The Designer sells over 300 of his own furniture pieces ranging from classically mod to traditionally hip, and offers interior design services for residential and commercial clients. The showroom, filled with neutral-colored couches, chairs and tables cleverly clustered into mini living rooms, gives the Average Joe or Josie decorator a visual image of what fab could be. The store is also more than delighted to help folks out with custom requests, including high-end furniture for private residences and businesses, restaurants, and hotels. 

Chair #39

UPHOLSTERED CUTOUT CHAIR

—Offered through West Elm

It isn't so much what's on the table that matters, as what's on the chairs.

—William S. Gilbert

Chair #38

BARBIE CHAIR

—Designer ARKANA

This chair seem like one that would work better in a mod bathroom than in a living room — to me it has a European toilet sort of look. Not that that's a bad thing.

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This Barbie Chair—that just happens to be a magenta pink—is a modern version of the 60's classic ARKANA chair that has not been available for over 25 years. Made from glass reinforced plastic, it has been polished to a high lustre finish - ideal for indoor or outdoor use. Groovy.

Chair #37

BURST CHAIR

—Designed by Oliver Tilbury 

Okay, this up-and-coming young lad from London calls this his Burst Chair, but I call it the French Tickler chair.  In any case, the fabric is lime green and it's very original and playful.

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Oliver Tilbury graduated with First Class Honors from the Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College in 2007 in Furniture Design and craftsmanship. His Burst Chair was featured at Grand Designs Live on the Bank of the River Thames. It'll be exciting to watch his unique style develop.

Chair #36

BRACELET CHAIR

—Designed by Barbara Barry

Love the name! This chair feels like 1940's Hollywood to me, and sitting on the chair I see film noir femme fetale actress and pin-up model Veronica Lake with her iconic 'peekaboo' blonde hairstyle—hiding one eye. For those younger peeps, think Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I can imagine Veronica in a slinky satin spaghetti strap dress and matching opera length gloves... mulling over her latest offered script. Matching shoes, of course.

Chair #35

LEATHER CHAIR

—from the Chiaroscuro sheer collection

Sporty! Seems like the sort of chair and aviation buff would sit in while watching one of his coveted collection of vintage Red Baron films on. By jove!! I can envision this eccentric old chap... sporting a distressed leather bomber jacket, aviator's cap, and a white scarf. I wish I could dig up more information on this chair. All I could find was that it's from the Chiaroscuro sheer collection sold exclusively at LeeJofa. Anyone?

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Chiaroscuro, which is a fabulous Italian word for light-dark,  is a term in art that shows a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects— a portrait or the human body. A Chiaroscuro drawing would typically be on colored paper with the drawing in a dark medium and white highlighting. The term is now also used in describing similar effects in the lighting of cinema and photography.

Chair #34

QUEEN ABIGAIL SLIPPER CHAIR

—Designed by Todd Hase

Todd Hase Furniture, Inc. includes a full collection of upholstery, tables, casegoods, accessories and textiles. Designed by Todd Hase, the line is distinctly modern. It uses a classic vocabulary of shapes and lines to offer a pared down, simplified yet extremely palatable, ultimately usable line of home furnishings. Old world techniques of manufacturing are applied to these modern products: eight-way handtied springs fill upholstered seating and hand fitted marquetry patterns of beautiful veneers enhance tables, casegoods and lighting.

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Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. President. So when Her hus=band was prez she was the second First Lady, and then when her son was prez, she was the first Second Lady of the United States. (November 11, 1744 – October 28, 1818)

Chair #33

LCW CHAIR

—Designed by Charles and Ray Eames

This dedicated American duo left quite a mark on the design world. When Charles married Ray in 1941, their devotion to each other, artistic vision, and exceptional talent fully flourished, establishing them as a great husband-and-wife team. Their synergy produced pioneering works of architecture and modern design such as this classic chair from 1945, the LCW chair. In 1985 they were named “Most Influential Designer of the 20th Century,” by WORLDESIGN. By the way the LCW stands for “low chair wood”, but all you really need to know is that it’s a sleek, moulded, curvy plywood. Charles died August 21, 1978. Ray died ten years later to the day. The were in sync right to the end!

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Charles Eames asked the same questions with each project they undertook: Does it interest and intrigue us? Can we make it better? Will we have “serious fun” doing it? Love that.

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“The details are not details, they make the product”  

       —Charles Eames 

Chair #32

HAND-PAINTED ARM CHAIR

—Designer unknown

This feminine chair offered through Stark Fine Furniture, looks very Marie Antoinette to me. There are delicate floral embellishments on a background of light blue.