Totally Tubular Chairs
Lightweight Metal Freed Us from Heavy Wooden Cherubs and Claw Feet
Back in the 1920s, Charlotte Perriand was in Paris, working like a mad furniture scientist with the latest materials and technology of the machine age all around her. Rather than a bunch of floofy Beaux Arts ornate carved chair bases and supports, she started to play with lightweight steel tubes, first begging Peugeot to lend her their bicycle frame manufacturing abilities (they refused), but then finding perfect partners in Le Corbusier and Thonet.
Since then, the look has stretched from Bauhaus to our house, falling in and out of fashion, but proving overall staying power. Here's a gander at just a few of the tubular styles that look so chic today.
Since then, the look has stretched from Bauhaus to our house, falling in and out of fashion, but proving overall staying power. Here's a gander at just a few of the tubular styles that look so chic today.
Typical tubular chairs today: This bebop retro style of tubular chair usually evokes a feeling of nostalgia, but styled with caramel and black leather and placed in this lofty open space, they appear contemporary.
LC7 Swivel Chair
This LC7 chair is one of Perriand's creations, in collaboration with Corbu and Pierre Jeanneret. The trio produced a range of furnishings using miles of tubular steel, with the house and its contents as a "machine for living" in mind.
This LC7 chair is one of Perriand's creations, in collaboration with Corbu and Pierre Jeanneret. The trio produced a range of furnishings using miles of tubular steel, with the house and its contents as a "machine for living" in mind.
One of the first tubular chairs to gain popularity was designed by Bauhaus student and instructor Marcel Breuer in 1925. When re-released in the '60s, it became known as The Wassily Chair.
It was inspired by the handlebars of a bicycle, and it's so iconic that we will dedicate an entire ideabook to it next week.
It was inspired by the handlebars of a bicycle, and it's so iconic that we will dedicate an entire ideabook to it next week.
Cesca Cane Chair by Marcel Breuer
Another Breuer design, the Cesca chair, uses the strength of the tubes to defy gravity. I remember this chair being totally groovy in the '70s, then becoming dated in the late '80s. Now it's totally hot again.
I have a theory that once a piece goes through an uncool phase and then comes back again, it's cool forever. I'm still gathering data: What do you think about this theory?
I have a theory that once a piece goes through an uncool phase and then comes back again, it's cool forever. I'm still gathering data: What do you think about this theory?
This particular Cesca chair has been refurbished with vintage fabric on the seat to reflect the homeowner's eclectic style. Cesca chairs currently come in the caned version or an upholstered version.
Here is another iconic machine-age tubular chair, the Brno Chair by Mies van der Rohe. He designed the chair in 1930, the same year he became the director of the Bauhaus.
The Brno chair is available in several leather colors, and with tubular or flat metal frames.
More Mies: If these are not van der Rohe's MR10 chairs, then they are good knockoffs. They are a pleasing combination of natural woven material and chrome, which adds such interesting textures to this eat-in kitchen space.
I have not found a good retail source for this woven version yet, however, a similar leather version, the MR Side Chair, can be found at reliable retailers. If anyone knows of a good source for authentic MR10s, please let us know in the Comments section.
I have not found a good retail source for this woven version yet, however, a similar leather version, the MR Side Chair, can be found at reliable retailers. If anyone knows of a good source for authentic MR10s, please let us know in the Comments section.
This image is a great example of how tubular chairs fit into the big picture. The architecture of the room features wood, drywall and steel; the metal in the chairs complements the structure of the room.
This leather and chrome beauty is the Spoleto chair. While it resembles similar styles born in the 1920s-30s, it was designed in 1971.
It takes minimal modernism and sexes it up a bit, giving its leather slingbacks a corset that looks like it could be removed with one tug of a string (it can't). Perhaps this added sexiness was inspired by all that free lovin' during that era!
It takes minimal modernism and sexes it up a bit, giving its leather slingbacks a corset that looks like it could be removed with one tug of a string (it can't). Perhaps this added sexiness was inspired by all that free lovin' during that era!
I am sorry to report I have absolutely no idea where to find these stunning mid-century chairs, but at least we can admire their unique shapes and upholstery here.
If you have Breuer taste on a beer budget, these Pony Chairs from CB2 are a perfect answer. You may buy them as stand-ins while you save up for Breuer and subsequently decide that you never want to replace them.
Another stylish yet budget-friendly choice are these futuristic TOBIAS chairs from IKEA. Check out the shape their bases form on the floor – a sure sign of a clever photo stylist.
You don't have to go totally tubular at the dining table. The mix of stools, a dining bench, and the tubular chairs works well here, with the bench and low stools allowing the view of the tabletop to remain clear from across the room.
However, I bet dinner guests vie for the tubular chairs. Can't you just see someone spinning back and forth on that stool thinking, "Why does that guy get the leather chair while I'm stuck on this Bob Cratchit stool?"
More:
Modern Icons: The LC4 Chaise Longue
Modern Icons: The Barcelona Chair
However, I bet dinner guests vie for the tubular chairs. Can't you just see someone spinning back and forth on that stool thinking, "Why does that guy get the leather chair while I'm stuck on this Bob Cratchit stool?"
More:
Modern Icons: The LC4 Chaise Longue
Modern Icons: The Barcelona Chair