Description

Provenance and Background Info

(Written in 2016. This pair sold for $1200 THE PAIR.)

A PAIR of Osso chairs designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mattiazzi, Italy. Mattiazzi is up there with the likes of B&B Italia, Knoll International and Cassina. On the Nest website in the UK the Osso chair currently retails for GBP582.50 which is AU$1235 PER CHAIR. They are pretty much this price anywhere in the world but the guy I purchased them from said $1400 EACH ($2800 the pair) from Living Edge in Sydney. (Yes all design is more expensive here.) There’s another website in the UK, Made in Design, that has a 12% sale on at the moment but they are still GBP550. At first I baulked at the retail price but when you experience these up close they truly are inspiring. As the designers themselves said, “the chair wants to be touched, even caressed.” Yes that comment makes me cringe- you almost forget we’re talking about a chair here but with these chairs the sculpted rounded form is beautiful to touch (and perhaps caress too if you’re that way inclined).

This pair of chairs came out of a high-end kitchen showroom. They were used at the side of a chic kitchen to help elevate the space to a new level which is what I read was a goal of the design while researching. The Osso chair will add quality and sophistication to any space. Bouroullec wanted Mattiazzi to produce the Osso chair all along as they needed precise and meticulous working and the designers were confident Mattiazzi could pull it off. The pairing has worked, the Osso chair has won numerous design awards and is now regarded as one of the most elite designs of the past few years. This is further evidenced by the cleverness of the workings. The wood panels, shaped to exact standards, actually fit together like wood panelled flooring. It is the angles and geometry of the design that allow the structure to be completely sturdy and solid. There’s more about the strength and ingenious snap-together aspect of the design on-line if you Google.

These two chairs have it all- comfort (the angles are obviously very well-considered and spot-on), durability- these chairs have been crafted with precision to last for generations), looks (remember how they beg to be caressed?), a natural slant (the highest quality cuts of Oak bring a bit of the environment inside) and investment value (try finding these for less than $2400 the pair here in Australia- when dining chairs retail for $1400 EACH there aren’t many around).

The pink colour is a like a lime-wash but with a pink tinge. This has been designed to give the chairs that freshly cut timber look. Oak and other lighter timbers look pink straight after being cut and then darken over time. The pink stain is transparent so the full figuring in the timber still takes focus. The finish could easily be removed if desired but this colour-tone worked really well with the industrial, modern “clean” kitchen they came out of. They provided an interesting accent but one that was subtle, complementing the clinical “grey/black” styling of this modern space.

I would certainly have these chairs in my own space but unfortunately there’s no place for them here. I’m sure I’d have spent many hours touching and caressing them!

Buying true quality is the best way of reducing your carbon furniture footprint and doing your bit to help preserve our earth. There’s no better investment for you financially as well as our planet.