LCW by Charles and Ray Eames, 1945

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1945
• Made From - Bent plywood
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - LCW stands for Lounge Chair Wood. The Eames’ wanted to create a chair that would fit the natural contours of the body, could be mass produced and would be comfortable without using any fabric or upholstery. They also wanted it to be reasonably affordable as Charles Eames said he wanted to “bring the most of the best to the greatest number of people for the least”. What they came up with was the LCW. The chair began as an experiment in the Eames’ apartment, where they were moulding plywood in what they called the ‘Kazam! Machine’. The machine pressed thin sheets of wood veneer against a heated membrane that was inflated by a bicycle pump. Time magazine called it "the best design of the 20th century“. It is a design classic and is still very sought-after today. It is also available with many wood and coloured finishes as well as covered in calf skin.

DSX Chair by Charles and Ray Eames, 1950

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1950
• Made From - Polypropylene and stainless steel
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This simple, ergonomic chair was originally design for the Museum of Modern Art in New York's Low-Cost Furniture Design Competition. It was the first industrially manufactured plastic chair. It is suitable for indoor and outdoor use and the plastic contain special additives which slow down the fading process caused by ultraviolet rays. The seat is available in loads of colours and the base on chrome or a powder-coated grey or black finish. There are also versions that are fully upholstered or with just the seat upholstered.

Midway Gardens Chair by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1913

• Designed By - Frank Lloyd Wright
• When - 1913
• Made From - Painted iron frame and upholstered seat
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair was designed for  Frank Lloyd Wright’s Midway Gardens which was built in 1914. A matching table was also designed. The chair’s contrast of circles and straight lines make it very interesting. It was re-introduced by Cassina in 1986 as part of their classic series.

La Chaise by Charles and Ray Eames, 1948

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1948
• Made From - Fiberglass, steel supports, oak base
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This elegant, graceful chair was inspired by the sculpture ‘Floating Furniture’ by Gaston Lachaise and it is named after the sculptor, rather than because it is a chaise which is what most people would think. It was designed for a competition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It is a very ergonomic designed and it can be sat in in many ways. The original design was white, with a matt or glossy finish, and a natural oak base but now versions with a pink, orange or red seat and pink or black bases are available.

Tom Vac Chair by Ron Arad, 1999

• Designed By - Ron Arad
• When - 1999
• Made From - Steel and polypropylene
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair is a simple minimal design but is in fact very elegant. It is stackable up to five high as the back legs of one chair fit inside the hole in the back of another. It is suitable for use both indoors and outdoors and can look good on its own or in groups. It is slightly flexible which makes it comfortable. The seat is available in white, red, blue, yellow grey and black.

Amoebe Chair by Verner Panton, 1970

• Designed By - Verner Panton
• When - 1970
• Made From - Laminated structure, foam and wool upholstery
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This low, curvy lounge chair is very attractive and very comfortable as it has a flexible back. There was also a high back version designed. The upholstery is available in purple, black, brown, white blue, red, grey, orange and green upholstery.

W.W Stool by Philippe Starck, 1990

• Designed By - Philippe Starck
• When - 1990
• Made From - Varnished sand-cast aluminium
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This is a very sculptural stool and definitely more focused on form than function as there is barely a surface to sit on. It seems to resemble a root or sprout of a plant. It was designed as part of a fantasy office environment for film director, Wim Wenders.

DCM by Charles and Ray Eames, 1946

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1946
• Made From - Moulded plywood and chrome plated steel with rubber shock mounts
• Manufactured By - Herman Miller, then Vitra
• More Info - DCM stands for Dining Chair Metal. The moulded plywood seat and back are shaped to fit the human body, making it very comfortable. It is one of a series of plywood chairs designed by the Eames’. It was exhibited at MoMA in 1946 and became in instant success. It was named Best Design Of The 20th Century by Time Magazine. Versions of the chair that have three legs were produced but were too unstable so weren’t put into production. It is available in many different woods, colours and pony hides.

C1 Lounge Chair by Verner Panton, 1959

• Designed By - Verner Panton
• When - 1959
• Made From - Laminated body, brushed stainless steel base and central tube, polyurethane foam upholstery
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chairs shape is basically a section of a sphere that  is on a tilt mounted on a very simple base. It is comfortable leaning back and sitting upright in. It is available an many colours and has a matching ottoman.

Ply Chair by Jasper Morrison, 1988

• Designed By - Jasper Morrison
• When - 1988
• Made From - Birch plywood
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair has an extremely minimal form and being made of plywood, is very affordable. The parts are simply screwed together and the large screws are very visible, which is unusual. The front legs and seat are straight but the back and back legs are beautifully curved. It was originally made for the installation ‘Some New Items for the Home’ in Berlin.

DAR Chair by Charles and Ray Eames, 1948

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1948
• Made From - Fibreglass reinforced plastic, chrome steel base
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - DAR stands for Dining Armchair Rod. It is sometimes called the Eiffel Chair because the base resembles the Eiffel Tower. The design of this armchair was first presented in 1948 at the Museum of Modern Art's 'Low cost furniture design' competition. It was the first mass-produced chair made of fibreglass reinforced plastic. The seat is available in a loads of solid colours. It is an iconic chair that still looks stylish today and is still very popular.

Antony Chair by Jean Prouvé

• Designed By - Jean Prouvé
• When - 1954
• Made From - Black lacquered steel, plywood, oak veneer
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair was designed by Prouvé for the Cité Universitaire at Antony, near Paris. It was one of the last pieces of furniture designed by Prouvé. It has a very unique and lovely shape and construction. The wonderful design of the frame makes this chair look more interesting from the back or underneath than the front. The small gap between the plywood form and the frame make it look like it is floating slightly which is a nice touch.

Organic Highback Chair by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen, 1940

• Designed By - Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen
• When - 1940
• Made From - Laminated seat shell, polyurethane upholstery, stained black beech legs
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair, and a lower-backed version (the Organic Chair), were designed for the ‘Organic Design in Home Furnishings’ competition held by the Museum of Modern Art. It was designed as a reading chair and has a long backrest which is slightly tilted backwards and shaped for comfort and relaxing. The upholstery is available in 8 different colours.

DSR by Charles and Ray Eames, 1948

• Designed By - Charles and Ray Eames
• When - 1948
• Made From - Fibreglass, chrome legs
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - The initials stand for Dining Side Rod. It has ‘Eiffel Tower’ style legs which meant it was given the nickname ‘the Eiffel Chair’. It is available in many colours. It was reissued by Vitra in 1993 and the new version is made from polypropylene because it is easier to recycle . It one MoMA’s ‘Low Cost Design’ competition.

Wiggle Side Chair by Frank Gehry, 1972

• Designed By - Frank Gehry
• When - 1972
• Made From - Corrugated cardboard, edges made from hardboard
• Manufactured By - Vitra
• More Info - This chair is part of the ‘Easy Edges’ collection by Frank Gehry. It is made by gluing together lots of die cut sheets of corrugated cardboard in alternate directions, creating a material similar to plywood which he called ‘Edge Board’. It has a very tactile surface and the fat lazy curves give it a pleasing appearance. The sloped seat and high back make it comfortable and it is actually very strong. When it was designed it was instantly popular but Gehry stopped production to concentrate on his architecture because he didn’t want to become more known as a furniture designer than an architect. It is made of a very cheap material and was designed to be mass produced but it quite expensive to buy now. It is available with natural, white, orange and green coloured edges.