Is there any item of furniture more conducive to endless reinvention, more expressive of an infinite array of design sensibilities, than the chair? From Shaker and Mission styles to the innovations of Charles and Ray Eames, the chair has always represented the paramount incarnation of practical design in everyday life, and a distinctive chair design still has the power to entirely alter the feel and look of a space. This all-new survey of innovative seating designs, compiled by Charlotte and Peter Fiell, renowned authorities on the subject, showcases over 1,000 chairs by some of the world's greatest designers, from Alvar Aalto to Marco Zanuso. Here you'll find such outstanding furniture as a woven cane indoor/outdoor chair made by British designer Harry Peach circa 1913, the slats of its sides sloping gracefully as the frame of a harp; the red Baker sofa, designed by Finn Juhl in 1951, with the upper portion of its backrest seeming to hover in the air; and the NV-53 sofa and chairs, which showcased the marvelous flowing lines Danish craftsmen coaxed from teak.
