Iconic Super Chaise

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Your B & B Host: I'm George Evans, and I've spent the last 20 years importing and exporting antiques and fine design pieces from Europe. I'm a New York City dealer and I have two showrooms in Lambertville, New Jersey.

This month we're highlighting a Mies van der Rohe MR Adjustable Chaise Lounge. Here's the big headline, folks: this chaise lounge is timeless furniture design. It was first designed in 1927, and this is a 1980s Knoll issue. The chaise will fit into any late 20th century interior. Even though it was created in the Art Deco period, the design is advanced well beyond the limits of the period. You are looking at styling genius at work here.

Why is this chaise collectible? This is a 1980s creation of a 1920s classic furniture design. It's a piece that is still made today at a much higher cost and with a longer wait time from the manufacturer. This is a signature piece any family would love to own for its design, its value, and its immediate availability.

The chaise comes from a Bond and Bowery dealer based in New York City, S. Julien, specialists in Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern items. The chaise lounge is made of tubular steel and leather, it's adjustable, and we know that this is one piece of the original 1927 MR line which included this adjustable chaise lounge, a side chair, an arm and armless lounge chair, and a non-adjustable chaise lounge. This piece was thought to be inspired by tubular iron rockers of the 19th century. Master designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe incorporated this “new” material and a new type of technology into furniture design, inspired by the cantilever principle.

The chaise lounge would be great in the living room or study, comfortable enough for reading or a taking a long nap. It’s another fine example of adding sculpture and function to any room.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was an architect and Bauhaus director, and one of the most recognized Modernist architects and furniture designers. His love of steel in furniture was something he brought into architecture, with steel frame buildings such as the Seagram building in New York being a prime example. Here's a tip: If you want to have a classic collectible in your home, one that is completely functional as well as artistic and sculptural -- providing a real exclamation point for any room -- then look no further than this chaise lounge.

Visit Bond & Bowery for the item detail page on this wonderful chaise.

And for a discussion about some other great pieces, please see my Fine Collectibles interview with Design2Share.