Here are some of my favourite wooden chairs :)
Cowrie Chair ll Made In Ratio
The Cowrie chair is part of a collection inspired by the concave lines of sea shells.
It is elegant, clean and can be placed in any room in the house. Personally, I would have it either in a bedroom or kitchen…perhaps in the living room with a fur throw; the rocking chair version would work excellently in this way.
Octave Lounge Chair || Estampille 52
Isn’t this one just great to look at? Not only do the concentric circles create an awesome wave, but the backrest has been planed, thus increasing the surface area in contact with the user. It’s that sort of attention to detail you’ve got to have if you want to be noticed.
Chaise One || Yard Sale Project
I think this chair has amazing character, something that comes much more frequently when using natural materials. The flowing form shows off the craftsmanship like no other. It’s quite large, but due to the richly coloured French walnut material, it’s not too heavy.
Photo by Tim Platt
Pipo Chair || Alejandro Estrada
This chair is made from plywood that has been cut to form these curves. As each curve is cut from a flat sheet, vertical lines are all you see from the front/back. When looking from the side, you see how each individual curve is drawn out. It is only when looking at the chair from an angle that you can grasp the three-dimensional form. This is a great example of how to use a material for its strength. Plywood comes in a variety of strengths and because of its make-up, it doesn’t warp or shear. The colours Alejandro has chosen here show off the wood very nicely; I think it would be fun to play around using a variety of lacquers to get a subtle mix of tones along the strips.
Portuguese Roots || Alexandre Caldas
The materials and joinery in this chair represent craftsmanship at its finest. The original design from the ‘50s was made of metal tubes. The designer and maker, Gonçalo Rodrigues dos Santos, had a secret way of bending the metal into place. To keep his secret safe, he would only make the chairs alone on weekends. The chair has now been transformed into what you see here. There may be 50 years separating the two designs, but they hold on to the same heritage and have the same refined look.
Seneca Flesh || Ian Cooke
The base for this chair looks quite architectural, which when you think about it is a very clever way to design a supporting structure. The angles show off the distribution of forces, letting the user know that the seat is structurally sound. The curved seat and backrest resemble the work of Charles & Ray Eames which is always lovely to see.
Mobius Chair || Markowitzdesign
This cantilever chair has such amazing curves. It was modelled on algorithmic software, which shows how maths can come into play with design if you know what you’re doing.
This has got to be one of the cleverest, most interesting chairs I’ve ever seen.
Main Image from The Maker by Tamara Maynes, photographed by Eve Wilson, published by Murdoch Books
Ribbon Chair || Thomas Vaughan / Object Studio
This amazing chair wraps itself around the user. The lines on the chair help to bring out the contours; it’s so important to make the material you’re using work with the form.
Scate Chair || Oleg Soroko
This method of designing looks at furniture a whole new way. As the chair/bench/throne is made of sections of plywood held together by metal rods, there is a whole new approach to the process. The form has to be more fluid – less legs; more base. In some ways, I think this looks like the inner skeleton of a chair, ready for cushions and upholstery.
Inception Chair || Vivian Chiu
As you can probably guess, this chair was named after the movie, Inception. The ratio of dimensions between adjacent chairs is kept constant, which is why it looks so slick. Running out of inspiration can be a great excuse for doing something totally unrelated to productive work. Watch a movie and say you’re ‘thinking outside of the box’.