These top 5 stylish accent chairs will transform your space into the ultimate hangout lounge for you and your guests.
You see them everywhere. You see them on influencer’s social media pages. Chairs, chairs, chairs!
Since interior design started trending in the past couple of years with the rise of influencers, we see a whole new trend surrounding chairs. Not only are we to partly thank influencers, but also the shift in our way of thinking. The way the world works has changed as times have grown uncertain. There is a renewed passion for vintage and repurposed work as sustainability has become a considerable influence in our lives. It is also possible that because many of us are now working from home, we want to make our spaces feel visually uplifting. Offices, too, are seeing this trend. Part of living in the 21st century is acknowledging that people love to be aesthetically pleased and extremely comfortable.
Chairs are not just for sitting anymore. They have become an investment, a piece of art for the homeowner.
For my birthday, I was given the Wassily chair. It is my favorite piece in the apartment and probably my favorite selection of furniture/home decor that I have ever owned. The Wassily has wholly transformed my space and set the artistic, mid-century tone that I have been desperately longing for. I finally have something that demonstrates my passion for interior design and how my style has matured under Bauhaus influences, an art movement that has inspired my taste.
What I am sharing with you are considered cultural pieces of art. These pieces have designers, a long history behind them, and influences from lifestyle movements worldwide. These chairs tell a story and are worth investing in. Most blogs will show you a picture of the chair and take you to the price tag, but there is so much history behind these chairs. It is worth understanding the history and influence of these designs because they can further help you figure out what your style is and how you design your home. If you’re considering purchasing one or seeing that the vintage, the original version is too pricey, you can always buy the replica. People appreciate beauty when they see it, regardless of the price tag.
The Wassily Chair
The Wassily was designed by Hungarian/American artist Marcel Breuer in 1925. Breuer was the head of cabinet-making at the Bauhaus, a German art school when he created this masterpiece. It is named after the artist Wassily Kandinsky, but it was not commissioned or inspired by him. It was simply called the Wassily chair because of how much the great Kandinsky admired the chair. It is also known as the Model B3 chair. The minimalistic aesthetic demonstrates Breuer’s intention of function over form. The chair is stripped down to the essential elements, a tubular steel frame and stretched canvas.
The Wegner Wishbone Chair
The Wishbone was designed by the Danish artist Hans Wegner in 1942. Also known as the CH24 Chair, Wegner created this piece exclusively for Carl Hansen and Son. If you take a closer look, the chair is designed so that the back and the armrest are a single unit held together by a Y-shaped end, which creates the illusion of a wishbone. Each chair is hand-woven and hand-manufactured, which is why so many people can appreciate its durability and satisfying aesthetic.
The Womb Chair
The Womb Chair is one of the most popular innovations to come from the Mid-Century Movement, my personal favorite design movement. The chair was designed by Finnish-American industrial designer Eero Saarinen in 1948, with the help of designer Florence Knoll. According to Manhattan Home Design, ‘It was first named No.7, but a chair as creative as Saarinen’s begging for an equally creative name. Saarinen renamed the chair to the Womb Chair, a nod to his cynical belief that “a great number of people have never really felt comfortable and secure since they left the womb.’ The chair was meant to provide comfort by way of the flexibility of the position, and the large shell had a womb-like quality, supporting its name.”
The Flag Halyard Chair
Remember Hans Wegner and his Wishbone chair? Well, he wasn’t finished making history. The Flag Halyard Chair was designed by Wegner in the 1940s. Wegner’s chair is apparently inspired by a holiday vacation to the beach. While sitting on a sand dune, he began drawing up his model for the chair with some rope (a halyard) that he had on him. How inspiring! It is important to note that Wegner’s designs were focused on function over form, a prominent characteristic of the mid-century modernist era, which he helped define. Even though the chair is exceptionally stylish, his intention in making the chair was to demonstrate his ability to create a comfortable, practical chair made in any material. Nowadays, the Halyard Chair comes in several different styles and materials. However, the design stays essentially the same, a true testament to Wegner’s ingenuity.
The Knoll Warren Platner Chair
Warren Platner created the Platner Chair in 1966. Platner was heavily influenced and worked under our dear friend, Eero Saarinen (recall the Womb Chair). He worked at the firm of Eero Saarinen and Associates. The apple surely does not fall far from the tree. Instead of trying to explain this one, I prefer you read what Mr. Platner had to say on his inspiration himself, “”I began to think about what I thought furniture, specifically a chair, really might be, starting with the philosophy that it isn’t going to be aggressively technological, or aggressively handicraft…I, as a designer, felt there was room for the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful kind of design that appeared in period style like Louis XV, but it could have a more rational base instead of being applied decoration…I thought why separate support from the object. Just make it all one thing. Starts at the floor and comes up and envelops me, supports me…What I wanted to achieve was a chair that, number one, was complementary to the person sitting in it, or to the person in the space between the wall and the chair — what the chair did for the person in respect to the scale of the person and the space.””
If you’re interested in purchasing any of these, vintage or replica, I suggest checking out these stores:
Happy hunting!