Blog

Jul 09, 2023

Vintage View: Walking the high wire with steel grid furniture made of air

Walter Platner chairs c.1966 (armchairs from Wire and steel latticed furniture with its abstract, cool geometry was highly popular in the late 1960s and 70s. It was the age where string art was

Walter Platner chairs c.1966 (armchairs from

Wire and steel latticed furniture with its abstract, cool geometry was highly popular in the late 1960s and 70s. It was the age where string art was tautened over nails, and Spirograph’s hypotrochoids bent young minds.

Airy and hypnotising from every angle as you move across the room, structural steel meshes and grid-work was championed by a number of top designers in the mid-century. Sleek yet honestly industrial, it was feverishly deployed right up against Louis Quinze in Parisian and Milan studios, and staged proudly in the neo-Baroque flash of Hollywood bungalows and edgy Manhattan lofts.

Teasing open a traditional grassy weave to a greater scale, steel rods in linear arrangements and welded grids have the tensile strength and stability to allow the twist of a table support to rake the light. It slouches open like the steamed plywood, but is all but transparent and completely supportive under human weight.

Italian American sculptor and artist Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) famously remarked, “If you have a piece of metal in your hands, just shape it”. He ventured into steel grid creations in the early 50s, when war rationing on metal and alloys was relaxed.

Clearly pleased, Bertoia said of his rakish cage chairs: “Space passes through them and, looking at them closely, our perception is that they are made of air, just like sculptures”. Where some see a shopping trolley; others see perfectly engineered machine-made beauty.

His Diamond series (c.1952) with its fabric-like drape was so beloved, a special edition was released by manufacturer Knoll in 2015 in a real gold plate for Bertoia’s centenary. Steel grid shells were pressed out and finished under polished chrome, delivering a high shine, ideal for setting up against rich, exclusive fabrics pelted over foam upholstery.

Originals in welded steel (reproductions abound with our loose design copyright laws here in Ireland) start at €879 for a dining chair. They are best nestled up with a mid-century or contemporary metal/glass table. Do yourself a favour and find off-brand cushions – Knoll authentic Bertoia pieces start at €289 – a rod for your own back. You do need a soft landing for wire seating; otherwise you’ll impress the pattern onto your shredded aching limbs.

Also produced by Knoll, the Warren Platner (1919-2006) series of organic steel supported tables (c.1966), showcases classic elegance conjured from the most practical, basic materials; steel rods. By placing the rods with mechanical precision and compressing them lightly into a “waist” — the form of the support shimmies together or works apart depending on your angle of view.

Topped in clear glass to magnify the eternal void at its centre, the light play of the Platner tables is a psychedelic shifting show, finished in nickel, brass, bronze or chrome. Knoll references Louis XV with their Platner collection as it’s all about ornament and high decorative impact.

If you want to know how far the reach of the Platner style goes this AW season – look up the Huxley set of four chairs and a table for Argos, €460 in polished brass. My choice would be the little brass Huxely coffee table, served up for just €95 at Argos.

For original styling (if you’re happy with a well-made inspiration) CA Design offer dining tables in Platner style from €1,500 with quality 15mm tempered glass. Licensed originals by Knoll start at €3,094 for lounge seating, and €3,915 for dining tables.

If steel rod furniture and accessorising in rebar sizes is too hefty for you, or you’ve seen Diamond fakes in your hairdresser’s for years under Flos Arco lamps, new, metal weaves can be gentled by a more Scandinavian aesthetic. These are generally delivered in much finer rods; polished, coated or painted. The linear metal Cuadry chair from Sklum has a pleasing, mumsy basket in steel finished in matt black with a gorgeous wide back and arm-rests; €130 with shipping from €4, sklum.com.

Danish design god, Verner Panton went all wiry in the early 70s and his modular Wire collection is an iconic, affordable investment. These highly desirable vertical grid boxes in electro galvanised and powder-coated steel can be wall hung, stacked or used as lightweight tables, ideal beside sofas and easy chairs. I think they look best in black, but white is equally retro’and cool. Check the loading limits (in kg) and only use their dedicated clips, feet and brackets for this and any modular, add-on storage. 34cm x 43cm, €171 each, made in Denmark and available from a range of suppliers.

The DKR wire chair by Charles Eames is still produced by Vitra with the Eiffel base, from €435 for a graphic edge, and you’ll see close pretenders at any high street furniture hangar. Hay’s Hee lounger by designer Hee Willing has a line-drawing vibe and matt rust painted surface too good to leave outside. From €251, suppliers include lostweekend.ie

In lighting, show off just a glimpse of the LEDs with a Selena, steel and wood pendant; now €143 at EZ Living. The Johanna ceiling light is a gorgeous pumpkin of Slinky-like split steel, €70.95.

Nice open frame shelf supports, geometric fruit baskets, in trays and wire pantry boxes with wooden tops, can ring out the look of our metal rod chair and table supports. Wire is everywhere this season with gold, copper and black finishes gilding these lilies. We love the galvanised honesty of Korbo creations, with baskets from €88. Homesense, Sostrene Grene, Lidl, Aldi and Tiger all do a rolling collection in flashy and matt wire. The Pythagoras brackets by Gustaf Rosen for Maze will slip under or over any shelf with a matching equation around 800mm x 200mm x 19 mm. €45 for 2.

More in this section