Josef Frank Designer Chairs

Josef Frank

Josef Frank is not so much a fashion designer but an Architect, Artist and Designer. Born in 1885, this Austrian was a hugely talented and influential man and still has a cult following today. Originally Frank was part of the modernist architectural movement but eventually worked against this fearing interior design would create a boring and uniform world. He was always more of a free thinker than his peers and created his own type of modernism where comfort, warmth and colour took much more of a front seat. 

Frank was also one of the originators of a more eclectic approach to interior design. “It doesn’t matter if you mix old and new, or different styles, colours, and patterns,” he advised in 1958. “The things you like will always blend, by themselves, into a peaceful whole.”

What Defines Josef Frank

Josef Frank really railed against the limitations put on him by the trends of the time. He felt tubular steel furniture was an anathema to his design ideals and mankind as a whole. He always embraced the curves, tones and feel of nature in his interior design and furniture. Frank was a firm believer in space and insisted chairs had open backs and even cupboards to have legs so there was space between the bottom of the cupboard and the floor. While these things may seem extreme they were designed so well that the results simply worked and brought influence and pleasure to millions then and now.

Fabrics

Many of the Josef Frank fabrics originated from his collection of watercolour prints or early designs. He always had a strong affiliation with nature and floral prints were something Frank created from a young age. He used repetition, of course, but he used it in such a way it is very hard to see where the pattern repeats. His aim was to bring space and a truly natural feel to the floral print. This is just another reason why we love Josef Frank here at Gabriella James. 

Exclusively imported for Gabriella James from Svenskt Tenn in Sweden, the selected fabric designs in our Capsule Collection are printed onto premium quality linen ensuring our Josef Frank chairs will bring an exotic and opulent touch to any room.

Josef Frank Chairs

We adore Frank’s work and use his iconic Under Ekvatorn fabric on a number of our chairs. The name of this fabric translates to Under the Equator and it is one of the most colourful prints Frank created. The stunning range of flowers used in this print are not real but are so reminiscent of blooms we know that it creates a wonderful fantasy feel.

But most of all we just love Frank's Primavera. Designed in the early 1920s,  Primavera, meaning spring features familiar spring flowers: tulips,  hyacinths, daisies, violets, anemone and forget-me-nots. 

Below are some of the chairs we have created with Josef Frank fabrics. Simply click on the images or descriptions for more information or to order a chair. We are happy to discuss made to order options with specific paint colours and chair models.

Primavera Josef Frank

 

Josef Frank Under Ekvatorn in Black

 

Modern Windsor Carver upholstered in Primavera by Josef Frank