Chair #358

GULLHOLMEN ROCKING CHAIR

—Designer Unknown, Offered through Ikea

Those clever Swedes, this is such a simple design. This minimalist rocking chair is made of renewable banana leaves and rattan woven which has been over a steel base. It is quite comfortable to sit in and massages your pressure points. Which points are those, I wonder? And it's affordable.

Chair #357

LADY CHAIR

—Designed by Marco Zanuso

This delightful little chair has pink wool upholstery with brass legs. Reminds of that famous cocktail of the 30's, the Pink Lady. It's a fun "girly drink" for sure!

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Pink Lady Cocktail

A pink lady is the classic gin-based cocktail. Egg-whites and cream are mixed together to create a foam that floats on top of the drink to give it a unique texture. The Pink Lady is a classic cocktail that has a light blush color given by the dashes of grenadine—which is a pomegranate syrup. It was one of the first "girly drinks" and a favorite of the high society ladies of the 30's. The key to this drink (and any shaken with egg) is to shake it longer than you would with most cocktails to ensure that everything is mixed well. The egg also makes a great foamy top of the pink liquid, creating an intimate looking finished cocktail.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz applejack (what is that stuff anyhow?)

1/4 oz lemon juice

1-2 dashes grenadine

1 egg white

maraschino cherry for garnish

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the maraschino cherry.

Chair #356

VENETIAN GONDOLIER'S CHAIR

—Designer unknown

No doubt that some cool Italian in a striped shirt designed this. Imagine this chair perched in a hand carved gondola—shiny and black as the night—and gliding through the secret canals of Venice? This beautifully painted and parcel gilt Venetian Gondolier’s Chair sold for a mere $1,500 at a Christie’s NYC auction on September of 2009. That's amore!

Chair #355

VALET CHAIR

—Designed by Hans Wegner

The perfect chair for the uncommon man, the valet chair has style. Hans Wegner, a Danish designer, created this chair in an effort to solve the problem of how to properly hold every article of a gentleman's clothing set at the end of the day to preserve their form without wrinkles. The seat flips up so a gentleman can stash away his wallet, keys, cufflinks, watch, i-pod, or whatever. Wegner initially conceived of this chair with four legs but was unsatisfied with the heavy-looking form. The final model with a tripod base is sculptural as well as utilitarian. Very James Bond.

Chair #354

SNAKE CHAIR

—Designed by Eileen Gray

From the Cobra chair to the Snake chair! Eileen Gray, who died in 1976, was an Irish furniture designer and architect and a pioneer of the Modern Movement in architecture. In February of 2009, Gray's Snake Arm Chair was sold for an astounding $28,238,277 at Christie’s auction of Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé ’s collection of artifacts. What a snake charmer.

Chair #353

COBRA CHAIR

—Designed by Carlo Bugatti

Hard not to miss where the name came from. It looks like a cross between a cobra and one of those old fashioned doctor scales. Created in 1902, Bugatti was way ahead of his time, wasn't he?

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Cobra clearly illustrates Bugatti love for smooth, flowing lines and uncomplicated architecture. Even though his design is simplistic and delicate, it reveals Bugatti's imagination. Designed to furnish Carlo's 'Snail Room' at the Turin exposition of 1902, the seat and back of this chair are joined into a single continuous curved form, giving it a futuristic look. The innovative use of a cantilevered seat in this design anticipates an important feature of many chairs made later in the 20th century, especially some employing bent wood or tubular steel frames. This piece also shows how Carlo had begun completely covering his furniture in parchment, a technique which hid all joints. Decorations are made of hammered copper, pencil and paint. Cobra chair is covered with parchement and leather.

Bugatti's painted wood side chair with a copper medallion, made for a room used for games and conversation. Shaped like a cobra, its sweeping curved support and circular back and seat are covered in parchment and inscribed with floral and geometric motifs reminiscent of Islamic art. The chair's open design served a practical purpose, allowing men's coattails and women's trains to hang down behind the seat.

— from DesignMatcher.com

Chair #352

0.8 CHAIR

—Designed by Omer Arbel

Wow, what a thin profile! Apparently this design would not be structurally sound with just any traditional material. The 8.0 chair uses a structural concrete called Ductal, which is close to steel strength at an impressive ten times stronger than good old concrete. As the name suggests, Ductal is also ductile, so it will flex rather than crack. One question though anyone see a starfish with a missing arm?