CHAIR : 500 DESIGNS THAT M ATTER BY PHAIDON EDITORS

PHAIDON

At first glance, the humble chair feels like an odd choice of subject for a coffee-table book—why read about an object you’re most likely already sitting on? But furniture designers worth their salt would immediately shake their heads in disagreement. This is because few forms excite a carpenter’s mind more than a chair. Some architects even say a chair is as difficult an undertaking as an entire building. In this sumptuous book, Phaidon has brought together a hit collection of these complex works of sedentary art—such as the Eames moulded plastic RAR chair, the woven metal Bertoia chair from Knoll, and a hard-edged chair by Donald Judd—as well as some lesser known experimental designs, like a plastic blowup armchair and ones made from ghostly Lucite. You’ll never look at your armchair in the same way again.