Monday, May 31, 2010

Chair Chat...

Above: Hans Wegner wishbone chair, photo from Design of the 20th Century, TASCHEN

I LOVE chairs. I have way too many of them. I used to have way too many shoes (I used to love shoes---but now I only love the comfortable ones and those are the only ones I keep around. They are very few.) I've been daydreaming about owning a flock of Hans Wegner "wishbone" chairs for a couple of years. I've trimmed back my dream a bit to the idea of having only one---even a knock-off. They are quite pricey---one chair costs about $300 more than my monthly mortgage payment. If I had only one, it would keep company around my breakfast table with other (inexpensive) mid-century modern wood chairs I've collected from craigslist, etc.
A bit about the Wegner wishbone chair...The wishbone chair was Designed by Danish designer Hans J. Wegner in 1949. It is also known as the Model No. CH24 Y-chair and was licensed to the Johannes Hansen furniture making company along with numerous other chair designs by Hans Wegner. Johannes Hansen company has become the Carl Hansen & Sons Company. "By the 1950s, Wegner was one of the leading exponents of Scandinavian design and was internationally celebrated for his exquisitely balanced and beautifully crafted chairs that were, for the most part, constructed of solid wood. As a gifted designer and craftsman, Wegner simplified form and construction to create beautiful modern re-workings of traditional furniture types." (from Design of the 20th Century, Charlotte & Peter Fiell, Taschen 1999). The wishbone or Y-chair is still made today in a variety of hardwoods. Room & Board makes a version of the wishbone chair for $300--- $600 less than the licensed Carl Hansen & Sons Company version, depending on the wood variety and seat treatment selected. In 2010 Carl Hansen company began making a version in several shades of painted blue.
Photo above: Carl Hansen & Sons
Two weeks ago, I ran across a second-hand oak wishbone (knockoff) chair at a consignment shop asking what I considered a very reasonable price. I fell all over myself anxiously carrying it up to the counter. (Funny, I don't think I've ever carried a piece of furniture up to the counter. I guess I was afraid it would run away or vanish as if it were only a figment of imagination, if I didn't personally escort it to the counter.) It truly is a simple elegantly clean-lined beautifully designed chair as well as being physically well balanced and structurally sound. I have it home now in my breakfast room---the room is still under construction or I'd post photos here. I am including a few photos I've admired over the last couple of years that show this chair situated in various settings. They've provided fuel for my daydreams. ;o)

Living Etc.





1 comment:

  1. Such great information in this post and I love the chairs painted in aqua! Glad you now have a chair of your own!!!

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