| Safavieh's Butterfly Chair |
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Safavieh’s new Butterfly Chair is a perennial favorite that lives on in new bleached oak wood frame, antique brass hardware and detachable linen or leather covers. Sit back and conjure images of British officers who favored them for their extreme comfort and portability in the mid 19th century. And Hollywood directors who garnered status with initialed versions on movie sets. Inspired by 20th century styles with fabric hung from the frames highest points, this chic (Butterfly) chair is reminiscent of a models favored by architects and designers in the 1940’s. Its inspiration is the BKF chair designed by the Argentinian architect Jorge Ferrari Hardoy in 1938 while working for the Austral Group, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His partners, Antonio Bonet and Juan Kurchan, were also in the Austral Group, so the chair was named “BKF” after them.
But there’s more: Hardoy’s design was inspired by the Tripolina chair introduced at the International Fair of St. Louis in the 1904 by Joseph Fendy. Though he had patented the design in 1877, the original creator of the chair is unknown. History repeats itself now in Safavieh’s Butterfly chair, the true definition of a furniture classic.
Call knockdown (KD) or ready-to-assemble (RTA), the furniture we buy and assemble at home today has roots that trace back to the Revolutionary War in America and the Boer War in South Africa. Back then it was called campaign furniture, and it was made for soldiers of the British Empire for use on their “campaigns” abroad. Now, it’s made for consumers who want an easy to assemble, comfortable piece of furniture that adds a touch of history to their homes. |
