i’ve loved Thonet chairs forever, but i’ve been mispronouncing the name of this beautiful chair for just as long. mon dieu — i hate when i do that. thonet chairs are actually pronounced like this with a hard “t” like tawn. ack, who knew? probably some of you. and for sure vintage aficionado laurie furber of elsie green knew when she came across a whole bunch of them on a recent buying trip in europe. but i digress, it’s a very pretty bentwood cafe chair, common in many french restaurants, which why maybe some of us wanted to give it a french-sounding pronunciation.
vintage home decor online boutique elsie green started collecting thonets one by one about a year ago from flea markets across the French countryside — and then while traveling in Liberec, north of Prague, they came upon an attic that was completely filled with them. they scored a mix of Thonet, Mundus and Fischel — Some still with their original paper labels, which are so ornate, rare and quite beautiful.
The Thonets have signature steambent legs, backs and braces on the legs, and a mix of birdseye cane and wood seats — and They’re all gorgeous. elsie green has about 50 Thonets from their last buying trip, with more on the way, and we gathered up a few last week and styled them around my home — they make a beautiful, eclectic mix around a dining table, as they all have the same general design language, but each one is a pretty little work of art. and they also make for a great-looking bedside or side table to stack your books and accessories. to check out the whole Thonet collection, as well as the rest of elsie green’s vintage treasures for the home, visit their online shop.
Love it! feels like home!
xx
Curvybird.blogspot.nl
Oh my!! Bravo Lucy, Laurie and Victoria – so captivating – every last touch :)
I have definitely been mispronouncing Thonet as well! Thanks for sharing!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
i have definitely been mispronouncing that!
What a fun post – thank you for sharing!
x Motte
http://mottesblog.blogspot.com/
Gorgeous! Thonet actually sounds just like donut!
Yes. These are definitely up there in my “fave chairs” and I’ve thrifted 5 of them. I myself realized I had been pronouncing them wrong when I read Dana’s blog post on Mid2Mod.
http://blog.mid2mod.com/2010/11/thonetyes-you-heard-me-i-said-tawn-at.html
Regardless, the chairs give your home a very euro feel and look outstanding.
My dad works at a mother house (where nuns work and live) and rescued 3 thonet chairs from the dumpster! I’ve been bragging about my Th-onets to anyone who compliments them. Thank you for correcting me!
This is such a cute idea that is rusty but not dated. I definitely need to try this for when I eventually get my own apartment!
http://www.maireem.blogspot.com
Love love! Victoria…yours was the first blog I ever remember reading…and Laurie has been a friend for over 25 years! Two amazing creative souls! Love the images! Just beautiful!
thanks so much, donna!! :)
I love these chairs but have always just called them Bentwoods. I have four and got them all from the same place. One of them has a very old label on the bottom of the seat that says
A.P.M. Made in Poland. Do you know who I would contact to see if they have any value? A friend told me they are worth quite a bit of money. Thanks for another gorgeous post! I am enjoying my chairs, but I am just so curious about them.
I love them too!
Iam really sorry…. did you know, that Thonet chairs are German?? :)
Best regards from here!
Tous les français le savent ! (Ils se demandent juste ce que vient faire ce h)
Hi, would you know what is the name / number of the black chair with the round black seating (3rd picture in the right bottom corner)? Thanks.
Hi Tomas, I tried searching that particular chair and came up empty, but I’ll bet if you check with Elsie Green that will know. Good luck!