An iconic chair design represents more than the union of form and function, it embodies engineering, practicality, and imagination. Apart from providing a place to rest, a chair can demonstrate the very best in innovative design, indicate the most individual tastes, and can be the measure of wider artistic and cultural movements.
The 20th century was the golden age of the ‘modern chair.’ In this period, technological innovation and the rising flexibility of the masses drove the best designers to take up the task of re-inventing a simple piece of furniture. This task is still going on, with amazing chair designs pouring into the furniture market. Here are the 30 most famous chairs of all time, showcasing inspirational form and function.
Barcelona Chair
Designer: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich
One of the most frequently used chairs in interior design, the Barcelona Chair resulted from a collaboration between the famous Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and his longtime partner-companion, architect, and designer Lilly Reich.
It is one of the most recognized objects of the last century and an icon of the modern movement. The Barcelona Chair displays a simple elegance that exemplifies Mies’ famous maxim – “less is more.”
The chair is supported on each side by two chrome-plated flat steel bars. Seen from the side, a single curve of the bar forming the chair’s back and front legs crosses the S-curve of the bar forming the seat and back legs, making an intersection of the two. The cantilevered seat and the back of the original chairs were upholstered in white kid leather with welt and button details.
Eames Lounge Chair
Designer: Charles and Ray Eames
Ray and Charles Eames were among the most influential furniture designers of their time. In 1956, they designed a Lounge Chair + Ottoman, which was way ahead of its time.
The furniture combo was made of black leather and laminate plywood. This unique chair incorporates a two-directional design and is composed of three curved plywood shells draped in leather cushioning. All parts of the chair – headrest, backrest, and seat are identical in proportion and so is the ottoman. This was a pioneering design and the chair is popular to this day.
Egg Chair
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
The Jacobsen’s Egg Chair first appeared in the reception areas of the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. This chair was a culmination of a new technique that Jacobsen established with the Egg. Like a sculptor, Jacobsen first sculpted the Egg out of clay in his garage so he could perfect the shape. Then, he molded the Egg Chair out of a strong foam inner shell under the upholstery. It also includes a footrest to complement the sculptural armchair.
The result is an exclusively unique shape, through which the Egg Chair affords privacy in otherwise public spaces. A testament to the originality and timeless design. The first 50 editions of Egg Chair were made with a variety of colorful fabrics and different leather. It’s the fabric and leather finish coupled with sculptural curves that provide the Egg Chair with a classic appeal.
Louis Ghost Chair
Designer: Philippe Starck
Named so aptly, Louis Ghost Chair is the essence of baroque revisited to dazzle, excite, and fascinate. It is a comfortable armchair in transparent and colored polycarbonate in the Louis XV style. This unique chair has great charm and considerable visual appeal and brings a touch of elegance and irony to any style of home or public area.
It is the most daring example in the world of injected polycarbonate in a single mold. Despite its fleeting and crystal-clear appearance, Louis Ghost is stable and durable, shock and weather-resistant, and can also be stacked six chairs high.
This elegant chair was at the height of European sophistication in the early 18th century, by the turn of the 21st century, this easily reproduced rococo item is nothing short of chintzy.
Womb Chair
Designer: Eero Saarinen
Regarded as one of the icons of post-war American modernism, the Womb Chair was designed in 1946 and has been manufactured by Knoll since 1948. This armchair is the first piece of mass-produced furniture in the history of design with an integrated seat shell made of fiber-reinforced plastic.
The expansive foam upholstered shell, which has two inset cushions for added comfort, is supported by a bent tubular steel frame. Saarinen developed the Womb Chair in close collaboration with a boat builder.
His motive was to design a chair that would allow a variety of sitting positions and create a special feeling of relaxation and coziness. The central design concept finds vivid expression in its name.
Papa Bear Chair
Designer: Hans J. Wegner
The gorgeous Papa Bear Chair, also known as the Teddy Bear Chair, has two outstretched arms with wood detailing that was once described by a critic as “great bear paws embracing you from behind”, hence the name.
It remains one of Wegner’s most exclusive designs due to the intensive and exacting nature of its construction, carried out by skilled Danish craftsmen.
The solid wood frame is hand-joined to provide a base for the traditional upholstery. Except for the seat cushion, no foam is used in the upholstery. The back and armrests are stuffed with cotton, palm, and flax fiber, and horsehair. The addition of springs creates a durable and enormously comfortable easy chair, which embraces the sitter in a warm hug.
Metropolitan Chair
Designer: Jeffrey Bernett
The Metropolitan Chair collection was created in 2003. It has an inviting design with a high back that offers the comfort one looks for in a chair. The high back is a great touch and the neck rest is held in place with magnets, making the chair adjustable for people of all heights. The swivel armchair is both sophisticated and casual and it has a very simple design.
There are two different structures, the former in plate steel both chromed and varnished, and the latter with a four-star brushed aluminum base. Malleable and easy to place alongside tables that differ in style, it allows to play with base and cover combinations: more serious in leather or colorful in fabric.
The matching ottoman is a perfect touch when you want some extra comfort and support. Moreover, the ottoman has a double function, it serves both as a comfortable seat or support for the legs and as an attractive addition to the home.
LC2 Poltrona Armchair
Designer: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand
The unique LC2 armchair has played a role in the history of furniture design. Created to enhance conversation, this armchair was displayed at the Salon d’Automne in Paris in 1929, as an archetype of the modern conception of furniture, dubbed “domestic equipment” by its creators.
The division of metal frame from upholstery conveys the Rationalist approach, this same separation responds to the logic of industrial manufacture, while also conjuring the architectural relationship between the load-bearing structure and the walls.
The balance between form and function derives from an in-depth study of human posture, and the human body, and through the use of the modular – a system based on the typical measurements of the male body and a mathematical language informed by the proportions of universal harmony.
Swan Chair
Designer: Arne Jacobsen
The Swan is a lounge chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in the Danish modern style in 1958 for the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The chair has been in production at Fritz Hansen ever since. Back then, the Swan was a technologically innovative chair, with no straight lines but only curves.
The Swan is built on a molded shell of synthetic material resting on an aluminum star base, with a layer of cold foam and upholstery covering the shell. The Swan is available in a wide range of leather and fabric upholstery. The star-shaped aluminum base is mounted to a satin-polished steel pedestal.
Panton Chair
Designer: Verner Panton
The Panton Chair is a classic in the furniture market. Designed in 1960, the chair was developed for serial production in collaboration with Vitra in 1967. Since its inception, it has advanced through several production phases.
It was the first chair to be manufactured entirely out of plastic in one single piece. The comfort of this chair results from the combination of a cantilever structure with an anthropomorphic shape and a slightly flexible material.
The Panton Chair has received several international design awards and is characterized in the collections of many prominent museums. Due to its expressive form, it has become an icon of the 20th century.
Wegner Wishbone Chair
Designer: Hans Wegner
The Wishbone Chair was the first of Wegner’s chairs for Carl Hansen & Son, debuting in 1949. This chair remains a classic to this day. The Wishbone Chair offers comfort and stability as well as satisfying aesthetic desires for a distinctive, elegant form.
While designing this chair, Wegner chose to combine the back and armrest into a single piece. To give stability to the steam-bent top and ensure comfortable support, Wegner developed the characteristic Y-shaped back that the Wishbone hair is named after.
Cone Chair
Designer: Verner Panton
The Cone Chair was designed by Verner Pantone for Vitra in 1958. Originally designed for a Danish restaurant, the Cone Chair takes its shape from the classic geometric figure – the cone.
The padded shell forms the back and armrests and together with the soft seat cushion creates an exceptionally comfortable armchair, which is mounted on an elegant stainless steel swivel base.
Ro Chair
Designer: Jaime Hayón
The Ro Chair is named after the Danish word for “tranquility.” It comes fully upholstered in a selection of unique Designer Selection colors with the option to select two fabrics: one for the shell and one for the cushions. The four-legged base is made of brushed aluminum or solid oak with a clear lacquer finish. Ro is also available in a wide range of standard fabrics and leather.
Since Spanish designer Jaime Hayón became part of the staff of designers with Fritz Hansen, he has shown humor and personality in all his designs – from the sheltered Ro Chair to the playful dining table.
Also Read: Most Influential Furniture Designers that Radicalized the Market
Cherner Chair
Designer: Norman Cherner
Norman Cherner designed the 1959 molded plywood armchair – a midcentury icon found in design collections worldwide. The Cherner Chair Company has been manufacturing iconic designs that were made famous by Norman Cherner in the 1950s.
Cherner Chair is still in popularity; produced in thorough detail from the original drawings and molds, the armchair combines the best of both molded plywood and solid bent wood construction.
Wassily Chair
Designer: Marcel Breuer
Drawing inspiration from the frame of a bicycle and influenced by the constructivist theories of the De Stijl Movement, Marcel Breuer reduced the classic club chair to its elemental lines and planes, hence changing the course of furniture design. The Wassily Chair was much more simplistic and structurally exposed compared to other chairs in the 1920s. It was an abstract piece of art to say.
The chair, later known as the “Wassily,” was first manufactured in the late 1920s by Thonet, the German-Austrian furniture manufacturer most known for its bent-wood chair designs, under the name Model B3. It was first available in both folding and non-folding versions. In this early iteration, the straps were made of fabric, taut on the reverse side with the use of springs.
Butterfly Chair
Designer: Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan, and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy
The Butterfly Chair – also known as the Hardoy Chair, Safari Chair, or Wing Chair – was designed in Buenos Aires. Knoll Associates acquired US production rights in the late 1940s and unsuccessfully pursued legal action against unauthorized copies, which continue to be produced to this day.
Thanks to the technological competence and fine craftsmanship of Knoll, today’s Butterfly has sinuous, dynamic lines, which are also made possible by the quality of the materials involved.
The structure is in chromium-plated or coated steel, in white or black, while the seat is made with thermoformed felt. The laser shaping of the fabric, without added stitching, permits the direct interlock of the seat and the steel framework, ensuring comfort and elegance.
Poäng Chair
Designer: Noboru Nakamura
Poäng Chair is a wooden armchair that has been sold by the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA since 1978. The Japanese designer, Noboru Nakamura created the chair in 1976 in collaboration with product manager Lars Engman.
Layer-glued bent birch frame provides the hair a comfortable resilience. The high back offers good support for your neck. It features thin upholstery, and its molded plywood frame swings slightly when a person sits in it, giving the impression of a rocking chair; Nakamura intended this to evoke a relaxing feeling.
There have been tweaks to the upholstery color and pattern to keep the chair relevant to consumer tastes, but the biggest change happened in the early ’90s. The chair’s seat was originally made from tubular steel, but in 1992, the company switched to an all-wood frame and also narrowed the size.
Cesca Chair
Designer: Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer created the Cesca Chair in 1928, which is believed to be the first bent tubular steel chair design. Named in tribute to his daughter Francesca, the simple design pairs the industrial-age aesthetic of tubular steel with caning and wood.
The material was lightweight, sturdy, and malleable enough to create the modernist furniture he envisioned. Cesca Chairs are manufactured by Knoll according to the original and exacting specifications of the designer.
The Cesca Chair has a rare, almost mild, simplicity to its design, linearity balanced by subtle curves; wicker caning punctuated by a wooden frame; and a cantilevered form that seems to float in thin air.
Adirondack Chair
Designer: Thomas Lee
The first Adirondack chair was created by Thomas Lee around 1903. The Adirondack chair is an outdoor lounge chair with wide armrests, a tall slatted back, and a seat that is higher in the front than the back. It is named after the Adirondack Mountains.
The original design featured a small number of flat wooden boards, with the seat support combined with the rear legs. Adirondack chairs are now often made by injection molding and can take any form.
In the ensuing 105 years, the chair has been adapted repeatedly. The back is often raked, made out of between 3 and 7 slats of wood instead of the single plank of the original Westport chair. The chairs are typically now made out of pine and other inexpensive woods. Despite these adaptations, Adirondack Chairs are remarkably recognizable and unflaggingly popular.
Lady Chair
Designer: Marco Zanuso
Considered an icon of the 1950s Italian design, the armchair-sofa Lady stands out for its extremely modern structure. A symbol of highest innovation, in terms of style, materials, and technology.
The Lady chair has a steel frame with poplar plywood armrests, padded in CFC-free polyurethane foam and polyester wadding. In addition to being the first armchair to include extended polyurethane and foam rubber, the armchair’s seat showcased a new system of springing, using reinforced elastic straps to ensure foremost comfort. Meanwhile, the slim-line metal legs exhibit the design’s lightness of touch.
The structure is contained in the seat, the back, and the arms, the outcome being a veritable masterpiece of Italian furniture design excellence; so much so that Lady was awarded the Gold Medal at the IX Milan Triennale, in 1951.
Director’s Chair
Designer: Gold Medal Camp Furniture Company
With design roots tracing back to the X-shaped Roman curule seat, the Director’s Chair received its present mark for its ubiquity on film sets. Its folding nature permits it to be transported effortlessly between locations.
It is a lightweight chair that folds side-to-side with a scissors action. The seat and back are made of canvas or a similar strong fabric that bears the full weight of the user and can be folded. The frame is made of wood, sometimes metal or plastic.
The seat and scissors members work together to support and distribute the sitter’s weight so that the seat is comfortably taut. The back is usually low and the chair usually has armrests.
Also Read: 10 Famous Chairs in Movies and Pop Culture
Tulip Chair
Designer: Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a visionary who, just like many mid-century modernists, was discomforted by the ugliness of the Second World War and considered the postwar world tumultuous and confusing. He did not like the furniture pieces with cluttered designs and multiple legs fanned around the rooms making them ugly, which inspired his Pedestal collection in 1957 as a remedy. The famous Tulip chair was a huge part of the collection.
Keeping in line with Saarinen’s design principles of “one piece, one material,” the seat of the Tulip chair was made from fiberglass from top to bottom. It does have an enameled aluminum base, which is integrated seamlessly to make the chair appear monolithic.
Flaunting the shape of its botanical namesake, the Tulip chair features a seat poised on a pedestal to replace the traditional chair legs. Each product in the Pedestal collection had only one leg to “clear up the slum of legs” under furniture and enhance the silhouette. The iconic chair is still in production through Knoll, whose founders were friends with Saarinen.
Ball Chair
Designer: Eero Aarnio
Finnish designer Eero Aarnio designed the Ball chair in 1963, which debuted at the Cologne Furniture Fair in 1966 and skyrocketed Aarnio’s fame. The futuristic shape of the chair was an immediate hit in the mid-1960s, becoming a centerpiece in modernist homes. Eero wished to create a chair large enough for his family of four to sit in together.
Made from hardened fiberglass on a steel swivel pedestal, the big chair has a fabric or leather inner lining to create a cocoon. There are 12 color options to choose from for complementing various settings. The popularity of the Ball chair made its way into the collections of design museums worldwide and movie sets, music videos, and magazine covers.
Sawbuck Chair
Designer: Hans Wegner
Designed by Hans Wegner in 1951, the Sawbuck chair is made from Danish oak and leather. Described as a mark of Wegner’s true genius, the chair features tapered legs that thicken at the joinery and a cut on the back support freeing it from the bearing structure. The design offers a sense of lightness to the chair.
The armrests shaped like surfboards jut out from the structure, giving it an organic shape in a modern way. The H-shape frame of the lounge chair redefined the comfort with the widened upholstered seat at the front. It also has two cutouts on the sides of its back to add a certain aesthetic charm.
The concave backrest allows various sitting postures in different settings. It is still in production with a variety of wood types and upholstery choices to better suit modern sensibilities.
Diamond Chair
Designer: Harry Bertoia
Designed by Harry Bertoia in 1955, the Diamond chair is an amazing piece of furniture with a seat pad and cover that attaches to the breathable structure made of welded steel rods. The pairing of sturdy industrial material with soft textiles makes it a true mid-century modern gem.
It flaunts a wire-like structure, which is a proud part of Knoll heritage. Florence and Hans always encouraged Bertoia to explore and experiment with different styles and materials to keep his creativity fed. Consequently, the designer elevated numerous furniture items beyond normal utility into sculptural pieces.
The Diamond lounge chair is a study in bent metal wires that add a sublime grace to the industrial material. Although versatile in its form and function, the chair cannot be used in outdoor spaces. It has plastic glides on the sled base to protect the floors from metal scratches and the Knoll logo stamped at the base.
Bubble Chair
Designer: Eero Aarnio
Designed in 1968, Eero Aarnio’s Bubble chair is a new take on his Ball chair. It is shaped like the Ball but hangs from the ceiling rather than standing on a pedestal. In his notes, the Finnish designer clarifies, “There is no way to make a clear pedestal.” The Bubble chair is made from acrylic and solid stainless steel. The cushions for this chair come in four different leather options.
The inspiration for the chair’s unique shape came from a young Eero’s fascination for soap bubbles. Although the Ball was a popular chair, reading inside it became a headache since no light could penetrate the hard shell. The clear body of the Bubble allowed light inside from all sides, making it ideal to cocoon inside and enjoy a book.
Much like making a blown glass lamp, the acrylic is heated and blown into a round shape for the chair. The addition of the solid steel frame adds an industrial aspect to the design. It certainly has – an oft-used to symbolize the ‘60s – modernist, Space Age allure about it.
Eames Molded Plastic Side Chair
Designer: Ray and Charles Eames
The great Eames couple were truly the monarchs of the Mid-Century Modern design. The unheard idea of a simple, sculptural, and mass-produced chair was materialized in 1950 when Ray and Charles Eames created the Eames molded plastic side chair. It became a ubiquitous piece of furniture across homes and offices.
It is arguably one of the most beloved designs of the 20th century and remains so even after nearly 55 years. A result of six years of experimenting with molded plywood to create a single-shell structure. The effort at molded plywood wasn’t successful at that time, but the vision was fulfilled first using fiberglass and then plastic.
The best aspect of the molded chair is that it can fit every type of body in any setting; for example, a chair would be equally at home in a museum, living room, or boardroom. The chair was reintroduced by Herman Miller in 2001 in polypropylene in nine new eco-friendly colors and three classic colors.
No. 14 Chair
Designer: Michael Thonet
Created in 1859 by German cabinetmaker Michael Thonet, the No. 14 chair is one of the most iconic designs of manufacturer Thonet and became the world’s first mass-produced chair. It won a gold medal when exhibited at the 1867 World Exposition in Paris and has been praised by numerous designers and architects, including Le Corbusier.
Made using bent wood through steam-bending, the chair is lightweight and durable. It features a sturdy build and organic form that has been in production for over 150 years.
The iconic piece of furniture was originally made of six pieces of steam-bent wood, ten screws, and two nuts. These chairs could be disassembled for easy transportation, making them the first-ever piece of furniture that could be shipped in parts.
Hoffmann Side Chair
Designer: Josef Hoffman and Josef Frank
The Hoffmann side chair was designed in 1925. It was produced at the same bentwood factory which Thonet founded and adapts many of Thonet’s design principles. The chair features a hand-woven cane seat and back to provide additional comfort and lightness to the piece of furniture.
The original version of the chair has a solid European beech frame, a hand-woven cane seat, and back in multiple finishes, and an upholstered seat pad in commercial versions. The chair became a part of modernist households and eateries.
Its simple, restrained yet nuanced design is still very much in demand. The Hoffmann chair comes in a side chair and armchair design. It is finished with an eco-friendly water-based stain and clear varnish that makes it perfect for cafes and restaurants.
Eames LCW Chair
Designers: Charles and Ray Eames
In 1945, the two-year-old Eames Office shifted its attention to design again as the war was coming to a close. Released in 1946, Time magazine called the Eames LCW “the chair of the century.” The Eames LCW chair was abbreviated for the Lounge Height (L) Side Chair (C) on Wood (W) Base.
The chair was a result of a process where thin wood veneer sheets were pressed sheets and bent. It was created by five layers of plywood, glued, and heated using a special machine to bend the wood. The chair features two curved legs of different sizes and a formed spine, adding a nuance absent from the contemporary furniture.
The chair was designed with a back and seat shape to contour the body of a sitter of any size. Still in production by Herman Miller, the LCW is available in different wood veneers and colors.
These famous chair designs have stood the test of time, have come of age, and are continuing to impress and invade our lifestyle. These have also been an inspiration for years and years of chair designs, which we have used and learned to appreciate.
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