Chair #66

FRENCH IRON CHAIR

—Designer  unknown

France, 1940's. Oooh la laaa. Zee chair... eet aaz zo much, how do you zay zeez?... zo much joie de vivre! Oh mon deu! I will be late for to teach my art class. Ballerinas. Today we sketch mon petit ballerinas, and I must not be late. Where eees mon beret, ah? Aahh, oiu! Bon. Aur revoir!

Chair #65

GREEK DINING CHAIR

—Designed by Thomas Pheasant 

Symmetry, form, and scale. Each piece of furniture designed by Washington, D.C.-based designer Thomas Pheasant is crafted with these classic concepts in mind, creating his own new traditionalism. His trademark look uses these classic lines out of mahogany, and finished in a rich, glossy brown hue. The inspiration for his designs comes from classical Greek, Chinese, and Italian architectural elements. This chair, for Baker, pays homage to the directoire style. Clean and tailored, the flared saber legs and top rail have a lovely flow and continuity.

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“Each piece has its own innate sense of style, with a functionality and versatility to speak to many audiences...The intriguing mix of scale, style, and finish options provide the forms with a stand alone quality, yet has a versatility to work well with existing decors.”

               —Thomas Pheasant

Chair #64

LADDER BACK CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Remember the board game chutes and ladders?! You spin the dial and move your marker on the board. When you land on a square with a picture of the bottom of a ladder, move up the ladder to the square where the ladder ends. When you land on a square with a picture of a chute, move down the chute to the square where the chute ends.

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A ladder-back chair has a tall back consisting of horizontal slats or spindles connected to two tall uprights. Ladder-back chairs appeared as early back as the middle ages, had become widespread in England by the 17th century, and were commonly used in colonial America. Though equal in size here, the top slat—often larger than the others—was often richly ornamented and pierced for ease of handeling. As piercing of the back slats progressed, they began to resemble the sound holes of a violin, and this type of chair came to be known as a fiddle back. 

Chair #63

MOOSE ANTLER CHAIR

—Designer unknown

Oooooh Caaaanadaaaa. This 20th century chair is from a Canadian hunting lodge. Organic, eh? I have read that these antlers are extraordinarily strong. Comfy? not so sure. Campy? Definitely. Suddenly I feel like drinking a Moosehead beer and watching a heart racing hockey game.

Chair #62

ACCENT CHAIR

—Designed by Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair

Love the quatrefoil shape of the chair back. This should be called the club chair, and sold with a heart, a spade, and a diamond back chair. Poker anyone? 

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Poker Hand Ranking

Royal Flush A straight from a ten to an ace with all five cards of the same suit. In poker all suits are ranked equally.

Straight Flush Any straight with all five cards of the same suit.

Four of a Kind Any four cards of the same rank. If two players share the same Four of a Kind, the bigger fifth card (known as the kicker) decides who wins the pot.

Full House Any three cards of the same rank together with any two cards of the same rank. 

Flush Any five cards of the same suit (not consecutive). The highest card of the five determines the rank of the flush. 

 

Straight Any five consecutive cards of different suits. Aces can count as either a high or a low card. 

Three of a Kind Any three cards of the same rank. 

Two Pair Any two cards of the same rank together with another two cards of the same rank. The highest pair of the two determines the rank of the two-pair.

One Pair Any two cards of the same rank. 

High Card Any hand not in the above-mentioned hands. 

Chair #61

GOTHIC CORNER CHAIR

—Designer unknown

The ornate back seat of this beautiful chair reminds me of a European church steeple. 

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The church steeple is a symbol of the heavenly aspirations of pious medieval men.

   —The Encyclopedia Britannica

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Not just for heavenly aspirations, church steeples were also watchtowers. Stone built and strong, churches were once places of refuge in times of attack. Through time, the use of the tower evolved from being an item of defense to being an item of inspiration. With the soaring arches and uplifting, vast spaces, it was only logical that the towers would also incorporate this soaring look toward God. The steeple then became a way to place the cross at the highest point in the city as the church was often built on the highest point in the city. The steeples could be seen for miles around with the effect that the cross on the top would be seen in witness to the faith of the community.  Note the great cathedrals of Europe with their steeples which seem to reach to the heavens. And form follows function...the shape of the steeple was best for holding the weight of the heavy bell(s), which were used to announce worship times to the people.

Chair #60

THE SOLAR SYSTEM CHAIR

—Designer unknown

OK, Star Trek fans, this is your chair. The solar system chair is made up of 4 spheres of varying sizes, each with their own function. The main sphere functions as the seat, the secondary sphere functions as the backrest, and the 2 small spheres flanking each side are the arm rests. The solar system-like aspects are accentuated by the chrome steel legs and attachments, making the balls seem like they're suspended in infinite space... the final frontier.