Aulanko Chairs

There is a range of aulanko chairs for sale on 1stDibs. The range of distinct aulanko chairs — often made from animal skin, sheepskin and wood — can elevate any home. Aulanko chairs have been made for many years, and versions that date back to the 20th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 20th Century. Aulanko chairs bearing Scandinavian Modern hallmark is very popular at 1stDibs.

Aulanko chairs can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price at 1stDibs is $30,662, while the lowest priced sells for $12,953 and the highest can go for as much as $51,562.

Designed in partnership with architect Matti Lampén, the strikingly modernist Hotel Aulanko in Hämeenlinna — as well as the impossibly plush, sheepskin-upholstered Aulanko armchairs for the project —  is just one of the many examples of architect and furniture designer Märta Blomstedt’s contributions to the functionalist movement in Finland during the 20th century. 

Born in the city of Turku, Blomstedt studied architecture and graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1922. She married fellow student Pauli Blomstedt and together they established an architectural firm. They completed the Finnish Savings Bank in Helsinki and began work on the Hotel Pohjanhovi in Kannonkoski and the small Kannonkoski Church when Pauli died in 1935. 

Matti Lampén, another architect who worked on the bank, aided Blomstedt in completing much of her husband’s unfinished work including the Yaskelyaynena Cottage — a Russian heritage building — and the Pohjanhovi Hotel. In 1938, the pair opened a firm together, Blomstedt & Lampén, and designed the Hotel Aulanko and took on a number of WWII restorations, builds and renovations including the Lindström and Sörnäisten Factory and the Pajarin Church.

Not unlike the well-known SAS Royal Hotel designed decades later in Denmark by Arne Jacobsen, Hotel Aulanko was intended to be a complete work of art, wherein the textiles and furnishings — produced by the likes of Paavo Tynell, Taito and Alvar Aalto for Artek, the company he cofounded with his wife, Aino — made up part of the whole. 

Prior to Lampén’s death, Blomstedt & Lampén initiated work on a large city plan for the Oravikoski Mining Community which included housing units, apartment buildings, row houses and detached homes as well as community buildings like a cinema, nursery school and sauna. Blomstedt brought in architect Olli Penttilä to help complete the project. Blomstedt and Penttilä went on to design the Vuorimiehentie II building on Blomstedt’s old university campus as well as apartments in Oulu, Finland.

Today, Blomstedt’s 1930s-era Aulanko sheepskin lounge chairs — which may have been inspired by Danish designer Fleming Lassen's Tired Man armchair — remain highly sought after for their historical significance and quality. As an active member of the Finnish Association of Architects and founding member of the 1943 Association of Women Architects, Märta Blomstedt leaves behind a legacy of important milestones for female designers, Finnish architecture and Scandinavian modernism.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Märta Blomstedt seating and other furniture.

With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.

Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.

The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.

Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.

With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.

Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.

No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.