Deck Chair
Summer is here and I’ve been thinking about relaxing on my deck, simply watching the world go by. Why not create a really nice patio chair for doing just that? Something inspired by wooden boats, something reminiscent of Mid Century Modern or Danish Modern design. Something that can take a little weather if it’s left out for the weekend. The more I thought about it the more I started noticing that there are an awful lot of smaller sized balconies attached to some really nice condo units that could use a couple of really nice patio chairs too. 
If you’ve found my other blog you may know that I’ve been watching the new condos, especially those along the rivers in Milwaukee, pretty closely. (The picture links to that blog if you’re curious.) So, I designed this chair. It’s a little smaller than a lot of outdoor chairs out there so that a couple of them will easily fit on a condo balcony, yet it is very comfortable for even big guys like me.
I made the first two out of walnut, which turns out to be very durable wood for outdoor use (used in boat building worldwide), northern white cedar (another boat wood) and stainless steel. The back is easily removed (no tools needed) for shipping and storage . I finished the chair with my own mix of oils and spar varnish. This is an easy chair, made for sitting back and relaxing, part of what I call my summer stress relief system. Set it out and sit back. 
Where can you get these? Two are now available on my Etsy site where it is very easy to order online. I’ll deliver them in the metro Milwaukee area with no shipping charge. Enjoy the summer! 
By the way, I will be recommending on my Etsy site that these chairs be used in a protected outdoor setting however you can leave these chairs out in the weather all summer if you want. The finish may fade some. If it fades too much it can easily be restored, or better yet the chair can simply weather to a beautiful, stylish gray, it will still be just as comfortable. All metal parts are stainless steel so they won’t rust and the woods are highly resistant to rot.
Please feel free to leave a comment here to contact me. Or, if you would prefer you are welcome to use my alternate email address which is tfilling@execpc.com . I am also available on twitter as @toddfi .
Update: I’ve been asked for the dimensions of this chair. Here they are:
deck chair by Todd Fillingham all rights reserved
Fillingham Art Furniture Design 
Pingback: The days run together like wine
I really like it Todd!!! Nice seeing you on Sat.
Camilla
sorry to say this, but not realy a new design is it?
carl hansen rip off…
Carl Hansen? No, but it was inspired by Hans Wegner, just as Wegner was inspired by others. The point of this chair is to bring refined design to outdoor furniture.
A closer look will find significant differences between this chair and Wegner’s 3 legged shell chair, (which inspired this design) one standing out is that Wegner used laminated ply.
I don’t argue that complete originality is not interesting and sometimes leads to designs worth making, however recognizing the value of past designs, re-interpreting them for different contexts and materials has a place in furniture design as well. I think an informed critical view of furniture history as well as art history shows this to be true.
Perhaps you may be interested in looking up some examples of my point. Staying within the genre of Danish Modernism I think comparing the work of, for example, Yngve Ekström with Bruno Mathsson or even Børge Mogensen you may be tempted to rush to judgment. I happen to find Uno & Östen Kristiansson’s Hunting Chair similar in many ways to Wegner’s GE 290 or his CH25. Nevertheless a closer look at how materials are used, subtle changes in outlines, curvature or other forms differ and how these coordinate into unified wholes, that is how they create a new object with different roles, different production requirements and essentially an entirely new chair will show that there is no “ripping off” going on.
It is obvious that you have not appreciated the differences between my deck chair and chair I think you may be referring to. I have already mentioned the functional difference, that is to be used outside. There is also what may seem subtle at first glance but what I think is a very significant difference. Wegner’s molded plywood chair was designed to be mass produced, indeed the investment required to create the molds and develop the connections between the pieces requires that this piece be massed produced. My chair was designed specifically to be made by a single craftsperson.
This approach encourages subtle, hand wrought details that add quality and character to each chair and I hope will be appreciated by the owners. However, to achieve this the design had to be conceived completely differently than the Wegner chair. Issues such as torsion and tension were dealt with differently for just 2 examples.
Pingback: Cadeira Deck - DESIDERATTO.com
My family members all the time say that I am killing my time here at
net, except I know I am getting familiarity all the time by reading thes
fastidious articles or reviews.