You beauty

And here we have the E1 Elastic Suspension Chair or 'The Eleanor' designed in 1954 by Australian designer Grant Featherston.  We're fast developing a thing for Featherston's designs, and it's easy to see why ..... this baby's a real beauty don't you think?

Image:  The Design Assassin

Mouth-watering

We seem to be spending far too much time over at City-Furniture and, guess what, we don't care!  Their latest piece of deliciousness is this beautifully shaped sofa designed by French designer Pierre Guariche for Meurop in the 1960s.  With its original upholstery intact, the colours are both contrasting and mouth-watering ........ and the shape so inviting.

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So, what of the designer?  Well, in the late 1950s Guariche became head of the design studio of the Belgian company Meurop.  There he created very elegant furniture for very low budgets.  Perhaps best-known for the lighting he designed for French lighting manufacturer Disderot in the 1950s, Guariche was also a prolific and innovative chair designer.  At the height of his career, Guariche worked mostly as an architect, seeing himself as an architect first and foremost.  However, his approach to both contemporary furniture and architecture was primarily motivated by emphasis on form and volume.  Overall, his designs reflect a commitment to simplicity and to creating furniture in series which can be industrially produced.

Credits/Images:  City-Furniture, Demisch Danant

Lovely seat

This simple yet beautiful Ercol Loveseat was designed by Lucian Ercolano in 1956.  This example is the earlier model - no. 349 - which has thirteen spindles making up the back rest as opposed to the later version designed in the 1960s which has nineteen.  With its timeless purity of form, it's easy to see why Ercol remains as popular as ever and is still as 'fashionable' as it was way back when.

Images:  HOWE

Side stepping

The looky-likey Elisabeth chair (by Ib Kofod-Larsen) caught our eye in this all-white interior, but it was the teak sideboard that really grabbed our attention.  For a while now we've been after a sideboard that has sliding doors - and this one is just like the one we've been dreaming of!  Armed with this inspiration, our search continues ......

Images:  Stadshem

shattered dreams

Designed by Charlotte Perriand for the Ski Resort Les Arcs ski resort during the 1960s, there's no denying that the combination of the stark chrome tubular frame and invitingly rich tones of the tanned leather make this chair a real beauty. But, rather disappointingly, it's terribly uncomfortable. Why oh why did we have to go and sit on one? We so wanted this chair to be a hit - an all-round hit. Guess it only wins a place in the style stakes!

Images:  MidMod Design

Token gesture

Now and again a new design just leaps out at us, and the Catenary Dining Chair did just that.  Crafted in partially recycled steel, wood, leather and ballistic nylon, the Catenary Dining Chair is designed, developed and handcrafted by TOKENnyc, a design studio which is characterised by, amongst other things, its 'observation and careful consideration of function, structural ingenuity, material dynamics and aesthetic coherence'.   For us, this chair's similarity to Eileen Gray's Roquebrune Chair, in terms of its form and materials employed, was an immediate draw - but to compare does not do this intriguing, dare we say captivating, design justice .....

Credits/Images:  TOKENnyc

Budge up

Today we are mostly digging this four seater sofa by American furniture designer Milo Baughman.  Designed in 1965, the original upholstery ain't looking too shabby - no missing buttons, no frayed arms ..... and that fabric doesn't appear to have lost any of its vibrancy and just oozes mid-century charm.  If only we had the room! 

Credits/Images:  The Good Mod

Piping hot

We're partial to a bit of good upholstery, especially on a shapely specimen.  This 1960s armchair, with its delightful turned teak legs, has been beautifully reupholstered in a grey marl wool with contrast black piping.  Nice!

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Images:  Ravenwares

Bikini weather

We first set eyes on a Bikini Chair at The Vintage Furniture Flea back in March.  Designed by Hans Olsen for Frem Røjle and dating from c. 1961, the progressive design of the Bikini Chair placed Olsen light years ahead of his contemporaries.  The compound forming of the wood proved an extremely difficult process which created a limited production and a high unit cost - making this chair quite a rarity.  In the flesh this chair's big, brutish and attention-seeking, but its definitely got something about it!

Images/Credits:  Bond & Bowery, Mutual Art, Live Auctioneers, [unattributed], Style Hive   

Through the keyhole

Q:  Who lives in a house like this?

A:  Eero Aaarnio

Images:  Rachael Smith

Back to black

She was always a thing of beauty, just a little sad, tired and neglected.  Now she's back to her old self and, whilst she likes to bear all, can be spotted from time to time draped in sheepskin.  Phwoar ...... what a stunner!

Images: © chairsmith