A symbol of versatility, the stool is the quintessential passe-partout of home furnishing. An object that has driven all of last Century’s most important designers to experiment with design, materials, and processes.

Possibly one of the longest-lasting objects in the history of humanity, the humble stool has certainly stood the test of time. Right from its origins, it was created for the most mundane tasks, accompanying mankind throughout its journey of social, economic, and cultural evolution. A chameleon by nature, it is the piece of furniture that has best embodied, in a flexible manner, all the functional criteria and various purposes attributed to it over time. At the same time, it doesn’t require instructions and holds no secrets, which may explain its reassuring nature, regardless of its use and the forms it has taken over time
Despite its humble origins, it went far beyond being a mere work tool to become a true universal piece of furniture, both in terms of vocation and of functionality. Perhaps for this reason, it was re-invented and reworked countless times by all the creative minds and designers of the twentieth Century. Its versatility made it an ideal candidate for new design experiments, material applications, and processes. It can be safely said that the stool represents the quintessence of freedom for the creative mind, allowing for the exploration of new forms, materials, even to extreme levels, or, conversely, it is capable of encapsulating in a simple form the memory and heritage of the past. It can bring a smile, create good humour, or convey irony. The objects featured in the following pages perfectly embody this creative and formal journey. Regardless of the choices made, what is certain is that even today the stool continues to possess the necessary potential to be interpreted almost endlessly, telling beautiful stories.

Cassina iMaestri 1927 collection

Tabouret tournant, durable, Charlotte Perriand, intégré à la Collection Le Corbusier®,

The “8” Tabouret Tournant stool is inspired by the design “Fauteuil” armchair created by Charlotte Perriand for her apartment at Place Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Designed in 1927, it was part of the furniture section at the Salon d’Automne exhibition in 1929. Today, it is part of the Le Corbusier®, Pierre Jeanneret®, Charlotte Perriand® – Cassina iMaestri Collections. Charlotte Perriand, a French architect and designer, is one of the most prominent female figures in the history of twentieth-Century architecture and design. She started her career in 1927 with Le Corbusier, the guiding figure of the Modern Movement, with whom she collaborated until 1937. The iconic and versatile shape of the stool reflects Charlotte Perriand’s desire to rationalise mass production through the use of common elements. In 2023, the company introduced the 8 Tabouret Tournant stool in the ‘durable’ version, i.e. sustainable, developed with recyclable materials.
www.cassina.com

60 Stool, Alvar Aalto, Artek, 1933

© Copyright exploitation rights with Artek

A classic of 20th-century design and an icon of modern Scandinavian design, the 60 stool was designed in 1933 by Alvar Aalto for the Russian library in Vilipuri. Its distinctive features are the simplicity and the minimalism of its forms. It consists of a circular seat supported by three legs made of bent birch wood. It was precisely the L-shaped form of the three legs, achieved through a wood bending process that was absolutely innovative at the time and of which Aalto was the pioneer, that constituted the revolutionary idea behind this project. The purpose of the bending is twofold: on one hand to support the seat, on the other to make it stackable. In 1958, Stool 60 became part of the permanent collection at NYC’s MoMA.
www.artek.fi

Tabouret Berger, Charlotte Perriand, Cassina iMaestri 1953 Collection

Cassina iMaestri collection

The Modern Movement, emerging between the two world wars, was characterised by a lively debate on how to reconcile regional traditions with the universal language of rationalism. Charlotte Perriand made a significant contribution by salvaging simple materials and elementary forms inspired in particular by alpine architecture. “La manque de materiaux donnait de l’imagination,” wrote Charlotte in her memoirs, recalling how it was precisely the scarcity of materials that stimulated creativity in mountain and rural communities.
Her great passion for the mountains inspired one of her stools, the Tabouret Berger, which takes its name and form from the milking stools used by shepherds. The stool stands out for the honesty of its simple forms and the concreteness expressed by its function and by the material used.

Mexique stool, Charlotte Perriand, Cassina iMaestri collection, 1952-1956

Cassina iMaestri Collection, ph. De Pasquale + Maffini

Included among the en forme libre tables created by Charlotte Perriand between 1938 and 1939, the final design of the Mexique model was conceived in 1952 for the student dorms of the Maison du Mexique at the Cité Universitaire Internationale in Paris. The stool, designed to take up as little space as possible, provided for the possibility of combining several pieces together in order to create compositions of a wider and more regular shape. In 1952 the author replaced the wooden legs with triangular folded sheet metal legs. In 1956 a shorter version was produced for the Galerie Steph Simon in Paris. The thickness of the wooden top, available in both solid or glossy lacquer or matt, conveys remarkable beauty, while the edges reveal a functional profile adapted to the shape and size of a hand.

Elephant Stool, Sori Yanagi, Vitra 1954

One of the most famous Japanese design objects, the Elephant Stool, was created by product designer Sori Yanagi who, after World War II, wanted to try and use fiberglass, which had begun to spread in Japan in those years.
Stackable, and with legs resembling an elephant’s foot, hence the name, the stool was subsequently produced in injection-moulded polypropylene. Perfect for both indoor spaces and for terraces and gardens, it was easy to carry around and could also be used as a picnic chair. Its linear shapes and functionality continue to make it contemporary.
www.vitra.com

Butterfly Stool, Sori Yanagi, Vitra, 1954

The Butterfly Stool represents the perfect fusion between Eastern world forms and the plywood bending techniques developed by Charles and Ray Eames. The curved plywood structure is made of maple or rosewood, with brass finishes. The curvy silhouette of the two shells not only recalls a butterfly but it also evokes Japanese calligraphy and reminds of the typical Shinto temples’ gates, known as Torii.

Mezzadro, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Zanotta, 1957

Designed in 1957 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for the exhibition “Forme e colori nella casa d’oggi” set up at Villa Olmo in Como, the Mezzadro stool has been produced by Zanotta since 1970. The inspiration behind its peculiar design was the typical seat of tractors from the early twentieth century. Reflecting on the ready-made applied to the world of design, the Castiglioni brothers assembled existing objects, deliberately diverting their original intended use. The result was an ironic and playful object, suitable for home use. They only reversed the orientation of the steel stem, using a leaf spring to enhance the originality of the stool and emphasise the sense of support, and stabilised the seat with a wooden crossbar inspired from the nautical world.
www.zanotta.com

Sella, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Zanotta, 1957

Like Mezzadro, Sella (“saddle” in Italian) was also designed by the Castiglioni brothers in 1957 for the “Colours and shapes in today’s home” exhibition, putting together existing objects but diverting their original use. In this case, they combined a racing bike leather saddle with a painted steel rod, and a heavy semispherical base. It was designed as a stool to be placed next to the telephone, which at the time was often hung on a wall at home, but with the intention of discouraging long phone calls. Even the colours were not chosen randomly: the black leather saddle was typical of racing bicycles, while the bright pink of the rod paid homage to the colour of the winner’s jersey in the Giro d’Italia, itself inspired by the colour of the Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s main daily sports newspaper.

Tabouret Méribel, Charlotte Perriand, Cassina iMaestri collection, 1961/62

Cassina iMaestri Collection, ph. De Pasquale + Maffini

The Tabouret Méribel stool, also doubling as a small table, represents the taller version compared to the Tabouret Berger from 1953. It too is inspired by the mountains beloved by the French architect and designer Charlotte Perriand, and takes its name from the French alpine resort much beloved by Perriand, while its shape is inspired by the milking stools of the local shepherds. It was first presented in Tokyo on the occasion of the Synthèse des arts exhibition in 1955. Created for a chalet in Méribel, France, it reinterprets local interior architecture. Produced by Cassina through meticulous craftsmanship enhancing the authenticity of the design, both of these masterpieces can be used individually or in original compositions.

Platner, Warren Platner, Knoll, 1966

Cassina iMaestri Collection, ph. De Pasquale + Maffini

Designed by American architect and designer Warren Platner in 1966, this stool is part of the eponymic collection for Knoll, which represents an attempt to infuse modernism into the “decorative, gentle, and graceful forms that appeared in the Louis XV style.” Platner welded hundreds of curved steel bars onto circular frames, which served both as a support and decoration, creating what is now considered an icon of modern era design
www.knoll-int.com

Tam Tam, Henry Massonnet, Stamp, 1968

Considered an icon of French design, the Tam Tam polypropylene stool was originally created as a fishing stool by the owner of STAMP. Produced in a multitude of colours, it could be dismounted into two identical parts shaped like an hourglass, and was highly appreciated for its compact dimensions (30x30x45 cm), lightness, and easy portability. Its international commercial success was due to a 1970 photo shoot by Paris Match magazine in the St. Tropez home of actress Brigitte Bardot, who was photographed sitting on an orange Tam Tam stool. The stool continues to be produced by the STAMP company in the same factory, using the same mould that gave life to the original object, but with a greater variety of colours and shapes.

www.stamp.fr

Giotto, De Pas -D’Urbino - Lomazzi, Zanotta, 1975

This minimalist stool with a swivel seat owes its aesthetics to industrial functionality. Its structure consists of three legs made of natural beech, joined by a red painted metal crosspiece, deliberately revealed, like the threaded support that holds the circular seat and allows for easy height adjustment.

Backenzahn, Philipp Mainzer, e15, 1996

This stool is a tribute to the material it is made of, solid wood, and to the craftsmanship of the cut that recalls the work of carpenters. Designed by founder Philipp Mainzer in 1996, Backenzahn (which means “molar tooth” in German) is an iconic piece for e15 and is part of various museum collections. Its uniqueness lies in its minimalist geometric shape, but above all in the craftsmanship shown in the solid wood work. Its shape and peculiar characteristic call for the use of the trees’ heartwood. During the seasoning of the wood, the veins and splits that emerge are preserved and visible, and become an essential part of the design itself. To celebrate its 25 years anniversary, it has been offered in a matte black finish.
www.e15.com

Miura, Konstantin Grcic, Plank, 2005

This one-piece plastic bar stool made Konstantin Grcic one of the most innovative and visionary designers of his generation. Nearly twenty years after its launch, it still stands as a visionary and innovative project. Created after the well-known chair_ONE, Miura allowed Grcic to change his approach in terms of forms, in order to experiment with a new language. Moving away from the angular and faceted shapes of the chair, he chose softer forms. The creation of the stool’s geometries and surfaces started from its function and its relationship with the human body. The stool immediately became part of the collections of the world’s most prestigious institutions, such as the permanent design collection of the MoMA in New York, the Milan Triennale, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich, and the Vitra Design Museum.

www.plank.it

Wiggle Stool, Franck Gehry, Vitra, 1972

Architect Frank Gehry is known for his use of unconventional materials. The Wiggle Stool is part of “Easy Edges,” a furniture series that managed to dignify the aesthetic dimension and highlight the formal potential of an ordinary material such cardboard. Its distinctive trait lies in its sculptural form. Although its appearance is surprisingly simple, it is crafted with the expertise of a seasoned architect, making it not only very comfortable but also durable and sturdy.

Attila, design Philippe Starck, Kartell, 2000

Attila, Napoleon, and Saint-Esprit are three stool-tables, three charismatic characters from the Gnomes series designed by Philippe Starck for Kartell. Striking for their originality and nonconformity, these playful objects are meant to furnish any space without restrictions, but also with an eye for functionality: the gnomes’ hats, in effect, are flat and circular specifically to be used as a table-top, or stool. Pictured, the Attila stool-table in the gold version.
www.kartell.com

Cork Family, Jasper Morrison, Vitra, 2004

The five Cork Family stools series is the result of experimentation with cork, a natural and sustainable material, very durable yet lightweight, pleasant to the touch, but almost never used in furniture. Inspired by the shape of the classic bottle cork, these stools enhance the beauty of the material and meet the desire for seemingly anonymous yet durable objects that discreetly fit into everyday life.

Pilastro, Ettore Sottsass, 2004, “Kartell goes Sottsass collection - A Tribute to Memphis” (2015)

“Pilastro” is part of the “Kartell goes Sottsass - A Tribute to Memphis” collection, conceived in 2015 to honour the design movement founded by master of design Ettore Sottsass. Although they were signed by Sottsass in 2004, they were never produced. Each individual element was characterised by unique volumes and post-modernist geometries. The five colours they come in are dynamic and tied to the pop culture of the past century: red, lime green, glossy white and black, and intense pink.

Efesto, design Martinelli Venezia, De Castelli, 2022

More than mere furniture, the Efesto stool is a sculpture for the home which underscores the brand’s manufacturing capabilities: by curving and bending sheet metal, brass is manually shaped and hammered to create its unique triangular cross section. The polished finish further highlights its sinuous shape.
Entirely without mechanical joints, Efesto’s ability to support heavy weights is created through its meticulously designed structure. Technical savoir-faire and the intrinsic qualities of brass elevate it beyond a functional object to a unique, sophisticated design piece.
www.decastelli.com

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