I wish I had had the forethought to take a photo of this chair when it came in. We get so busy here that sometimes, oftentimes, there are not enough hours in the day. But then when a restoration turns out so beautifully, as this one did, it would be helpful to remember just how sorry these classic pieces can get when they are found in an dusty attic or garage.
The Knoll Bertoia Diamond chair was designed by sculptor Harry Bertoia in 1952, when he was experimenting with industrial wire rods. One of the results of these experiments is the Bertoia Diamond Lounge Chair. "If you look at the chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes through them," Bertoia has said. Several seating models were made, and then Bertoia returned to his work focusing mainly on sculpture.
According to Knoll, this piece remains a 'fascinating study in bent metal and is a fixture of mid-century design.' We couldn't agree more. The frame is welded steel with rods in chrome or bonded rilsan and comes in a variety of finishes.
In this case, the frame was badly damaged, pitted and was in pieces. We restored the metal, powder coated it and made a new seat cushion using Kvadrat Hallingdal in color 173, which is a dark, steely grey.
This is beautiful! I just discovered two diamond chairs that someone was throwing away. The seat is in good knick, but the legs on one are broken and completely missing on the other. I'm trying to find someone who could restore them in or around London. Any ideas? Alternatively, I may give it a go myself if I can locate the necessary parts.
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