Edgy for the eye, soft on the ass.
A friend introduced us to the Bellini chair several years ago. He used them to transform his garden: 6 Bellinis (back then only $90 each) around a stainless steel Inox dinner table ($550).
With a small apartment, a three-week-old baby and lots of sitting down due to sleepless nights, these chairs have surprised him and his wife with how durable, easy to clean and comfortable they are....
They chose to mix up the colors with charcoal, pistachio and dove grey colors, which add more pizzazz to the outdoor dining room, and we heartily recommend this. The chairs stack very closely together, are light, won the prestigious Compasso D'Oro award in 2001, and at $110 they aren't too expensive. We give them the thumbs up.
LINKS
- Bellini at DWR
- Bellini at Highbrow Furniture (free shipping!)
- Bellini at Unica Home
(repost of Maxwell's 2004-07-15 original)
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Comments (12)
i love my bellini's!
I've been eyeing the Bellini for our kitchen/dining area, but am wondering if they are too "outdoor cafe-ish"?
Our neighbor has some of these for the shallow end of his pool. It's great to sit and have drinks in 18 inches of water!
Wow, the new high-gloss UltraBellini available at High Brow for $200 is pretty fantastic, too. I love that blue!
http://www.highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/ultrabellini/
Simply-G,
Seems to me whether they will look too "outdoor cafe-ish" will depend on their color and how that goes with your room. My friend has the charcoal grey bellinis and they go great inside with all his regular dining and living room furniture. Though, it's true, he mostly uses them only when he needs extra seating. I think that's because the plastic looks a little temporary with all his hardwood and natural materials around.
Thanks Sea, that kind of chyrstallized it for me. I love them, but don't think ultimately they'll be a good choice for the space.
I love AT precisely because of this. I have been in a tizzy trying to pick the right set of dining chairs for our small eat-in kitchen. These Bellinis made the shortlist but I am hesitant because of how the plastic is going to "feel" indoors. I pop in here this morning and voila! A discussion on these very chairs. Really appreciate all your feedback.
Yeah, but I'd still definitely recommend them if you get them in a non-contrasting color (dark grey is probably best), and if they are used as genuine side chairs, hanging out to the side somewhere, and not as the main-use chairs. (I guess that's two ifs that might make them seem impractical, after all....) I've seen another use of a Bellini in a bedroom, and that one looked great, too - but it was really just against a wall on it's own, not for real sitting on.
We use 'em in pistachio in our studio apartment as our "main" dining chairs around a white "Zero" table from DWR and we love them. Not too outdoorsy looking if you have a somewhat modern look going and they are very comfy.
Yes, they're really comfy. And yes, I bet they look fantastic with a more light-colored - and modern - setting.
I used to work for DWR and found these at a yard sale this weekend-- being sold by my old client! She sold them back to me for $15 each.... score!
check out the pics of them on flickr in our backyard...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9243845@N04/
mmm. i wish i got these instead of ikea chairs. the price isn't so different, and these look way more solid. grr.