Tag Archives: Furniture

This Concept Organizes the First 30 Seconds of Coming Home in the Rain

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Home entryway products have a coverage problem. A shoe rack deals with footwear, but not the umbrella. An umbrella stand handles the wet item but does nothing for the dripping floor around it. A small tray catches keys but not the daily chaos that accompanies them. The pieces exist, but they don’t form a coherent system, and the result tends to be a doorway that feels permanently unsettled.

ENTRY is a concept that answers that scatter with one vertical object. It integrates umbrella guidance, water collection, elevated footwear storage, and a top catch-all surface into a single threshold form, described by its designer as something that organizes the first 30 seconds of coming home. Rather than treating the entrance as a storage corner, it reframes that space as a managed wet-dry transition between outside conditions and domestic calm.

Designer: Zhenhua Chen

The design gives the wet umbrella a precise position rather than a vague area to lean against. A vertical spine with controlled side geometry holds the umbrella in a defined relationship to the base, reducing the casual lean that scatters water across walls and floors. It’s structural thinking that locates the wet object deliberately, so that whatever drips off it goes where the design expects it to go.

Below the umbrella position, a concealed, removable tray collects water at the base. Rather than allowing drips to pool on the floor or soak into a mat, the design makes water collection part of the object’s own structure. The tray pulls out when it needs emptying, keeping the maintenance cycle as minimal as the design premise itself. Water arrives with the umbrella, gets directed downward, gets caught, and gets removed.

Footwear gets lifted off the floor onto dedicated raised platforms rather than accumulating at the base of the door in the usual loose arrangement. The difference between floor-level disorder and a designated surface is partly visual but also functional: the floor around the entrance stays clear, and the entryway retains the quality of a space someone has thought about rather than one that simply absorbed what was dropped into it.

The top surface is a flat catch-all tray for keys, cards, and anything else that comes in at the end of the day. Placing that surface on the same object as the umbrella and shoes means the coming-home ritual resolves at a single point. You don’t split between the entryway table, the kitchen counter, and the shoe mat; everything lands together, and the entrance stays coherent rather than scattered.

The design doesn’t try to decorate the problem. It reframes the entryway as a piece of domestic infrastructure, a small managed object whose job is to absorb the friction of arriving rather than add to it. ENTRY currently exists as a concept prototype that confirms scale, spatial arrangement, and visual language. Drainage performance and load testing are identified as the next steps before the design moves further forward.

The post This Concept Organizes the First 30 Seconds of Coming Home in the Rain first appeared on Yanko Design.

A Folding Chair Designed to Stay Out, Not Hide Away

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I have a complicated relationship with folding chairs. Not a hostile one, just complicated. They are one of those objects that exist in a permanent state of apology: useful when you need them, embarrassing when you don’t, and almost always the first thing you hide before company arrives. The folding chair has never quite managed to transcend its reputation as a placeholder for “real” furniture, and for decades, most designers haven’t really bothered trying. That’s what made the Kael Walnut Folding Chair by Esspur stop me mid-scroll.

It doesn’t announce itself as a folding chair. If you saw it sitting in someone’s dining room, you’d probably assume it was a permanent fixture, a considered purchase, a statement piece. The seat and curved backrest are solid walnut, warm in tone and shaped to suggest permanence rather than portability. The frame is polished stainless steel, slim and structured without feeling cold or industrial. Taken together, the chair reads more like something you’d find in a well-edited boutique hotel lobby than something you’d unfold for a dinner party and tuck back behind a door before your guests could notice. The proportions are right. The materials are at least photographically convincing. And the overall silhouette holds a kind of quiet confidence that most folding chairs never come close to.

Designer: Esspur

The design carries echoes of mid-century classics, and those references don’t feel like a stretch. There’s a rotational elegance to how the chair collapses that feels deliberate, almost theatrical, as if the whole point of the folding mechanism is to be watched. That’s not a common quality in budget-adjacent furniture. Most folding chairs fold in the most graceless way possible, a series of clicks and reversals that feel like you’re solving a problem rather than using a product. The Kael seems to understand that the fold is part of the design, not an afterthought.

Esspur is a brand with virtually no history and no disclosed location, and their online presence raises more questions than it answers. The product description calls the seat and backrest solid wood in one place, then references veneer craftsmanship in the fine print. I think that’s worth sitting with for a moment. We live in an era of very convincing product photography, and the gap between how something looks on a screen and how it feels in your hands has never been wider. The walnut might be veneer rather than solid. The steel might feel lighter than it looks. These are legitimate concerns, and if you’re the kind of person who expects heirloom-grade furniture, this probably isn’t it. Shopping from an unknown brand with no verifiable track record is always a calculated risk.

But here’s the thing I keep turning over: the idea itself is nearly flawless. Whatever the material quality ends up being, someone thought carefully about the problem of the folding chair and came up with a solution that doesn’t feel like a compromise. The design respects the object. It doesn’t try to disguise the fact that it folds; the mechanism is visible, structural, part of the aesthetic. But it also doesn’t apologize for it. That’s a harder line to walk than it looks.

For anyone living in a city apartment, a studio, or a home where space is a constant negotiation, the Kael makes a quiet argument: good design shouldn’t require a permanent footprint. The best extra chair is one you’d want to leave out even when you don’t need it. Most folding chairs fail that test spectacularly. This one, at least in concept, passes with something to spare.

Whether Esspur refines the build quality over time or quietly disappears from the internet, the design itself has already done something useful. It’s asked the right question: what if the folding chair wasn’t the awkward option, but the intentional one? It’s a question the furniture industry hasn’t had much urgency to answer. Maybe now it does.

The post A Folding Chair Designed to Stay Out, Not Hide Away first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

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There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.

Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details

Posted on by

There are few symbols more familiar than the heart. It appears everywhere, from children’s drawings to luxury branding, which is perhaps why designers rarely touch it. The shape carries so much cultural baggage that it can quickly slip into sentimentality.

For its twentieth anniversary, Danish furniture brand Muuto decided to take that risk! Created with Copenhagen studio Spacon, the *Close to Heart* chair debuts during 3 Days of Design as part of Muuto’s anniversary programme, *Next Chapters in Scandinavian Design*. Limited to 150 pieces and produced in Denmark from extruded aluminium, the chair transforms the heart from a graphic symbol into a structural system. Every profile used to construct the chair is shaped like a heart.

Designer: Muuto and Spacon

The project began with a clear direction from Muuto, which was to avoid nostalgia. Rather than celebrating the past, the anniversary was framed as an opportunity to explore where Scandinavian design might go next. For Spacon partners Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, Malene Hvidt, and Svend Jacob Pedersen, that conversation led unexpectedly to the heart.

What attracted the designers was not its symbolism alone, but its geometry. A heart combines two very different formal qualities within a single shape. One side is defined by a sharp triangular point, while the other is made up of generous curves. It is a shape that feels simple at first glance, yet becomes surprisingly intricate when examined closely.

That balance between softness and precision carries through the entire chair. From a distance, the heart references are obvious. Up close, they begin to disappear into the construction, becoming part of the chair’s proportions, joints, and structure rather than decorative details.

Material selection played an equally important role. Extruded aluminium is typically associated with engineering and manufacturing efficiency, making it an unusual choice for an object built around one of culture’s most emotionally loaded symbols. Yet the designers found that the material’s characteristics aligned naturally with the concept. Its light weight and ability to accommodate smooth curves allowed the heart profile to be repeated throughout the chair without becoming visually heavy.

The anodized finish further softens the material’s appearance. Instead of presenting aluminium as hard or industrial, the treatment gives the surface a subtle depth that reacts to changing light throughout the day. Reflections become muted, colors from the surrounding environment are absorbed into the surface, and the material takes on a quieter presence.

The chair sits within a broader collaboration between Muuto and Spacon centred on the relationship between technical systems and emotional experience. Muuto’s history is rooted in innovation and manufacturing development, while Spacon’s work frequently crosses between architecture, interiors, art, and craft. Close to Heart brings those interests together in a single object.

That intersection feels particularly relevant to how Scandinavian design is evolving today. The defining values remain familiar: experimentation, material honesty, and careful craftsmanship. What is changing is the willingness to embrace stronger narratives, cultural references, and emotional expression without treating them as separate from function.

The heart, surprisingly, proved to be a useful vehicle for that discussion. What could easily have become a novelty instead became a study in proportion, material, and manufacturing. The symbolism is impossible to ignore, yet the chair succeeds because it never relies on symbolism alone.

For Muuto and Spacon, the anniversary project is less about celebrating twenty years of design history than testing where design can go next. If Close to Heart is any indication, that future may involve a little more emotion, a little more playfulness, and a willingness to find sophistication in places designers have often overlooked.

The post Muuto’s Minimalist Chair Hides A Tiny Heart In Its Details first appeared on Yanko Design.