The Barcelona Chairs – Buyer’s Guide

The first Barcelona design chairs and ottoman was first came in display at 1929 held in Barcelona, Spain. The legendary design was a master piece of two titans of modern furniture designers and Lilly Reich. The flawless design was an instant eye catcher at the German pavilion as an icon of modernist architecture. The pavilion was created in a simplistic manner and only hold a set of these Barcelona chairs along with a lone female sculpture by George Kolbe.

The iconic impression of Barcelona chairs still holds its position in the modern furniture design. People with artistic taste driven by modern design still lures to purchase these chairs. Just to recreate the 1929 impression people often buy a set of two Barcelona chairs for their guest or leaving room space. Not just the design the Barcelona chairs are also comfortable to encourage a leaving room conversation. The simplistic design of these Barcelona couch also gives excellent back support and free arm movements. Beside all these the Barcelona chairs fits well on almost any settings. Because of the popularity these Barcelona chairs have encounter a lot of replica reproduction. In this post we are going to point out few vital points to look for when buying the iconic Barcelona chairs:

Upholstery

The most important price determining factor of Barcelona lounger is the upholstery materials. The seat of the original knoll design was made of 40 individual leather panels. All the leather panels of the original design Barcelona chair was hand welted and hand tufted. When buying a Barcelona sofa make sure the leather quality are same in the back and underside of the seats. Some manufacturer may undercut the price by using fabric or less quality leather at the back. The original Knoll design Barcelona chairs had the registered trademark spinney back leather. Whereas a good quality Barcelona chairs reproduction may have full-grain or top grain aniline leather.

Upholstery Straps

The original design of Barcelona lounge chairs combines 8 on the back and 9 on the bottom seat cushion totaling 17 straps in equal quality leather. The seat and back cushion sit on a latticework cradle of leather straps. Low quality reproduction may have bad quality leather as well as may not even have lattice work frame.

Cushions

The magnificent look of Barcelona leather chair comes from its cushions design. The 1929 classic still holds its modern design title via its unique buttons and piping. The hidden stitching on the back and bottom cushions gives the chair a smooth and seamless look. The original design chair is filled with urethane foam and polyester fiberfill making it really comfortable to sit on.

Frame

The curvy X frame is the vital point of Barcelona chair’s appealing look. Also this is the place where you can clearly differentiate a good quality Barcelona chair.  The X joint of the original design is very light as well as the two bars seamlessly join together. The knoll original design is made of 12mm solid stainless steel. Some cheaper version may use less quality steel or hollow chrome bars. A good quality Barcelona chair steel frame are typically buffed by hand giving it a mirror like finish. Therefore, when purchasing a good quality Barcelona leather couch make sure it uses pure leather, the steel frame is made of good quality stainless steel which looks more natural rather than chrome, the X joints are seamlessly welded together with no visible screws. The chair should not move as it is not a recliner chair or a rocking chair.