Saarinen Style Tulip Table and Chairs
This is my new saarinen style tulip table and chair set I found at Jillopy Mid-Century Modern. If you like vintage mid-century furniture this is the place to go. I saw a red tulip style chair that was staged in a house I just sold. It inspired me to look for some new red (my favorite color) barstools online. I had wanted to check out Jillopy’s store ever since I “liked” their facebook page. I went into their store on the bench not expecting to buy anything, but then I found this set. I fell in love with it. I did some research on the history and design of the style because as a real estate agent I am fascinated with different eras of architecture, and furniture from those eras go hand in hand with the houses.
The original tulip table and chairs were designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956 for the Knoll company of New York City. The chair is considered a classic of industrial design. It is often considered “space age” for its futuristic use of curves and artificial materials. The design was popularized by its use on the original Star Trek TV series (1966-69).
Eero Saarinen had hoped to produce the chair as a one piece unit made entirely of fiberglass, but this material was not able to support the base, and prototypes were prone to breakage. As a result, the base of the tulip chair is made of cast aluminum with a rilsan-coated finish to match the upper shell, giving the appearance of a single unit. The upper shell is molded fiberglass with a reinforced, plastic bonded finish. The upholstered foam cushions are removable and some may have velcro fastening.
The table and chairs I bought from Jillopy were made in the 1960’s from a manufacturer in California. The set consists of original matching pieces except for the yellow cushions. They are not the original one’s, but they definitely make the set pop and stand out. Although the table and chairs are not original Saarinen pieces, they are the from the same era and style. I got a great deal on them at Jillopy and they were in great condition for the price. Today, if you wanted to buy an original Saarinen tulip chair it would cost around $800 per chair. To know if you have an original saarinen tulip table or chairs you should see this sticker on the bottom or underneath.