If you love this image, buy a print here
Everyone knows the imagery. Strolling down the streets of Paris. Locals enjoying their cafe au lait at the sidewalk bistros sitting on simple wooden chairs that make it seem as though the restaurant owners bought them all at the same time.
Why are they everywhere? Keep reading, friend.
Michael Thonet side chair from FashionSeating.com. See resources.
These particular cafe chairs are a product of the (European) Industrial Revolution. In a time when tapestry and elaborate carvings were all the rage, an innovative cabinet maker named Michael Thonet (1796-1871) did some revolutionizing of his own. He rejected the current trends and utilized the new advances in steam technology to create a chair made from bent beech wood. The process used only 6 pieces of solid wood, which reduced the number of joints needed and is constructed with only 2 screws instead of glue. The production was so simple and cost effective that his cafe chair, traditionally called the Model 14, took off with restaurants and cafes all over Europe. The design won him numerous awards and has since become a design classic.
Design history is all around you. The more you learn, the more you'll enjoy the world around you.
Buy this modern version at Crate & Barrel for $179 - also featured in today's French kitchen buying guide.
Sources:
-Italian Cafe Print available from Rebecca Plotnick on Etsy ($30 for 8x10 print) at http://www.etsy.com/listing/95600702/italian-cafe-in-black-and-white-8x10
-Thonet Chair from FashionSeating.com at http://www.fashionseating.com/Michael-Thonet-Side-Chair_p6014-S.html
-Barstool from Crate & Barrel at http://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/dining-kitchen-barstools/vienna-black-barstool/f36718
Ireland, J. (2009). History of interior design. US: Fairchild Publishing.
