1960s Aarnio Pulkka Ilmari Lappalainen Brown Leather Chrome Armchair Sofa Suite
About the Item
- Creator:Eero Aarnio (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 32.29 in (82 cm)Width: 30.32 in (77 cm)Depth: 34.26 in (87 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s-1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading.
- Seller Location:GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2823317424832
Eero Aarnio
“I always look ahead, never back,” Finnish design legend Eero Aarnio has been quoted as saying. A leading innovator of modern furniture design, Aarnio has long embraced a bold, playful, confident and colorful style several steps ahead of his time.
For his 1954 entrance test for the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, Aarnio created a whimsical painting of a man reading a newspaper in a red, curved chair whose silhouette foreshadowed Aarnio’s Ball chair of 1963. That spherical seat skyrocketed him to design fame, and decades later, it is still recognized as one of the world’s most futuristic designs.
Born in 1932 to a house painter and a seamstress, Aarnio has always had a cheerful disposition and an independent spirit. He went his own way early on: After just two years at Asko, the big Scandinavian furniture company that originally produced his Ball chair, Aarnio established his own studio in 1962.
Over the next decade, the young visionary made an indelible mark on the world. Open-minded and entrepreneurial, Aarnio embraced the aesthetics, materials and technologies of the Swinging Sixties, working with a new generation of plastics and molding them into fluid, organically shaped, brightly hued forms.
Introduced at the 1966 Cologne Furniture Fair, the pod-like fiberglass Ball chair soon adorned the homes of movie stars and royalty, graced magazine covers around the world and was featured in films and ads. The groundbreaking seat originally came in orange, white, black, yellow and red and could be ordered with a telephone installed in it. Yet this designer of the future, as he was known in the 1960s, has always insisted that he didn’t deliberately seek to be associated with the decade’s sci-fi aesthetic.
“I had no intention to create either pop or Space Age design — as many people label my work,” Aarnio declares in one of the essays included in Eero Aarnio — Designer of Colour and Joy, a book jointly created by the Design Museum and publisher WSOY to accompany 2016’s “Eero Aarnio” exhibition.
The show featured a number of Aarnio’s objects, including his iconic Ball, Pastil (1967), Bubble (1968), Tomato (1971) and Pony (1973) chairs. These were joined by lesser-known seating and other objects like the rattan Juttujakkara, or mushroom, stool (1960); the sculptural Double Bubble lamp (2000), with which Aarnio first explored the possibilities of rotation-cast plastic; and the three-legged Rocket (1995) and Baby Rocket (2006) stools, both parts of a collection produced by Artek after Tom Dixon, the company’s creative director from 2004 to 2009, discovered the original piece in Aarnio’s kitchen.
“Aarnio expanded the whole idea of what constitutes furniture,” explained Suvi Saloniemi, the Design Museum’s chief curator. “His significance as a designer is crystallized in the liberation of form that he has introduced by discovering the properties of plastic as the material of a designer. His furniture is sculpture-like and eye-catching, but the pieces are always utilitarian at the same time.”
Find an extraordinary range of vintage Eero Aarnio chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Antique Restored Brown Leather Chesterfield Library Armchairs Sofa Stool SuiteBy ChesterfieldLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this absolutely stunning, Victorian circa 1880 fully restored Chesterfield Whisky brown leather Library suite. A very rare find, I never come across original sets of four pieces from this era and especially not the fully buttoned sets. We have restored the suite and it is in better than retail new condition throughout. The set is actually quite rare size wise, the armchairs are much wider than normal and happy accommodate the larger of us, the sofa is a real sweet heart size and looks amazing. This is the finest set of this type you will find anywhere, its true library set...Category
Antique 1880s English High Victorian Living Room Sets
MaterialsLeather
- Marks & Spnecers Abbey Brown Leather Sofa Part of Suite with ArmchairsBy Marks & SpencersLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this lovely brown leather Marks & Spencers Abbey sofa which is part of a suite The sofa has been deep cleaned hand con...Category
20th Century English Art Deco Sofas
MaterialsLeather
- FINE ANTiQUE REGENCY HUMPBACK STYLE RESTORED BROWN LEATHER SOFA ARMCHAIR SUITELocated in GBRoyal House Antiques Royal House Antiques is delighted to offer for sale this stunning, fully restored vintage hand dyed Cigar Brown leather Humpback Antique style three piece suite...Category
20th Century English Regency Living Room Sets
MaterialsLeather
- Edwardian Walnut Brown Leather Three-Piece Sofa, Armchairs Suite Tartan CushionsLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this stunning walnut framed Edwardian brown leather three-piece suite with Scottish tartan wool cushions A very good looking and well-made suite...Category
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Living Room Sets
MaterialsLeather
- Lovely Small Aged Tan Brown Leather Sofa and Matching Armchair Two-Piece SuiteLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this very nice sofa and armchair suite in tan brown leather with removable scatter cushions A good looki...Category
20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
MaterialsLeather
- Rare circa 1860 Huge Victorian Brown Leather Barrel Back Suite Sofa ArmchairLocated in GBWe are delighted to offer for sale this stunning sofa and armchair suite of very rare oversized Victorian barrel back armchair and sofa in fully restored hand dyed brown leather T...Category
Antique 1860s English Victorian Living Room Sets
MaterialsLeather
- Asko Pulkka leather armchair with ottoman by Ilmari LappalainenBy Ilmari Lappalainen, AskoLocated in Ludwigslust, DEThe Asko Pulkka leather armchair in black leather is, like the ottoman, in very good condition. The leather is soft and undamaged, the seams are all in good condition. The seat shell...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Ilmari Lappalainen Pulkka Chairs and OttomanBy Asko, Ilmari LappalainenLocated in Los Angeles, CAFinland: Ilmari Lappalainen pair of Pulkka lounge chairs with ottoman, circa 1967 Measures: Ottoman 13 1/2" height x 22" width x 20" deep.Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Ilmari Lappalainen Pulkka Chair and OttomanBy Asko, Ilmari LappalainenLocated in Dronten, NLIlmari Lappalainen "Pulkka" lounge chair and ottoman, by Asko, Finland. Original white leather cushions with removable headrest and leather armrests...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- 1960s Ilmari Lappalainen “Pulkka” Lounge Chairs in Beech Wood and CowhideBy Ilmari Lappalainen, AskoLocated in Madrid, ES“Pulkka” lounge chairs in beech Wood and real cowhide leather by Ilmari Lappalainen for Asko. Finland, 1960s. Very good condition, restored and re...Category
Vintage 1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsCowhide, Beech
- Ilmari Lappalainen "Pulkka" Adjustable Lounge Chair and OttomanLocated in Brooklyn, NYSleek, Scandinavian modern, "Pulkka" lounge chair and ottoman set by Ilmari Lappalainen, Finland, features an aluminum frame with rolled leather upholstery and headrest. Fantastic mo...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Italy 1960s Cubist Armchairs & Sofa, Iron Legs, Faux Leather Quilted UpholsteryLocated in Vigonza, PaduaThey can be sold separately Italy 1960s Cubist armchairs and sofa, iron legs, faux leather quilted upholstery. Structure and legs in painted steel,...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
MaterialsIron
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
The Ball Chair, Eero Aarnio’s Space Age Masterpiece, Was Almost Never Made
Now considered emblematic of 1960s mod aesthetics, the Finnish designer's famous creation was far from an overnight success.