When furnishing cases you have to be careful of many things: the furniture you choose must be practical, comfortable and also beautiful. According to common sense, however, designer chairs satisfy only the last of the three characteristics listed. We are in fact used to seeing them as graceful objects, but also terribly uncomfortable and made with materials of dubious origin. Nothing could be more false: many designer and original chairs might surprise you!
Contemporary designer chairs please both the eyes and your poor tired limbs. It all lies in knowing how to choose the right ones, also based on your taste and the room to be furnished .
- Design chairs and armchairs: why “complicate your life”
- What contemporary design chairs are made of
- Not just plastic: wooden design chairs
- Which designer chairs to choose for the kitchen
- World famous design chairs
Design chairs and armchairs: why “complicate your life”
As mentioned above, for many people “design” is synonymous with “inconvenience”. When we talk about chairs of this type, we always think of strange objects on which it is barely possible to sit. In reality, design chairs and armchairs follow the opposite philosophy: to integrate form and function of the product . So not only are they not uncomfortable, but they are often much more comfortable than traditional chairs.
The design of a traditional piece of furniture always tends to favor aesthetics or comfort. Known and therefore reassuring lines are followed, materials that are easy to manage are used. In design, however,. The designer questions the aspects taken for granted. He therefore chooses lines and materials on the basis of their actual usefulness / aesthetic performance, even though they may seem “strange” at a glance.
Experimentalism thus pushed , unrelated to traditional furniture, allows us to achieve two objectives:
- original shapes never seen before;
- comfort and functionality .
This second aspect is perhaps what interests us most: design chairs and armchairs are not only beautiful, they are also practical . The curved shapes, the backrests so different from the chairs you have in the kitchen, the materials whose names you can’t even pronounce, all have their own function. The final result is the production of comfortable and exceptional design chairs for all tastes! What contemporary design chairs are made of
To create original chairs, you need materials that can be declined in any shape . This is why design furniture is so much connected to the use of plastic materials, which are versatile and easy to work with. Beyond plastic there is much more, however.
- Polypropylene , a thermoplastic polymer that resists shocks and bad weather well. It is suitable for garden chairs, but is also used in interior design.
- Polycarbonate , other plastic. Compared to polypropylene it is more transparent and shiny, therefore suitable for semi-transparent furniture.
- Stainless steel , a material already used for the legs of chairs and tables. Some professionals use it to make the skeleton of contemporary design chairs. Others go further and exploit its strength and lightness to obtain indestructible chairs.
- Padding and fabrics . Depending on how you will use the chair, you may need some good padding. The design furniture makes them using natural and artificial fabrics, designed to be tear and stain resistant.
- Leather , used as an alternative to fabric to obtain a suggestive mix between ancient and contemporary.
- Rattan and wicker , materials used to give an ethnic touch to design furniture.
- Wood , although apparently it is the least flexible there can be. How do you use it
Not just plastic: wooden design chairs
Plastic is still today one of the most used materials for contemporary design chairs . Unfortunately it is not natural and it is not always recyclable, which raises several perplexities in those who love the environment. An unexpected alternative comes from wood , a material rich in positive characteristics but not very suitable for design. Or at least so many believe.
The problem with wood is that, normally, it does not allow to obtain curved lines without enormous waste. To make a curved armrest you should use a bar that is 10 times thicker than the final diameter. Yet wooden design chairs exist, they also have curved lines and do not involve so much waste.
To use wood, contemporary design uses techniques to bend it without breaking it . You then start from a straight wooden bar and roll it up in the way you prefer. How Steam
is used to soften the fibers and heat to dry them, so that they shrink. Calibrating wet and hot, a little pressure is enough to bend the wood and make it take the desired shape.
The technique is very ancient, but contemporary design is rediscovering and perfecting it. In this way it is possible to obtain designer wooden chairs that are robust, ergonomic and also ecological. Which designer chairs to choose for the kitchen
Wood is the material of kitchen furniture par excellence and this also applies to chairs. Alternatively, you can turn to steel or plastic materials, as long as the chairs are:
- high and deep “the right” . When choosing designer chairs for the kitchen , you must always keep in mind the use you will make of them. If you need them for a snack top , tall models in the style of bar stools are fine. If, on the other hand, you have to use them for a traditional table , you have to stick to conventional measures. Avoid chairs with a seat that is too deep which, however comfortable, would make it more difficult to eat;
- read . Design chairs for the kitchen must be easy to move and manage, given that the environment is dynamic. Therefore, avoid models that are too heavy and bulky;
- easy to clean , for obvious reasons. Between sauces, wine and fruit juices, stains are always around the corner. This excludes a priori the upholstered chairs, much appreciated instead for offices and living areas;
- in harmony with the table . In a living area , design chairs and armchairs can be the focal element around which to build the rest. In a kitchen, they are one with the table. Always try to choose all the pieces together , so as to maintain harmony.
World Famous Design Chairs
We have seen what materials are used for contemporary design chairs and how to incorporate them into a kitchen. All that remains is to find out which chairs have made the history of design and beyond. Who knows, this list of popular designer chairs might give you some ideas:
- Thonet n.14, 1859, the mother of wooden design chairs . Michael Thonet was the first to perfect the wood bending technique we talked about above.
- Red Blue Chair, 1918. The clear lines and squares of color make it look like a Mondrian work made into a chair .
- Wassily armchair, 1925. Speaking of design chairs and armchairs , we cannot fail to mention one of the most “frightening” models in history. The bent steel tube frame was so innovative, in fact, that it scared a good chunk of potential buyers.
- MR 10 Mies, 1927, a real piece of history and one of the most famous (and imitated) design chairs . It was the second chair to exploit the cantilevered frame, after an otherwise more traditional Stam model.
- Bertoia, 1952. Made up of a steel mesh, it is as comfortable as it is innovative.
- Tulip, 1957. It was the first one-legged chair , designed to reduce confusion in bur and pub. A success that still inspires many designers today.
- Panton, 1960. In the 1960s, the Pantone shoes marked an era: they were the first design chairs made with a single casting of plastic material . A revolution.
Which is your favorite among these
Let yourself be captivated by the design for everyone ! Maybe looking around you might find something similar!
