5 Iconic Chairs Your Bum Should Know About

Mid-century was a great time for furniture design broadly. Specifically, it was a true heyday for seating. The quilted cushioned lounger is quintessentially Eames. When accompanied by the storied spinning ottoman, this 1956 gem is kind of the holy grail for design fans. These are so rare, in fact, that only a handful have come up to market in the decades since it was first created. The Eames 670/671 is one for the books, so if you ever spy one in the wild, please,pleaselet us know.

Lovers of art nouveau furniture will be no strangers to Otto Wagner’s minimal classic executed by Thonet. Like many of his generation, functionality was placed at the forefront of design, with aesthetics following closely after. That’s not to say his pieces weren’t beautiful. Quite the contrary, in fact. He implemented his hierarchy of materials in creating his chairs, choosing specific materials for specific locations. Armchairs in the boardroom of the Postparkasse, for example, were made of beechwood-stained mahogany with brass accents, while those for directors were subtler with a grey stain and aluminium mounts. So, for Wagner, form really must follow function.

You probably know it as the Wishbone chair, and we could bet that you’ve seen a knockoff or two (or a real one if you’re lucky!) around town. Created by the master of Danish chair design, Carl Hansen, the CH24 has been in continuous production ever since it first hit the scene back in 1950. Coveted for its timelessness and simplicity, the Wishbone chair is another that’s right at home in any space, whatever the style.