This past weekend, Mike and I spotted the Radiator Chair, above, in the showroom of Barrymore Furniture Galleries, a Toronto bastion of traditional taste and style. Talk about incongruous. When I called Barrymore to ask about the chair the sales rep chuckled and said she’d investigate. Internet searches turned up a couple of false leads but so far I’ve been unable to confirm who actually designed this arty, whimsical piece. Certainly, I’d love to meet the person who would spend $1,430 on a chair that no one will ever sit in. Now that’s a folly!
Barrymore’s also has a companion piece to the chair, “The Odd Laundry Room End Table,” pictured below ($1,200); note the red valve handle on the left front leg.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I know that it is a total follie, but I could see the chair in a sopartan large loft, in a corner, well lit, as some uber-industrial piece of art. I quite like the side table. Could see it played off of some opposite classic chairs (certainly not that zebra print, that is a folly in itself).