Man wedges antique chair into his Porsche, Islington, London, 07/2024
Dead chair behind the Alma, Newington Green, London 07/2024
9 stages of Steelwood Chair, 2008/9.
Image courtesy of Magis S.p.A.
Our laundry chair, Steelwood Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec 2008/9. 07/2024
The blue stools, Perugia. 06/2024
The Chair That Became More Than a Seat
My favourite chair is one I rarely, if ever, sit on. Produced by the Italian company Magis and designed by the Bouroullec Brothers in the late naughties, I acquired this piece on eBay for about £70 when furnishing my first flat in Kentish Town, London. Despite its well-loved appearance — chips, dents, scratches, and fading present throughout — it retains its character through the bright vermillion that still shines in the powder-coated steel back and armrests, complemented by wooden legs. It's a bit roughed up, but still charming and well postured in its well aged composition. This however was the intention of the designers all along … to design a chair that ‘is aimed to become more delicate through time, acquiring a patina over uses and years’.Our laundry chair, Steelwood Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec 2008/9
A Chair's Journey from Book to Bedroom
Before my industrial design education, this chair was merely an image in a design book gifted by my parents one Christmas. At the time, I was oblivious to Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec or Magis, but I was fascinated by a chair made from both steel and wood. The singular surface forming the backrest and arms, with over 9 different tools applied during production to bring it to life, intrigued me. Why go to such lengths to produce a single component? I'm still not entirely sure of the answer. Despite the complex deformations of steel, cutting, forming, and bending no doubt leading to considerable cost, the chair in turn ended up being relatively economic manufacture thanks to automation throughout the process, with the only human involvement being at the assembly stage. 9 stages of Steelwood Chair, 2008/9.
Image courtesy of Magis S.p.A.
It's an innovative approach to industrial-scale production of furniture, an abstract, artistic expression of industrialisation, thought through, and embodied in a single component. This very quality allows the chair to hold space, not just in our bedroom but in my thoughts as well.
Released in 2008, start to finish, from sketch to manufacture, the process took 29 months to design and produce. The chair by Magis, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec is somewhat of an experimentation. It is the fomat of minimal components, but also juxtaposed materials. Steelwood, I believe is one of the most characteristic designs of the Bouroullec brothers, their designs have fascinated me for a while. This chair is incredibly gestural in form, almost sketched, I can imagine the drawing before me.
Sketches of Steelwood Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, 2008/9.
Image courtesy of Magis S.p.A.
The Paradox of Covering the Beloved
I find myself curious about why we cover up a chair we love so much. Olivia and I often discuss it as — cover your ears, other chairs — 'our favourite' in the house. Its appeal is both visual and deeper, rooted in its own design philosophy. Given our fondness and limited space in our small basement flat, we placed it in the bedroom as an occasional chair. However, the bedroom proves an odd place for occasional sitting. Even for putting on socks, the bed's edge often wins out. The chair's 'occasional' aspect rarely materialises. One evening, finding the chair free of its usual array of half-worn, half-clean, half-dirty laundry, I sat to remove my socks. Olivia's puzzled reaction "Why are you sat there?" highlighted how unusual this act had become.
In a twist of fate, our beloved chair has become the unsung hero of our daily lives. It's not just for sitting; it's for living. We interact with it more in its role as a glorified clothes horse than we ever would as a dining chair.
The Laundry Chair: A Modern Phenomenon?
I wonder if the laundry chair is a contemporary quirk or a timeless human habit. Have people throughout history discarded clothes at day's end, not onto the floor, but onto chair-like structures perfect for initial neat draping and eventual chaotic accumulation? In a timeless sense, I like to imagine a Viking, after a hard day of pillaging, slinging his horned helmet over a convenient chair-shaped rock. Or a medieval monk, carefully draping his habit over a wooden stool before hitting the hay.
In researching this piece, I discovered the valet stand—a frame specifically designed for this limbo-state laundry. Yet, I'd rather use a chair than decorate our home in the style of an early noughties three-star airport hotel. Further investigation confirms we're not alone in our chair-draping habits, as evidenced by numerous online discussions and articles on the topic.
The Psychology of Clothes on Chairs
Several factors contribute to this behaviour, but why do we practice this ritual? Several reasons come to mind:
1. Laziness: It's simply easier to fling than to fold.
2. Outfit optimisation: We're preserving future styling options.
3. Decision procrastination: Who wants to make laundry decisions at bedtime?
In essence, the chair becomes a limbo for our clothes—neither clean nor dirty, just... waiting. And, draping on a chair is obviously infinitely better than ending up on the floor.
Fundamentally, it's an extension of our inherent laziness—draping is easier than committing to the laundry basket. But it's also about maximising wear and preserving outfit options. The chair provides a limbo space for these potential futures, postponing decisions until morning.
Functionally too, the chair becomes more frame than seat, a structural composition lending itself to temporary storage. It's a somewhat anticlimactic role for a piece that has undergone such thoughtful design, production, and distribution. Yet, in a way, this speaks to the versatility of chairs and the nature of our domestic lives.
Pluralistic Nature of Seating
The modern mediation of chairs is pluralistic by nature. Chairs, I firmly believe, aren't just for sitting. In its current role, we interact with this chair daily, arguably more than if it were a dining chair. In another life, in another space, it might find a new purpose in our domestic setting, perhaps returning to the dining scene, elevated once more into the grand society of display.
In a twist of fate, our beloved chair has become the unsung hero of our daily lives. It's not just for sitting. We interact with it more in its role as a glorified clothes horse; more than we ever would as a dining chair.
Laundry Chair, oh chair of many talents. You may not be sat upon often, but you support us in ways we never imagined. In another life, you might find yourself back at a dining table, but for now, you reign supreme in the realm of laundry limbo.
After all, isn't that the beauty of design? It's not about how we're supposed to use things, but how we choose to use them. And in the theatre of domestic life, sometimes the best supporting role goes to the chair that supports our clothes.
Our laundry chair, Steelwood Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec 2008/9
References:
HUDSON, J. (2011). Process 2nd Edition: 50 Product Designs from Concept to Manufacture, Laurence King Publishing: Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=sA25cQAACAAJ
https://www.magisdesign.com/product/steelwood-chair/
https://www.bouroullec.com/?p=151
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-most-painful-chore-1463588210
https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2024/01/29/laundry-chair/
https://culted.com/issey-miyake-paris-fashion-week-collection-autumn-winter-2024/
https://journal.magisjapan.com/report/product/1472