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Whisky Chairs from House of Finn Juhl

Whisky Chair by Finn Juhl via House of Finn Juhl

Dezeen Showroom: House of Finn Juhl has relaunched the mid-century Whisky Chair – a "borderline politically incorrect" seating design from Danish architect and designer Finn Juhl.

The Whisky Chair was first presented at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild Exhibition in 1948 but was never put into production.

House of Finn Juhl, which was established in 2001 to manufacture the late Juhl's furniture pieces, is now making the Whisky Chair available for sale.

Finn Juhl chair
Finn Juhl designed the Whisky Chair in 1948

The chair takes its moniker from the folding brass tray inlaid into its armrest, which features a circular indent designed to hold a whisky tumbler.

House of Finn Juhl describes Juhl's design as "playfully provocative, perhaps even borderline politically incorrect".

Whisky glass holder
A circular brass tray is inlaid into the armrest

"In a way, it tells you all you need to know about him," said the brand's co-founder Hans Henrik Sørensen. "He designed freely, without giving the commercial aspect of his creations much thought."

"His pieces were often exclusive and certainly not within everyone's reach," Sørensen added.

"For this reason, the Whisky Chair was never put into production during Finn Juhl's lifespan but remained merely a comment on the social-democratic Denmark of the late 40s, which did not allow for this type of extravagance."

Chairs side-by-side
A hole in the brass tray is designed for holding whisky tumblers

The chair features brass feet and an American walnut wood frame with leather or fabric upholstery.

A matching whisky glass, mouth-blown by Danish glassmaker Mikkel Yerst, is included with each chair.

The first 250 chairs sold will also come with a bottle of especially developed peat-smoked single malt whisky from Danish distillery Stauning Whisky, which is based a few miles from the House of Finn Juhl workshop.

Product: Whisky Chair
Designer: Finn Juhl
Brand: House of Finn Juhl
Contact: [email protected]

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Walnut and brass chair
Whisky Chairs