Stiff as posts, the very first seats in industrial workshops and offices all had this almost rigid aesthetic look, to the great delight of vintage chair enthusiasts.
Vintage chairs: the result of the first workers' seats
Lovers of design and decorating style can add this graphic effect to their interiors by installing factory stools or typists chairs. Workplace seating was initially uncomfortable and severe, then very rapidly, industrial furniture designers started to soften the lines of vintage chairs. The world of industry and offices expanded and companies wanted to improve the working conditions of their employees. To that end, designers added backs to the industrial stools, and above all, vintage retro chairs became articulated thanks to a spring. These design techniques were protected by invention patents belonging to brands such as Singer. Rapidly, industrial and services companies were obliged by labour law, which was evolving in favour of the employees, to improve their furniture. Vintage chairs thus underwent numerous modifications; they became pivotable, lightened, then height adjustable, and above all, were adapted to each profession. Thanks to this trend, we now have all sorts of chair designs, to be integrated as much as we want into present-day living spaces.
vintage chairs brut
Vintage industrial chairs
The industrial chair has seen a massive renewal of interest for several years now. This classic in the genre was designed at the beginning of the 1930s to be used by the numerous workers in all the factories springing up everywhere, as the industrial world evolved rapidly. The vintage industrial chair was initially a three-legged stool made of deep-drawn sheet steel, and was to undergo a large number of modifications. Less than ten years later, a fourth leg was added to provide increased stability, although the look remained true to its original design. It only took a few years for the stool to become a vintage chair that now had a back fixed at the end of a metal rod and attached to the seat, which remained round and identical. The leg frame system was gradually improved, thanks to the addition of a screw so the chair's height could be adjusted and the first typist's chair was created the same year, in 1945. The vintage industrial chair became more widespread and subsequently an industrial design classic that is still produced today. It is a perfect piece for our homes as it adds a certain retro cachet.
