Best of Three: Wegner Wishbone Chair Knock-offs

Grace's post about Mixing Authentic Pieces with Knock-Offs inspired us to round-up some knock-offs in the style of Hans Wegner's Wishbone Chair...

First, here is the original, designed in 1950 by Hans Wegner. New authentic Wegner chairs (in a variety of finishes) can be found at Room & Board starting at $599:

White Furniture's zebra-wood interpretation is $180.

Pottery Barn's Emerson Chair is available as a side chair or arm chair. A side chair is $249. An armchair is $289.

This one is a bit of a stretch, but definitely takes inspiration from the Wishbone. It's from Wisteria. The very rustic Black Forest Chair is $499 and was previously posted on ATSF.

Maxwell posted a Best of Three: Wegner Side Chairs recently that showcases three Wegner designs used together in a single space.

Comments (11)

The Zebra-Wood Chair looks more chinese thant the original. I find all three really different actually.

Pffff sorry again, I meant the Emerson chair looks more chinese....

The Wisteria chair absolutely does not take any inspiration from the Wegner chair. Instead it appears much more closely related to faux-bois chairs of the 19th century, either carved to resemble roots and branches or cast in concrete for similar effect.

Think I'd have to stick with the original here - the closest knock off would be the one from White Furniture, but being that zebrawood is a threatened species I would never purchase it. The Potter Barn chairs are a close second, but at half the price, and not nearly as visually appealing, I'd have to pass.

At first I liked the White Furniture piece - but after looking at the website, I realized that all their pieces are Chinese-Made knockoffs: No Thanks.

Does it say somewhere where the "authentic" room&board chair is made? At least some of the "authentic" Eames designs by Herman Miller are made in Taiwan, or so I have been told by people who where suprised to find a "Made in Taiwan" sticker on their Eames coat hangers. This is all pretty murky.

Disclaimer: Taiwan is one of my favorite countries!

This is a nice chair, not quite a wishbone chair but it has similar qualities:

Gray 24

Not sure of the "authentic" at R&B either...might be, but just in case, a link to the real stuff:

http://www.highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/ch24/

The Room & Board Wegner chairs are authentic and manufactured in Denmark. (The "Details & Dimensions tab gives country of manufacture.)

But . . . can anyone recommend a NYC source for a replica of the Wegner "easy chair" CH 25? The original is beyond my means, but orthopedically, I covet it.

Sorry, omitted the Room and Board link: http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19770