The ‘Slip Chair’ That Tricks You Into Thinking Its Unstable (Even Though it Totally is)
Who doesn’t want to be comfortable when sitting? Well, that’s kind of the entire point of plopping your weary bones down on the nearest piece of cushy furniture, no? Sure, but after laying eyes on this Slip Chair that Snarkitecture crafted for Portugal-based design firm UVA, one might begin to question whether sitting comfortably is even an option at all. (Hint: It totally is).
The odd-looking, trickster of a chair features a tapered-marble seat that fits on a wooden frame, but here’s the kicker: The seat cut at a slant and the uneven frame gives a would-be sitter the illusion that this unique piece of furniture is also completely unsteady, much like that wobbly dining room chair all of your party guests strategically avoid like the plague.
Despite what its name suggests, the folks over at Designboom assure us that the seemingly off-kilter Slip Chair is a totally secure spot to sit and take a load off.
So what’s the secret behind its unusual design, and who’s to blame for this design sorcery? As UVA explains:
The apparently opposed elements of the chair are counterbalanced through the monolithic volume of the stone. The chair revolves upon two axes and the suggested unsteadiness of the sliding forms conceals the complete stability of Slip.
Simply put, the chair revolves on two axes instead of one. The stone is sliced at an angle, which makes up for the tilted frame. The pieces are handmade, manually numbered and certified. Chair makers in Paços de Ferreira, North Portugal came up with this quirky creation, and yes, it’s totally okay if you’re unsure whether to thank them for their innovative idea or send them virtual raised brows of confusion.
The Slip Chair is available in White Ash and Black Marble. For those who want to test the Slip Chair’s stability firsthand, the expected shipping time is 16 weeks.
h/t Designboom