What would you do with 400 plastic milk bottles?

If you said make an Adirondack chair, you cheated!

This chairs is nothing new. I am sure that everyone has lounged in one of these chairs at some point in their lives. Designed in 1903 by Thomas Lee, and made by Harry Bunnell in Westport NY. You can check out Harrys patent on the chair here. This chair screams summer, and as soon as you sit in one, you almost immediately want a glass of ice tea. Even though you see this chair in the yards of hundreds of “traditional” style homes, it is one that I have no problem filing in the category of modern chairs.  I know that this may be a bit of a bold statement, but it is as much a classic as the Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman.

Originally designed to be made out of eleven pieces of wood cut from a single plank (this was resourceful and eco-conscious even back in 1903), loll designstakes it one step further, and has designed their Adirondack chairs out of 100% Post-Consumer HDPE. HDPE is high density polyethylene, a plastic resin used in products and packaging such as milk jugs, detergent bottles, margarine tubs, and garbage containers. Pretty cool. You’re sitting on milk jugs and trash cans! The only other pieces that make up the chair are the nuts and bolts, and those are made of stainless steel. The end result is a chair that you never have to paint, worry about splinters in your arse, and no rusty nails. Also when you are done with it, you or your kids can run it down to the local recycling center to start its life over again as something else maybe just as cool. I’ve got a spot picked out for them, I am just having a hard time trying to decide on what color to pick. You can check them out here and the matching ottoman here.

3 Slat Adirondack Chair

There are quite a few benefits to being in the design industry. One is being able to see new and soon to be released products at places like ICFF. The other is getting personal tours of showrooms like Herman Miller. I had the pleasure of visiting their showroom today, and they were excited to show me the new Embody Chair. All I can say is WOW! When it comes to task chairs Herman Miller has in my opinion cornered the market with the Aeron and Mirra Chairs. But since their introduction, there have been other companies out there trying to elbow their way in. The Embody chair totally knocks the competition back about 5 years. I know that’s a bold statement, but I was convinced once I sat in the new chair. Designed by Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf, the chair continues to push design envelope by being flexible, firm and supportive. It also features a wide seat for your ba-donk-a-donk. There is always a bit of adjusting with most task chairs and often times you’re left wanting just a bit more in some areas. When I was shown how to adjust the Embody, it fit me like a bespoke suit. I haven’t uttered those words about a chair in years. In addition to all of that, the chair is 95 percent recyclable, has 42 percent recycled content, and contains no PVCs. Another reason to be a bit more impressed about this chair. We don’t even carry the chair, but I hope we pick it up for our assortment for 2009.

Embody Chair

 This William Castle sculpted chair, seen over at Apartment Therapy, is freaking insane and would look great in my Art Nouveau Paris apartment.  It sold at auction for $204,000.  

I should have gotten two.