Inspiration: [klismos chair] ancient Greece
Because the klismos chair was regarded by the Greeks as a feminine piece of furniture, it is commonly featured on ancient vases that depict the daily lives of Greek women. It has 4 splayed legs that bend under the seat before sweeping back outward toward the floor. The shaped back, called a stile, displays that the ancient Greeks had comfort and ergonomics in mind.
Ancient Reproduction [Walnut Klismos] Saridis for designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings
Current Key Piece [Juul Moller Klismos Chair]
Living with klismos today:
I used vibrant colors to celebrate the lively Greek culture while classical geometric patterns and graceful lines make this space practical and elegant.
Classical Greek Motifs:
As far as we know, they were mostly decorative and not symbolic. They were often used in combinations- see below:
In architecture and design they searched for the ideal. Once a style was established
in formative periods- it was repeated in mature periods with minor changes. Their focus was on perfect proportions and distribution of forms and parts. Their goal was to get to the point that by adding or subtracting anything from the structure/form would cause it to be unbalanced. Every feature had a practical purpose and ornamentation was never applied to a degree that would reduce the structure to secondary importance in the design.
