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Collection by Diana Budds

Ways to Design With Tubular-Steel Furniture

What do Marcel Breuer's Cesca chair, Eileen Gray's Bibendum chair, and Charles Pollock's CP Lounge have in common? It's all in the material: tubular steel. "I considered such polished and curved lines not only symbolic of our modern technology but actually to be technology," Breuer said. While wood patinas and leather cracks and ages, slick industrial steel is capable of retaining its just-new luster for decades (with a quick polish, of course). Herewith, eight examples of how to incorporate tubular steel pieces into your modern abode.

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“When I first thought of moving to Harlem, I looked at a map,” says Ryall. “The island’s about 210 blocks long, I’m near 110th Street—I thought, ‘It’s right in the center of Manhattan.’”
“When I first thought of moving to Harlem, I looked at a map,” says Ryall. “The island’s about 210 blocks long, I’m near 110th Street—I thought, ‘It’s right in the center of Manhattan.’”
McMinn, an architect, helps Soren construct a TinkerToy tower. The cowhide rug is from Perfect Leather Goods, and the Wassily Chair is by Marcel Breuer for Knoll.
McMinn, an architect, helps Soren construct a TinkerToy tower. The cowhide rug is from Perfect Leather Goods, and the Wassily Chair is by Marcel Breuer for Knoll.
The couple hand-selected every piece of furniture in the house and perused Craigslist to find the four Verner Panton stacking chairs surrounding a Pure dining table from CB2. The two tubular steel side chairs are from Danish Modern L.A., and the pair purchased Muuto’s Plugged Pendant lamp from A+R. Mays and Campbell received the Molecule Building Set as a gift; it’s available from Ferm Living.
The couple hand-selected every piece of furniture in the house and perused Craigslist to find the four Verner Panton stacking chairs surrounding a Pure dining table from CB2. The two tubular steel side chairs are from Danish Modern L.A., and the pair purchased Muuto’s Plugged Pendant lamp from A+R. Mays and Campbell received the Molecule Building Set as a gift; it’s available from Ferm Living.
Big windows need massive supports that are hard to disguise. To get unobstructed views, Levy did away with the beams, opting instead to use laminated veneer lumber studs to hold the windows in place. The Poltrona Frau sofas date from the 1980s, and the cane-chrome armchairs are from GebrĂŒder Thonet Vienna.
Big windows need massive supports that are hard to disguise. To get unobstructed views, Levy did away with the beams, opting instead to use laminated veneer lumber studs to hold the windows in place. The Poltrona Frau sofas date from the 1980s, and the cane-chrome armchairs are from GebrĂŒder Thonet Vienna.
Although the house was refurbished before North bought it in 1996, it still includes some of Breuer's original built-in furniture, including the desk in the bedroom, as well as a chair designed by the architect.
Although the house was refurbished before North bought it in 1996, it still includes some of Breuer's original built-in furniture, including the desk in the bedroom, as well as a chair designed by the architect.
A Wassily Chair and an LC4 sit amongst furniture from CB2 in this multi-family home.
A Wassily Chair and an LC4 sit amongst furniture from CB2 in this multi-family home.
This midcentury gem lays in Crestwood Hills, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, an endangered enclave of midcentury post-and-beam houses designed by A. Quincy Jones and Whitney R. Smith. Elise Loehnen and Rob Fissmer bought their house, which dates to 1950, in 2012, furnishing the living room with a Jasper sofa by Room & Board, Laccio tables by Marcel Breuer, and a wool sisal rug from Madison Flooring and Design.
This midcentury gem lays in Crestwood Hills, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, an endangered enclave of midcentury post-and-beam houses designed by A. Quincy Jones and Whitney R. Smith. Elise Loehnen and Rob Fissmer bought their house, which dates to 1950, in 2012, furnishing the living room with a Jasper sofa by Room & Board, Laccio tables by Marcel Breuer, and a wool sisal rug from Madison Flooring and Design.