Danish designer Jens Ring Bursche, created Waves in 2001. The chair is made entirely of recyclable materials and, as you can see, comes in lots of fun colors. Best of all, it’s stackable. I’d like to see catering companies have this sort of thing available for parties. Wouldn’t you?

The new Dehors collection for Alias, was designed by Michele De Lucchi in order to create an ideal “garden living-room”, inspired by nature and the irregular shapes of plants. The result is a wavy structure that abandons any claim to architectural rigour but offers an unexpected degree of comfort.

It’s wonderfully elegant. And the cushions are made of weather-resistant fabric. So they can take a bit of rain. I wish I had time to order a couple of these for the gravel pit.

This cool sock monkey chair was created by artist Rebecca Yaker. She has also whipped a batch of crazy sock monkey art for all you fans out there. Who doesn’t love sock monkeys?

See more sock monkey goodness at Craft.

Misterarthur and I are hosting a business shindig in a couple of weeks. There’s nothing like the thought of semi-strangers wandering through your house to light a fire under one’s fixer-upper. Which is why I think this will be a garden party. And that got me thinking about our garden - specifically the gravel pit that runs along the side of our house (sorry no pix - too embarrassing).

The pit was supposed to be an elegant alleé of potted trees. But somehow we took a wrong turn down Lazy Street and it remains a barren pit de gravél (French makes it sound a little nicer don’t you think?). Anyway, the invites are out and time’s a wastin’, which is why I’m implementing Operation Garden Storm.

 I’ll send Misterarthur down to the Eastern Market for some pots and trees. Easily done. But to give the gravel pit that extra zip that Martha (gag) would approve of, I was thinking of adding some benches. This antique bench probably isn’t meant for the rain and snow of Michigan. But I came across it in my bench shopping journey today and thought I’d feature it anyway. It’s pretty cool - an antique reproduction of an English railroad station bench. I dig it. Do you?

I promise to publish photos once the gravel pit becomes splendiferous. Give me a week.

This chair remind me of bridge construction. It was designed by Marcel Wanders for Droog in 1996. It’s now produced by Cappellini.

It’s made of macramé knotted carbon and aramide fiber cord with an epoxy resin finish. Each chair is shaped by gravity and the hands that made it. Sort of like a suspension bridge - right? You can find it at Unica Home for $3,890. Cheap!

Sorry Misterarthur, but I’m in love with someone else. He’s Lazy, but has long…. lines. And he’s too good looking to pass up. I could lay on him all day. Yes, I’m going to marry this sofa from Swedese. 

My bridesmaids will be Catifa Chairs. And my flower girl will be an Aalto stool. In a few years we’ll have several side chairs - maybe some that match! So I’m off to Mezzanine to arrange the happy occasion.

For the third time international design and art galleries are presenting much sought-after design classics and exclusive products as part of the Design Miami exhibition at the Art Basil fair in Switzerland. This year, they’re focusing on limited editions of contemporary works. It’s all in the attempt to further the notion of design as fine art. It receives a lot of attention in the specialized press. I think Brad Pitt recently bought some of these pieces and, of course, the press made a big deal out of that. At any rate, there are now few designers who don’t offer their works for sale in art galleries or auction house. Which brings me to today’s chair.

Archiduchaise is a creation by the Belgian aluminium specialist Xavier Lust, who has already created a stir with his ingenious designs for MDF Italia. “Elegant as a baroque crinoline,” says Lust. “The lower structure of this cantilever chair stretches well beyond the seat, which gives this sculpture its figure-like appearance.”

I’m not sure how I feel about design as art. I absolutely agree that some designs belong in a design museum. And a chair can certainly lend itself to being an object d’art if it’s placed and lit properly. I just hope the whole movement doesn’t get carried away into total pretention. I hate a poser. I don’t want to hear an interior designer try to talk a client into buying some ego-laced sofa because “it’s high art.” A sofa will always still be a sofa - no matter how groovy it may be.

Here’s a quiz for everyone. What famous chair does this remind you of?

This is Spectrum’s Metropolis Chair. It was designed in 2005 by Roderick Vos. Its principle use is in the commercial marketplace. Frankly, it doesn’t look so comfortable. So in a waiting room, where you hope you’re not waiting too long, it would look great.

I hope to have more information on my fascination with comfort tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Back in the 1960’s, Mad Men spent their days chasing secretaries down Madison Avenue. Meanwhile, their wives were at home turning everything from waste baskets to dressers into decoupage masterpieces. Both enterprises were creative in their own ways.

Decoupage is enjoying a revival. It’s easy to do, lots of fun, and you can use just about anything. That includes London street maps. This is what British artist, Amelia creates and sells in her Etsy shop. 

Covering a chair can be a bit time consuming, but anyone can do it. These would be a lot of fun in a kitchen - each one being slightly different.

Do you decoupage?

The Po Chair is made of compressed sugi wood, a knotty sort of wood that was planted extensively in Japan after World War II. Po is one of several designs created by Italian designer, Enzo Mari, for Japanese company Hida Sangyo. 

You can purchase the chair through Ameico - a great online store with an amazing array of products both new and vintage.

This chair was created by the three artists at End Side Design Atelier. Lubos, Tom & Pali make all kinds of things out of metal. Then they sell them online. 

Their Chair Lady Punk sells for $1,530. They’ll make one up in any size you like.

Do you like?

Let the games begin! Here are three versions of the same chair.

Which would you buy?

First up is the Emile Chair, from Anthropologie. It’s made of iron with a seagrass seat. Next is the original. The Marias AC Chair was designed in 1934 by Xavier Pauchard. It’s made of steel and comes in several colors. Third, is Pottery Barn’s French Metal Chair. It’s made of galvanized steel and also comes in a variety of colors.

I pose the question again. Which one would you prefer? Personally, I would spend the extra $50 for the original simply because I like the scale. The seat is larger. The Pottery Barn version looks skimpy. And I don’t think the Emile’s seagrass seat will stand the test of time. Or be comfortable at all, especially in a pair of shorts.

What’s your opinion?