It's a clever idea with a clever name, but this furniture collection by Fabio del Percio (a.k.a. Hver?) is a simple concept. The chairs and stools are just plastic stuffed with Icelandic hay. Still, the design is eye catching and the pieces are reportedly comfortable. These pieces are also practical because there are aeration holes in the bottom of the furniture that keep the hay fresh, which also spreads a lovely agrarian fragrances throughout a room.
Each piece of furniture is hand made in Italy by Fabio del Percio. The plastic casing is a soft transparent PVC cover which can be unzipped and removed. Natural jute fabric lines the furniture and adds to the hempy aesthetic. The designer suggests replacing the hay every two years, but you could probably replace the stuffing with anything that is comfortable to sit on and looks interesting. The furniture can be placed indoors or used outdoors because the plastic will repel most environmental elements.
Fabio crafted the collection in Italy to celebrate the country's 150th anniversary of its unification. While much of Fabio's work is handcrafted in Italy, the designer also works in Iceland and says he is inspired by Iceland's landscapes, materials and emotions. He says his project relate to everyday life, tradition, history, in total respect of the environment.
Image: E-Side


White Enamel Flatwa...
these are not my style. and I'm allergic to hay.
HAHAHA! Reminds me of the old relatives who used to cover their furniture in plastic to keep it 'new'...sorry but these are a big YUCK!
Oh yes, its eye catching all right.
You can't be serious with this post? It's like a Saturday Night Live spoof on Apartment Therapy.
These would look great...in my BARN!!! Ugh! Not appealing at all.
Sorry palesa, this wouldn't go in my barn, the horses would refuse to live there.
Forgot to say. Hay is for (animals) eating not for permenant seating.
I see what they are trying to do, but the results just look like silage bales to me: http://www.willowbrookorganic.co.uk/silage-bales.gif
If this isn't a joke, then Fabio thinks people are stupid.
ok...the idea might also be original...but what about the suggestion of replacing the hay every two years? I think I should plan a trip to Iceland...:-)
PS Enough to pay for bagged weeds and rags.
Like others, I first thought this must be a joke.
But the website seems real enough, complete w/a guy standing in some bucolic setting while puffing on a cigarette. WTF???
This statement is taken from their site:
"HEY collection was created to celebrate in Iceland the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy."
Again, WTF? OK, maybe that's NOT a cigarette...
This isn't a joke? Come on, the garbage truck collects yard trash that looks like that.
inspired by bricks of contra-banned marijuana siezed at the border...
Yeah.....handmade in Italy??!! It's still hay in a plastic case...I'm pretty open minded but this looks like it should be posted on April 1st...
So, the joke is on customers who buy this stuff. "There's a sucker born every minute."
Hay-t it.
+1 to Stemplin
Neigh to the hay.
Looks like something the cat threw up. Encased in plastic.
I love hay as much as the next gal, but just, no.
Absolutely hideous. Plastic on furniture? Materials normally used to feed livestock and/or clean up their sh*t? Material that causes many people allergies and could harbour bugs, mites, even mice? And could stick uncomfortably through the plastic liner like those godforsaken feathers in my cheap featherbed? Nuh-uh. I'll pass, thanks.
(P.S. Love the hilarious responses above, way to go people haha).
What's next, shipping pallets turned into furniture?
Oh, wait...
I wonder how much they charge for these italian hand made chairs.
My first thought is my rabbit would love this. Furniture she could eat!
There's nothing "Eco" about PVC - Hay or no hay
I thought you should all know that the prices are (clockwise): EUR270, EUR590, EUR610. The website explains that these exclusively hand made pieces are made even more exclusive thanks to the natural type of jute used to tie it all together with an unsightly ribbon. Like it would even be possible to have an even more exclusive hay bale! Sadly, the website does not explain how the product is different from this: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silage_bales_-_geograph.org.uk_-_72329.jpg. Warning: linked product in image may be less exclusive.
People would buy these?
Another +1 to stemplin.
"lovely agrarian fragrances"
so it smells like a barn?
We have hay and plastic right here in America.
We have hay and plastic right here in America.
Yes, but this is Italian hay, so it has the 'fragrance' of Italian horsesh*t. So, you know, it's more posh. *rolleyes*
The artful burlap bow, along with the over-sized tags, leaves me with nothing but revulsion. Looking at these puts me on edge. PVC? Really? The design is ill-thought, just as the statement is contrived.
I saw a bale of hey used as an ottoman once and it was cute but it wasn't expensive and it wasn't covered in plastic.
First time in life that I've been more confused by something AFTER looking at the website.
it's got a big name tag...and probably a big 'made in italy'.
The hay will compost long before the two years are up, so it'll be a bag of sludge. The holes in the bottom will let in bugs & dampness. Then there's the plastic - hot in summer, cold in winter. What a concept piece!
Looks like the stuff that's commonly shoved out of hay.
shoveled*
Absolutely horrible looking.
The emperor has no clothes.
Haha, pippigirl. Exactly!
That is a really stupid idea.
Good lord. No.
We have lots of hay grown here in the USA and Canada (as someone else said). This is stupid.
My rabbit is really keen on this idea. He thinks this suits him much more than the Room & Board sectional I gave him.