Description
These chairs have now SOLD. If you have interest in Rufenacht dining chairs let us know as we have a set in long-term storage. Rufenacht dining chairs will not be pulled out of long-term storage unless requested.
These chairs can easily be transported Australia-wide. Cost of moving these 5 chairs to Sydney would be about $200 (to give you an idea of interstate freight costs).
Joe Rufenacht dining chairs have now become THE MOST sought-after dining chair in Australia! Ozzie ozzie ozzie oi oi oi !! We get more enquiries for this AUSTRALIAN-MADE design than for ANY other dining chair design, even more than the famous Parker Spadeback chair from the early 1960’s. The reason for this is quite simple- these are WAY better than any chair Parker ever did! (There’s no comparison to be honest.) The comfort of this design is ABSOLUTELY SUBLIME! These are beautiful to sit in- you can have leisurely dinner parties in these chairs and relax in them for HOURS! I now (finally) own 6 Rufenacht dining chairs myself- I work at the dining table most days and usually sit in a Rufenacht dining chair for 8-10 hours- day in, day out. I’ve had mine for a few years now and I LOVE MY CHAIRS! I have a bad back and this design is the MOST comfortable DINING chair I’ve ever sat in.
The upholstery here is up there with the best I’ve ever seen for Rufenacht dining chairs. This 100% Australian Wool upholstery is original (from the 1980’s). It’s exceptional QUALITY- just look at these chairs after almost 40 years of use. Wool repels marks and stains and even though it’s a soft upholstery, quality wool upholstery is very easy to look after. This upholstery looks amazing on this design- I LOVE it! It has an 1980’s slant but is still earthy, restrained and neutral. I like the small flecks of other colours running through the weave and texture. It makes these Rufenacht frames look even better- the weave offers a subtle contrast so the curves are really noticed. There’s nothing at all that jars here- everything works harmoniously. In my opinion this set is the best I’ve had (the timber tone is very light too). They have a beautiful Scandinavian look and they’re the first set I’ve had that aren’t upholstered in leather.
Provenance and Background Info
(This part of the description was written in 2015 but updated in 2021.)
A stunning set of FIVE dining chairs by highly acclaimed South Australian furniture designer and manufacturer Joe Rufenacht. In my opinion, these are up in the top 3 best dining chairs I’ve sold in the 20 years I’ve been in this business (if not the best). Rufenacht chairs have recently spiked in value but I believe there are still strong gains to be had. I think it’s the best dining chair you can INVEST in at the moment- values will continue to go up. From my research, these were selling for around $700 PER CHAIR about 20 YEARS AGO (just before Rufenacht closed).
There was a time in the late 1970’s when Rufenacht had won more furniture design awards than anybody else in this country. Why, you may ask, when virtually no-one has ever heard him. Because Rufenacht was a stickler for quality- he was fastidious about furniture. The chairs on offer here were put through 40 prototypes! … Let’s just ponder that for a moment. Rufenacht created a chair from scratch- tested it, had other people test it, mulled over it for some time, made adjustments, went back and made another chair from scratch, tested it … yadda yadda. He did this 40 times for this design! It is no wonder he kept winning design awards.
His work had big price tags on it in its day. These days I rarely find it (even though everyone wants it)!
If we look at the Falcon chair by Vatne Mobler of Norway (a lounge chair done at the same time in the 1970’s with a very similar design) you’ll see they were selling in Australia for about $900-$1000 a chair around 2003. These days those lounge chairs fetch $2400 EACH in many mid-century shops. This design by Rufenacht was probably inspired by the Falcon chair but he’s adapted the Falcon to be used as a dining chair. So Falcon chairs are worth around $2000 each for a lounge chair- let’s say that if Vatne Mobler made dining chairs (which they NEVER did) they would have to be worth about $1250 per chair AT LEAST. To me the investment appeal here is obvious.
The investment appeal box is ticked, comfort is well-and-truly ticked (they are the most comfortable dining chairs I’ve ever sat in) which leaves us with quality and value for money.
After many modern pieces end up as landfill this set of 40-year old set of chairs will be passed onto another owner and then yet another generation. It was said on the ABC in 2006 that Rufenacht’s furniture will be the antiques of tomorrow and after being in this business for almost 20 years I agree. JR furniture (Rufenacht’s company) closed its doors in 2006 unable to compete with Chinese imports because JR items are of a quality that’s barely ever seen. As an example of the quality, Rufenacht only used only the very best coverings for all his furniture (such as prestigious Australian Howe Leather).
Chairs like this are the reason I do this for a job. These chairs should inspire us all and show us the way forward. Most modern furniture is made with little respect for the earth’s resources and even less for the workers who make them (most are the equivalent of modern-day slaves). If these chairs were still made today in Australia I would still promote them but the fact they’re vintage (and no longer in production) makes them even more special. When you INVEST in items such as this there’s no better way to reduce landfill and your carbon footprint. If these chairs are used with some sense, there’s no reason why they won’t last another 40 years and then another 40 and then another, becoming more valued each time they pass hands and then onto an new generations.
2108
