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The scene would be nowt with the chair taken out: Saarinen’s Womb chair in Down With Love

The scene would be nowt with the chair taken out: Saarinen’s Womb chair in Down With Love

Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair was designed in 1948 in response to Florence Knoll’s request to create a chair “that is like a basket-full of pillows to curl up and read a book in”. While that’s not exactly where Saarinen ended up, the suggestion inspired one of the most iconic, and comfortable, chairs of the modern furniture movement.

“I designed the Womb Chair… to take the place of the old overstuffed chair. Today, more than ever before, we need to relax” said Eero Saarinen who was eager to continue exploring the possibilities of a chair that achieved comfort through the shape of its shell, not the depth of its cushioning.

In Down with Love (2003), Renee Zelleweger’s character Barbara Novak has two beautiful pale pink womb chairs in her fine 60s apartment, which is teaming with great choices of decor and furniture. In fact all the sets in the film are very stylish and full of inspiration – set decorator Don Diers did a marvellous job (the best part of the film in my opinion).

Another case where the scene would be nowt with the chair taken out!

The Womb chair produced by Knoll, is available in three sizes. The standard and medium size have an accompanying ottoman.
Available from Knoll, Skandium, Pink Apple and Nest. Vintage originals can be found from 1stDibs.com and Etsy from dealers like RemnantPDX in USA.

pink-womb-chair-knoll

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