What Is an Elbow Chair?

Description

• Wegner's Elbow Chair embodies his design aesthetic in that the chair is simple, functional and beautiful. It is wooden, with four smooth, tapered legs and a square, leather-upholstered seat featuring a comfortable concave curve. The Elbow Chair also has a low, curved backrest. The chair's name comes from the fact that the backrest looks as though it could continue on each side to form armrests; however, it stops where its occupant's elbows likely fall.

Uses

• With its sturdy, upright design and smallish size, Wegner's Elbow Chair works very well as seating at a dining table or desk. Additionally, its sleekness, simplicity and curves give it enough style and panache to function as an accent chair in a living area or bedroom. Because these chairs are stackable, they are a smart choice in an office, classroom, restaurant or meeting hall, anywhere a large number of chairs is needed.

Price

• Although its comfort and stackability make it a smart choice to use in large numbers, the price of an Elbow Chair might send you looking for a less expensive choice, especially if you need a large number of chairs. At the time of publication, Internet retailers have Elbow Chairs priced from around $225 to more than $1,200 each. While a homeowner might be able to afford enough of them to place around a dining table, these prices make them impractical for business owners looking to purchase them in large quantities.

About Hans Wegner

• Wegner, a Danish furniture designer who is known for his simple, smooth, curvy designs, was an influential player in the Danish modern furniture movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He trained initially as a cabinetmaker but moved to furniture in 1938, when he was hired to design furniture for a town hall in Aarhus, Denmark. Wegner had a special interest in chairs, designing more than 500 of them before his death in 2007 at the age of 92.