Sorry, it's been a while since my last post, kids on holidays, so busy busy busy!!!!!
The other day I was discussing with a friend the furniture company Thonet, and their classic 'Bentwood' range of chairs! It got me thinking "why is this chair such a classic"? It just seems to make any restaurant or cafe look sooooooooo chic and french, particularly if the table has a perfectly starchy white table cloth!!! This chair certainly doesn't seem to be in fashion at the moment, (the "IN" look) but I'm sure it will eventually end up around many kitchens tables again, when trends turn!!!!
So, why is this chair called the 'bentwood'? Honestly, sometimes I say words without thinking, BENT WOOD, hmmmmm! BENT WOOD, ahhh of course the chair is made of bent wood!!!!! It was designed by Michael Thonet (german) in 1856 and is one of the world's most successful commercial products. It consists of only six components (plus a few screws and nuts) and the design has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 150 years. The uniqueness of Thonet's design came when he discovered a way to curve and bend wood through steaming and boiling certain liquids, which changed the state of the wood allowing it to be pliable, allowing him to design "MODEL NO.14 BENTWOOD CHAIR"!!!!! Freaken genius! This chair became so popular that even Picasso had one in his studio. This Bentwood Thonet-style chair is manufactured by so many different companies and comes now in stools, armed chairs, rocking chairs etc....that it is impossible to calculate how many have been produced. Often referred to as the Bistro Chair, it has become the most influential design in the history of furniture. WOW!!! I didn't know that! I always thought it was just a pretty chair! Click link to view Thonet website
click on images to see enlarged! X
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