We’ve seen quite a number of chair designs that revolve around wood, a material favored for its natural beauty and sustainability. Most of these involve very hard and solid types of wood like oak, exactly because they are both actually solid and give off the impression of stability. Of course, those aren’t the only types of wood that you can use for furniture, nor do chairs have to look mighty and grand all the time. Take this distinctive-looking chair, for example, one that is almost just “skin and bones,” so to speak. It evokes a sense of lightness and it is also quite lightweight, while still providing a stable seating platform whose very shape seems to invite you to sit and relax under the open skies.
Designer: Anne Brandhøj
Rattan wood is perhaps better known as a type of material that’s woven to create a more decorative surface or to wrap around different parts of a whole. While that’s definitely a good use for it, it isn’t the only use case, either. The rattan stem can also be used as the foundation and skeleton of a piece of furniture, which is what this rattan chair attempts to do. Thankfully, the flexible nature of the material made it easy to bend the solid length of wood into a circular form, something that’s less trivial to accomplish with hardwood.
Beyond the creative use of rattan for almost the entirety of the chair, Eclipse’s biggest pull is its unique and unconventional design. The base and seat itself are nothing but an open box with strips of rattan wrapped around the front and back, leaving the sides open for both viewing and potentially for storage. The most iconic parts, however, are the two vertical circles that arch over the seated person, a design that serves more than just an aesthetic purpose.
Visually, the circles frame the person seating inside, drawing attention to them. The rear circle is also smaller than the front, creating an almost conical shape that tries to draw you into the chair. The circles also make it seem like the open sky is reaching down to embrace whoever is sitting below. The open design, joined by sparse patches of rattan wrapping, provides a more peaceful and inviting atmosphere compared to a full cover that provides more shade but also overshadows the person.
The Eclipse was conceived as a sort of “thinking chair,” one that aims to inspire the mind into deeper thoughts with the open sky and wide areas as the backdrop. Almost ironically, this kind of chair probably wouldn’t survive too long outdoors given its wooden construction and very minimal protection from both sun and rain. It still has that welcoming and relaxing effect indoors, though, especially when used in open or large spaces. Regardless of where it’s placed, it will easily call attention to itself, despite barely having any meat on its body, so to speak.
