Cleopatra Artifort

The sterling reputation that Artifort enjoys isn’t limited to the innovative upholstery and fluid, organic shapes for which its products are widely known — the legendary Dutch brand’s vintage seating and other furniture is also celebrated for its embodiment of functionality, comfort and quality. These are among the principles that underpin the philosophy toward modern furniture design at Artifort, which has been at the crossroads of furniture and art for over 125 years.

Prior to 1928, the year Artifort officially became a brand, Jules Wagemans had a small upholstery business in Maastricht, the Netherlands. After setting up in 1890, his son, Henricus Wagemans, broadened the scope of the company to include furniture production. By the end of the 1920s, their showroom in Amsterdam had made them a recognizable brand across the Netherlands.

Then named H. Wagemans & Van Tuien, the company changed its name to Artifort after the economic recession. Artifort came from two Latin words meaning “art” and “strong” — a perfect description for the style of each design and the manufacturer’s intention to create sturdy furnishings. Artifort’s reputation for durable armchairs and sofas endures, and vintage editions of this seating are now family heirlooms in many homes.

Artifort became a magnet for high-profile and up-and-coming designers alike. Many furniture designers’ careers began thanks to collaborations with Artifort, such as Dutch industrial and jewelry designer Gijs Bakker and Indonesian-born designer Kho Liang Ie. Also known for designing the interiors at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, Kho Liang Ie was an aesthetic consultant at Artifort and used his expertise to turn the company into a world-class brand. Perhaps his largest contribution, however, was attracting the talents of French furniture and interior designer Pierre Paulin and English furniture designer Geoffrey D. Harcourt.

Paulin’s bright and colorful lounge chairs, such as his Orange Slice chair and Mushroom chair, are still central to the Artifort identity. The revered designer not only introduced new construction techniques to Artifort furniture, but contributed fresh materials, Pop art colors and dazzling shapes to the mid-century modern era as a whole, while Harcourt deserves credit for popularizing Artifort internationally and extending their reach into foreign markets.

Another talent boom in the 1990s at Artifort yielded collaborations with Jasper Morrison, Wolfgang Mezger and René Holten. Iranian designer Khodi Feiz was named art director in 2014 and has continued the tradition of recruiting top designers such as Claesson Koivisto Rune, Ilse Crawford and Luca Nichetto.

Find a collection of vintage Artifort lounge chairs, tables and more on 1stDibs.

Sit back, relax and get all of the ergonomic support you could ever need by introducing an alluring antique or vintage chaise longue in your living room or by your outdoor fire pit.

The chaise longue is an upholstered piece of furniture that was made popular in France in the early 16th century. This low reclining seat — a “long chair” in English — boasts an elongated form and low back that extends about half the length of the furnishing, affording the welcome opportunity for a sitter to put their feet up and relax. A comfortable common ground between sofas and daybeds, early iterations of chaise longues were discovered in Ancient Egypt and were later frequently used in both Greece and Rome.

In the late 1700s, the first chaise longues were imported to America, and English speakers have struggled with the name ever since. (In the United States, the term is frequently spelled “chaise lounge.”) So, how do you pronounce chaise longue? It sounds like “shayz lawng,” but limiting it to shayz is perfectly acceptable in the States.

Antique Victorian chaise longues and 19th-century chaise longues bring luxury and perhaps extravagance to your living space while mid-century modern chaise longues, designed by the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Vladimir Kagan or Milo Baughman, can alter an interior with dazzling geometric contours and richly varied textures.

On 1stDibs, find many kinds of chaise longues for your home — from sculptural works by Charlotte Perriand to plush and velvety Louis XVI pieces to minimalist contemporary versions to suit your understated decor.