For over 200 years Thonet has been designing and making furniture meant to last, meant to work with the human body and meant to delight with its design. Many iconic and timeless pieces in bentwood or tubular steel have enjoyed subtle updates to fit them out for modern demands, whether that be new finishes (including allweather outfits for indoor or outdoor use) or to come with the option of a swivel and castor base for easy mobility.
Newer offerings such as the 520 chair by Marco Dessi have been made very much with plush comfort in mind, either in the dining room or indeed for any occasional use, while honouring the unique and refined Thonet DNA. Which means careful attention to clever, practical touches such as, an easy ‘carry handle’ in the form of the typical bentwood element – in this case the ‘cut-out’ at the back.
Some Thonet chairs do even more than double duty. A benchmark from the Bauhaus era by Mart Stam, the S 43, has been re-purposed in its time from a dining chair to outdoor seating, to child-size seating… and now also with the aforementioned option of a mobile pedestal base. When thinking of furniture, it may be wise to think like Thonet. Inimitable ideas and ethics that have sustained the one-and-only original brand for 200 years.
520
Marco Dessí has created a contemporary interpretation of the classic Thonet bentwood heritage with his new upholstered chair 520. Ideal for multiple uses, it’s available with or without armrests, but each with the distinctive arc that forms a unit with the back legs – and is so characteristic to Thonet. Invitingly comfortable, it comes in a variety of wood finishes, fabrics and colours.
210
This elegant bentwood icon is a masterpiece in its construction and production: the frame that forms both the backrest and armrest is worked from a single piece of solid beech wood and the chair consists of only six parts. Both lightweight and comfortable, it’s available with all beech wood elements in a variety of colour stains, and the seat can be in wicker, moulded plywood or upholstered in leather or fabric. Perfect… anywhere.
S 32 –S 64
This iconic range by Marcel Breuer from the Bauhaus era makes an art form of comfort in gently flexing cantilevered tubular steel. With seats and backrests in wicker, mesh, leather or fabric, there’s even more versatility to this design. Long collected and cherished as both a dining chair and an office chair, this design does whatever is needed of it and now also comes with the updated option of pedestal base on mobile castors.
S 43
Mart Stam’s pioneering design, the S 43 chair from Thonet, has proved its longevity by taking up multiple applications and versions. From stackable dining chair it has stepped outside to become a classic in garden furniture. So loved is this design, a child-sized model was made by popular demand. And now it’s also available on castors for those who simply have to roll with the times and easily relocate the chair wherever it may be needed. Its tubular steel frame comes in a range of finishes, with extensive colour choices for its plywood seat and backrest.
214
The benchmark in multi-use wooden chairs. Invented by master carpenter Michael Thonet 200 years ago, this genuine classic was the first mass-produced piece of furniture and rightly became ubiquitous from homes to hospitality venues to workshops and studies, indeed anywhere a good, lasting, beautiful, reliable chair was needed. Eminently collectible and the ultimate in versatility.
