After a weekend in Palm Springs and a walk through the Parker it's hard to not fall in love with a great group of butterfly chairs. I have some in my living room and people have inquired as to where I found my covers since I have vintage bases. The answer: Circa 50.
Circa 50 is a Vermont-based company with a great online presence and fast shipping. In addition to selling an incredible array of new mid century furniture (think Bertoia chairs, Saarinen tables, Eames sofas, etc), they specialize in custom butterfly chair covers for vintage and new frames.
They offer a standard selection of A, B and C sizes, but if your vintage frames don't match those sizes (the ones I scored on Craigslist didn't) then they'll quickly make you custom covers. I ordered mine in the natural canvas and now, months later, even the cat who is currently destroying the couch hasn't been able to mar these covers. And when the shelves fell off the wall and dumped a planter full of dirt into them, all I had to do was brush them off outside and they were good as new. But even if they had been sullied, you can throw them in the washer to clean them up.
Circa 50 also carries covers in many colors of dyed canvas, mesh (for outdoors), leather and cowhide — basically any kind of cover you could be looking for.
Images: Laure Joliet and Morgan Satterfield of The Brick House
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Abyssinian cat!!!!!
dang those are more expensive than I would have thought. I had one from Target when I was in college that cost 20 bux..I mean I like them, I just expected them to be cheaper.
Oddly enough I was in Manchester Vermont two winters ago and the brick and mortar store was closed. Needless to say, we were bummed.
Now, I am a big believer that you should have the things you love -- no matter what anyone else thinks. So take this in that vein: Once a design has been co-oped by college freshmen dorm stylists, it's probably time to get it out of your living room!
I have an Alexander Girard (Maharam fabric) pillow from Circa 50, and I have been very pleased. Again, my favorite thing in this post, however, is that soft little abyssinian buddy eagerly looking towards the window. Now, that's money well spent!
Butterfly chairs are beautiful but they aren't comfortable! With a heavier base and maybe a leather cover they are a bit more solid, but still, in a room with seating options, it would be my last choice.
And how can you people tell from a dark not particularly clear picture of part of the back of a cat that it is indeed an Abby? I'm pretty impressed by the cat people on AT... (is it an Abby?)
I got a distressed leather cover from Circa 50 and I *love* it. It's incredibly sturdy and their customer service was excellent.
The fourth photo is actually from Tighe Architecture, it wasn't sourced properly on the site you got it from.
"Butterfly chairs are beautiful but they aren't comfortable!"
Try sitting in one at an angle - w/ one leg over the side and your head against the opposite wing...
...you'd be surprised at how cozy & comfortable it can be!
(my parent's orange 60's vintage butterfly chair was my favorite place to sit as a kid too)
Be warned: if you purchase goods from Circa50 for delivery to the UK you will very likely be stung with an unexpected and not inconsiderable Customs and Excise charge. The Circa50 staff will not advise you of this in their quoted price for p&p, and will not refund postage on returned items. So you may well find yourself, like me, over $44 down with nothing to show for it except an unpleasant and unhelpful email exchange.
Looked at circa50 for replacement butterfly chair covers. Had a question and tried their 877 number. Despite the "open 24 hours" claim, no one answered after several tries at different times of the day. After reading Amazake's comment above, I was surprised to find the Showroom still listed on the site, with no indication it is no longer open. I googled reviews for this company, and found a number of very negative comments regarding customer service, one on quality of the outdoor chair covers (which is what I need), and surprise charges, as well as an inability to reach them via phone. It's too bad, since they seem to offer the most comprehensive variety of butterfly seat covers. Now I'm afraid to do business with them...
We received our replacement butterfly chair covers today on time, as described and are totally pleased with them.
Jeff at Circa50 was great with advising us on the order.
We have vintage 1950s frames and have been unable to properly fit replacement covers until Circa50.
Very satisfied.
Gee, Aldus Manutius, you must be satisfied, since you seem to have joined the site just to post this one positive review.