Modern Icons: The Marais A Chair
French Industrial Style For Your Kitchen — or Your Casio
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
Since I wrote about vintage-modern style yesterday, I thought I'd follow up with a modern icon that has become wildly popular: The 1934 French cafe chair. These are available under a few names, but the original is called the Marais A Chair for Tolix. Full Disclosure: I am biased. These are the chairs I have in my own dining room. Hand over my heart, they are very sturdy and comfortable. Let's take a look at how they look in images from around Houzz.
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| This white chairs help connect the color palette of the sitting area with that of the dining area in this vintage modern open space.
The chairs are available in a range of powder-coated colors; most recently I've seen them at Design Within Reach in yummy vermillion and plum, and at Sundance (that's where I got mine). |
by Nicole Hollis
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These chairs love to pull up to a farmhouse table. Extra comfort has been added here with seat cushions, but I promise they are not necessary!
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Apparently, the chair is great for banging on the Casio keyboard.
Side Note: I wonder if he knows "Axel F" or the theme from Miami Vice?
Side Note: I wonder if he knows "Axel F" or the theme from Miami Vice?
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| The Marais A is a good choice for a kitchen desk area. In this kitchen, it coordinates with matching counter stools, like the ones you'll see in the next picture. |
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| There is also a stool version, which adds its own element of industrial chic to a kitchen island.
Tip: Counter stools that can be tucked under your kitchen island or breakfast bar save floor space and visual space. The lines are so clean on this island that it lets us really admire the gorgeous counter top and pendants. Seats with high backs would not have allowed for this here. |
These chairs were first produced in 1934. Thus, they work well with Arts and Crafts homes from that era. In that same vein, the chairs are handcrafted, and no two are exactly alike.
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If you're lucky, you can still find vintage versions around. It's fun to think about their history; according to DWR, some of them could have had a past life on the S.S. Normandie oceanliner.
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All right, here are mine. I was so anxious to take a shot that the price tag is still on the one on the right — some seriously tacky photo styling on my part!
Next: Get inspired by more modern icons
Next: Get inspired by more modern icons
Ideabook published on Jan. 18, 2011.
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http://www.copycatchic.com/2010/04/design-within-reach-marais-chair.html