Decorating
Must-Know Chair: The Butterfly
The Butterfly chair has an appeal that ranges from upscale and sophisticated to being perfect for portable picnic seating
The Butterfly chair, also known as BKF, the Hardoy, or sling chair, is a mid-century modern classic hailing from Argentina. Designed by the Austral Group in 1938, the Butterfly chair takes its inspiration from a portable chair used by British military officers in the 19th century. It has a lightweight and sculptural frame with a large sling that extends like – you guessed it – butterfly wings.
Its laid-back look, portable functionality and price tag proved popular in the mid-20th century, with more than five million being produced in the 1950s alone. Today, it is appreciated as both a sophisticated icon of good design as well as a functional camping chair, with one in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art and cheaper versions available at good department stores everywhere. Here’s what you need to know about the history, style and use of this much-loved chair.
Its laid-back look, portable functionality and price tag proved popular in the mid-20th century, with more than five million being produced in the 1950s alone. Today, it is appreciated as both a sophisticated icon of good design as well as a functional camping chair, with one in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art and cheaper versions available at good department stores everywhere. Here’s what you need to know about the history, style and use of this much-loved chair.
THE CHAIR
Bonet, Kurchan and Hardoy designed the Butterfly chair for an apartment building in Buenos Aires. Inspired by 19th-century campaign furniture – specifically the Paragon chair and Tripolina chair – they fashioned it from a lightweight frame composed of two bent tubular steel rods welded together, and a leather sling hooked to the frame to create a suspended seat.
Bonet, Kurchan and Hardoy designed the Butterfly chair for an apartment building in Buenos Aires. Inspired by 19th-century campaign furniture – specifically the Paragon chair and Tripolina chair – they fashioned it from a lightweight frame composed of two bent tubular steel rods welded together, and a leather sling hooked to the frame to create a suspended seat.
They introduced the Butterfly chair to the public in 1940 at the third Salon de Artistas Decoradores, the Buenos Aires-based furniture show. Edgar Kaufmann, an industrial-curator for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, admired the chair so much that he imported one for his parents’ new weekend house, a.k.a Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, as well as adding one to MoMA’s collection. Artek-Pascoe produced and marketed the chair in the USA before transferring the license to Knoll Associates in 1948.
THE TREND
The Butterfly chair was a shift away from the machine aesthetic of modernism in the 1930s, representing a more fun, playful and relaxed look.
Ways to use splashes of yellow
The Butterfly chair was a shift away from the machine aesthetic of modernism in the 1930s, representing a more fun, playful and relaxed look.
Ways to use splashes of yellow
Kaufmann named it one of the “best efforts of modern chair design”, and predicted it would become extremely popular in the US. He was certainly right. It became popular first among artists, actors and architects, then later with young families who bought them for their new suburban homes. In fact, the chair’s commercial success led to such a large number of unauthorised replicas that after numerous legal battles, Knoll ceased its production in 1951.
HOW TO USE IT
Available in a range of materials and in folding and non-folding versions, the Butterfly chair can be used in a variety of settings inside and outside the home.
As a porch, patio or deck chair
When made from synthetic material or canvas, the Butterfly chair looks laid-back and casual – perfect for outdoor lounging, whether it be in the backyard, by the pool, or at a picnic.
Available in a range of materials and in folding and non-folding versions, the Butterfly chair can be used in a variety of settings inside and outside the home.
As a porch, patio or deck chair
When made from synthetic material or canvas, the Butterfly chair looks laid-back and casual – perfect for outdoor lounging, whether it be in the backyard, by the pool, or at a picnic.
As a living room chair
In leather, the chair is upscale and sophisticated and is a fine choice for a modern or minimalist interior. Draped with sheepskin it becomes warm and inviting.
What to pair with leather furniture
In leather, the chair is upscale and sophisticated and is a fine choice for a modern or minimalist interior. Draped with sheepskin it becomes warm and inviting.
What to pair with leather furniture
THE STYLES
Slings for Butterfly chairs can be bought new or made in a variety of materials, textures and colours; and metal frames can also be painted or powder-coated to match the sling or colours of your interior. With this versatility, the chairs can suit a range of interiors and colour schemes.
Eclectic
Butterfly chairs can add a playful pop of colour in an eclectic room. Here, solid orange is both a contrast and complement to the patterned blue wallpaper.
Slings for Butterfly chairs can be bought new or made in a variety of materials, textures and colours; and metal frames can also be painted or powder-coated to match the sling or colours of your interior. With this versatility, the chairs can suit a range of interiors and colour schemes.
Eclectic
Butterfly chairs can add a playful pop of colour in an eclectic room. Here, solid orange is both a contrast and complement to the patterned blue wallpaper.
Modern
Lots of warm materials are united in this modern room – tan leather Butterfly chairs, a textured grey sofa and a Boucherouite rug that has fine black lines like the frame of the chair, perfectly complement each other.
Lots of warm materials are united in this modern room – tan leather Butterfly chairs, a textured grey sofa and a Boucherouite rug that has fine black lines like the frame of the chair, perfectly complement each other.
Contemporary
The Butterfly is chic and casual in this pared-back contemporary room with white walls and lots of natural light. It sits lightly on the timber floor, just like the black metal-framed coffee table.
Tour this house
The Butterfly is chic and casual in this pared-back contemporary room with white walls and lots of natural light. It sits lightly on the timber floor, just like the black metal-framed coffee table.
Tour this house
Industrial
The Butterfly chair can also have an industrial look and feel when in a space with prominent metal architectural features. Here, Butterfly chairs are covered with a thick leather hide that adds weight to their visual presence in the room.
The Butterfly chair can also have an industrial look and feel when in a space with prominent metal architectural features. Here, Butterfly chairs are covered with a thick leather hide that adds weight to their visual presence in the room.
WHERE TO BUY THEM
The Butterfly chair can be bought new or vintage and, because there is no copyright protection on the original chair (as it was deemed too similar to earlier precedents), they can be sourced from a range of manufacturers and suppliers. There will, however, be differences in how the rods are welded together and the type of sling used. Keep in mind that prices will also greatly depend on quality, and that slings can be custom-made to your liking.
TELL US
Do you have a Butterfly chair? Where do you use it – indoors or out? Upload a photo of it to the Comments section.
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The Butterfly chair can be bought new or vintage and, because there is no copyright protection on the original chair (as it was deemed too similar to earlier precedents), they can be sourced from a range of manufacturers and suppliers. There will, however, be differences in how the rods are welded together and the type of sling used. Keep in mind that prices will also greatly depend on quality, and that slings can be custom-made to your liking.
TELL US
Do you have a Butterfly chair? Where do you use it – indoors or out? Upload a photo of it to the Comments section.
MORE
Must-Know Chair: The Safari
Herman Miller and the Icons of Mid-Century Design Explained
Bring Palm Springs Mid-Century Modernism Into Your Home
Mix It Up: Mismatching Dining Chairs Around the World
Members of the Austral Group – Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy – designed the Butterfly chair in 1938, naming it ‘BKF’ after their initials. As architects and designers they embraced and advocated the ideas of Modernism.