Your Favorite Outdoor Chair Got an Upgrade in These New Collections
Two design experts help us pick the best from well-known archetypes, including the Adirondack, bistro, and lawn chairs.
Two design experts help us pick the best from well-known archetypes, including the Adirondack, bistro, and lawn chairs.
If you follow furniture fashion, you’ve noticed that many new outdoor collections look like they belong in the living room rather than on the lawn. The pieces can be comfortable, but the trend has left us longing for the familiar forms and easygoing attitude of patio classics.
We chose our favorite five and asked experts Aric Chen, the general and artistic director at Het Nieuwe Instituut in the Netherlands, and Emily Orr, the associate curator and acting head of product design and decorative arts at Cooper Hewitt in New York City, to tell us how these archetypes took over lawns, decks, and stoops across the globe. Then we gathered a group of contemporary chairs—most recently released or available in new colors—that riff on the qualities we love about the originals.
Adirondack Chairs
The Roger Adirondack Chair by Atra Form
Photo courtesy of Atra Form
"There are some crazy images of Victorian people putting their parlor furniture on the front lawn," says Emily Orr. "The Adirondack chair was different for its time because it was actually made for use outdoors, from local materials that reflect natural surroundings."
Lawn Chairs
The Classic Lawn Chair by MoMA Design Store
Photo courtesy of Moma Design Store
"I grew up in Chicago, so there are a lot of wonderful midwestern vignettes where these chairs play a prominent role in my mind," Aric Chen says. "I have an image of people pulling folded ones out of the trunks of their cars at the beach or Fourth of July barbecues, carrying a 7-Eleven Big Gulp in one hand."
Bistro Chairs
The Corso Bistro Chair by Robert Stadler for Maison Drucker
Photo courtesy of Maison Drucker
See the full story on Dwell.com: Your Favorite Outdoor Chair Got an Upgrade in These New Collections
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