Description

ON HOLD FOR ALISON $6280 including delivery– pending delivery arrangements. This chair will still be available for hiring for some years- get in contact with us if you have any interest in hiring this chair.

Provenance and Background Info

(This description was written in 2018. Time-sensitive information may change slightly over the years.)

      An R160 Contour chair designed by Grant Featherston in 1951. This is perhaps the most iconic Australian furniture design ever which is why it was the first Australian design to be taken overseas in the hopes of reproducing it. The replicas happened all right but they can’t and never will come close to the originals. The originals were created BY HAND and the way the many pieces of the timber-seat slot together to form the seat-shell was not only ingenious but created a chair with stunning curves, a lean stylish silhouette and a seat that was / is extremely durable. The Chinese copies look nothing like this but all they do is solidify how marvellous the real R160 is- marvellous for something from the 1950’s but even more-so today because chairs are just not made like this anymore (and probably never will be again).

     I bought this chair in 2005 to stock in iNVISeDGE but when getting it to my storage area I fell for it and couldn’t let it go (even though I couldn’t afford it!). This chair has history and this is written all over it like the words in a book. It was the original fabric and the PATINA of this fabric that drew me to the chair and it’s what makes it so hard for me to now let go of. The fabric shows how much this chair has been loved and part of each owner (and person who has ever sat in it) is there in the fabric. The second I saw it I said to myself, “you are never going to see one like this again.” And after 13 years I haven’t (written in 2014). The actual fabric choice in my eyes is perfect- red is too jarring- too over-the-top, black too bold- it loses the feminine curves of the shape, white too modern, yellow too bright and the list goes on. (I will spare you my boring stupid “waffle” as some sellers have accused me of. Today in 2022 I will politely say to you, F&%* off!!! <Insert laughing emoji in here> In my mind this fabric (because of its various tones of blue with purple fleck) is distinctly “retro” but also timeless. It doesn’t dominate your space, but is still noticed … you won’t get sick of it after a few years (I’ve had it 14 years) and it goes with everything. I’ve lived in at least 6 houses since getting this chair and it has worked in the living area of all of them.

      It’s not just the fabric choice that’s perfect- in my eyes its the patina and the fact it still has its original seat cushion which is perfect to hide this patina. The patina just peeks through if you know it’s there but doesn’t stare you in the face. It’s like you can close the history book at any time and put the book back on the shelf when you want. I have to admit I am a stickler for presentation and I would have never paid what I did for this chair if that cushion wasn’t still with it. The cushion allowed me to have a real piece of history in my home but have it proudly on display and not have to pretend the chair was different to how it is. I honestly love it- just as it is and when someone visited my home once and suggested re-upholstery (after I’d proudly showed them the history of the chair) my face must have contorted as if I’d just bit into a lemon!

     Re-upholstery is NEVER an option for this chair. It is the only chair like this I’ve ever seen. It’s a fabric choice you’d actually want in your home but the original soft tweed from the 1950’s is also inviting to sit in PLUS it looks brilliant just the way it is.

     Yes you can buy authentic Featherston chairs with perfect fabric (that have been re-upholstered) but if you’re going to buy an original R160 chair to recover it you’re better off buying one of those GOD-UGLY replicas from China! The originals are 60 years old and if you want an original in full original condition get used to having one that will show signs of use- more rather than less.

      I’m not going to ramble on now about how Grant Featherston is without a doubt the most celebrated furniture designer Australia has seen and the rest. If you’ve read this far you already know that and if you don’t, Google Featherston or read the iconic book on Featherston written by Terence Lane, published by the National Gallery of Victoria in 1988. Yes- Featherston reached ICON stages before 1988.

     I have to end this quickly because it’s already way too long- (I had no intention of writing a book about one bloody chair! But I do love to waffle … apparently ?) … I need to add before I end this … This is also the most comfortable chair you could own. Over 14 years I have depended on its comfort. So you may be asking, “why is he selling it?” Everything changes in life and all things come to end. I want to rent out the home I live in for 3 months of the year to holiday-makers and the only thing that won’t work furniture-wise is the Featherston. Strangers on holidays with a few drinks in them are not going to treat it with the respect it deserves. I’m not saying here that this chair has to be pandered to- every visitor in my home has always gone to this chair and sat straight in it- my nephew and niece have also sat in it a few times (before innately understanding it was special) and honestly I have never cringed. It looks like this after 60 years- it can handle more use but having it in your home and having it there for holidaying-strangers are two entirely different things.

     My other option is putting it into long-term storage for about 10 years and after this time I believe the chair will again rise in value significantly after the idiots get bored of making those God-ugly replicas (this chair has increased in value since I bought it already, anyway). But I am sentimental about this chair and don’t see the point in putting it in storage when someone could be using it and enjoying it so I’m sussing out the interest out there.

      The chair on offer in this listing is a great investment because it can be used and enjoyed while it becomes even MORE valuable (no it’s not option Facebook … this is FACT!) The production of most modern furniture has little or no regard for our environment and the people (virtually slaves) employed to produce it. This 1950’s vintage piece has not only survived over 60 years, it has thrived and I can’t see any reason why it won’t last another 60. There are very few (no?) better ways to invest in your home and the future of our environment. Amen to Featherston for creating such incredible work!

1807 and 2004