With the promise of summer sun tantalizing us nationwide, we thought we’d take a look at authentic and retro style seating for patios and porches. To start: We were pleased to discover that the Solair chair, which has been around since it was designed in 1972 by Fabio Fabiano and Michelange Pazini in Quebec, Canada, is still available for purchase. UPDATE: I no longer see this chair in the company’s catalog — but look around online, I still see shops that seem to have it for sale.
Made of colorful UV treated plastic with an welded steel base, the Solair Chair will stand up to all that summer has to offer. It is a bit difficult to track down these chairs here in the U.S. I tried to contact the company for purchase information, but received no response. After doing a bit of detective work, I found that Stardust Modern sells the Solair chair in 6 colors — white, black, orange, yellow, green or blue — but must be purchased in multiples of two through Stardust Modern at the cost of $250 per chair. If you happen to live in Sonoma, Calif., you can visit their showroom for a huge discount, since local customers can purchase the chairs for $149.99.
Reader Geraldine wrote us to share her fond memories and a link to a story (the text is in French) about the revival of the Solair chair:
I’m sending you this message because a product made in late 70 from a small town in Quebec is back. It is the amazing solar chair. I always loved it as a kid…. hoping I could still buy somes one day when I’ll get my pool house. But they were always broken or really too expensive (300$ ?!??) But they are back in funky colors. I know the text is in french but I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Here’s another story archived on Boston.com.
The Innit company also makes several woven retro style porch and patio chairs. Their signature style is the round-framed Innit Chair above, which retails for $475, and is also available as a rocker. It appears all of the Innit’s chairs are available in 11 cord colors — white, orange, red, black, pink, yellow, grey, blue, turquoise, olive green and purple — and three frame colors — black, white or chrome)
Above: Innit company’s Acapulco chair ($475) — also available in baby size, as a rocker or micro sized.
Above: Innit Concha chair ($475)
Any of these options would be perfect for your retro or mid century modern patio, porch or yard — and provide the perfect perch for the summer season.
Carolyn Self says
Our local garden center has the Innit in aqua. I drool every time I see it.
It is pricey though!
Chris says
I like them all but my favorite is innit signature chair. = )
Mrs.FMV says
Can we get a reader gallery of patio pics? Or has this already been done?
Kate says
Hi Mrs. FMV — we did do a patio uploader about a year ago: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/06/15/photos-of-retro-patios-porches-decks-sunrooms-summer-spaces/
Pam and I were discussing the possibility of another one in the future. Stay tuned!
Robert Lavoie says
I saw these chairs today at my hardware store in Montreal for 99.99$
They have several colors.
Natalie says
Okay – maybe I am missing something but I can’t seem to find the Swingasan circle chair on the Pier 1 website. Do you think it’s soldout or worse – discontinued!? That one would be perfect on our porch!
Kate says
hmmm maybe they sold out? When I was writing this story, they had them. Looks like most of them are on sale, so maybe call your local store and ask if you must have one. Good luck!
Tracy says
Old Time Pottery has a cheap option too…http://www.oldtimepottery.com/products/seasonal/outdoor_furniture/metal-garden-chairs
Kate says
I actually have some of these! There aren’t any Old Time Pottery stores near me, and they don’t ship the chairs, but my parents live near one and they picked some up for me and drove them to my house when they came to visit. For metal chairs, they are quite comfy, though the paint job was kinda mangled, and I will need to repaint them. Still, an affordable option if you live near an Old Time Pottery! 🙂
Tracy says
Good to know that they’re reasonably comfortable! I’ve been meaning to pick a couple up.
MsKittyMuses says
Oh my gosh, thanks so much for posting this! These look so fun, and are in our price range! We’ve been looking for something retro looking and funky, and were having a hard time justifying $300 for 2 of the IKEA PS patio chairs. I really hope our local store has them! Thanks again for sharing!
maude says
My great aunt had a pair of chairs on her back porch that were very similar to the one in the third picture. They didn’t look like they would be comfortable to sit on, but they really were.
Marty says
Those are my two Solairs in the picture–used to be four. My parents bought them in Maine, where it seemed in the 60s/70s all of the hotels had them.
Anyway, after I had them a couple of years, the plastic started to crack with no real way to fix them (although I tried to reinforce them from the back with webbing and adhesives). Finally, two were so far gone, I put them on the curb. The next year, the others had also split, but I decided to do some web searching to see what could be done. (Took a while to just figure out what they were called.)
Found a hardware/garden store in Maine that sold replacement plastic shells, and I was able to get two to fix the chairs (kicking myself that I didn’t think of it before trashing the first two, and also because–by coincidence–when I was in Maine on vacation a month earlier, I actually drove by the store. If I’d known, could’ve saved on shipping.)
Kate says
Thanks for identifying your chairs Marty! I’ve updated the story to reflect it.
Sorry to hear that they cracked…at least you were able to find replacement plastic shells!
Karen says
Hi Marty – would you have the name/address of the hardware store in Maine? We have the same chairs and problems with them. Thanks!
Marty says
Kate–I wasn’t looking for credit, just sharing the experience. (my problem now is that on the rocker in that picture, some of the blue plastic is turning brown–I guess I can’t leave it in the sun anymore)
Karen–I got the shells from http://www.loweryspatio.com/ , but don’t see them on the website now (got ’em in ’09). Might be worth a call, though.
Karen says
Thanks, will try them.
Laura says
I had a neighbour when I was young who had one of those swing chairs IN the house, hanging from the ceiling. That was the coolest thing EVER.
Robin, NV says
LOL – I bet! I’m envisioning a living room with classic 70s decor. Hanging ferns, diagonal rough-hewn wood panelling, accessories in avocado and orange. A swinging pad with a swinging chair.
Janet in CT says
Neat chairs but strangely I do not remember them at all. I do love the Swingasan chair and wish I had a porch to put it on! I could read the article so if anyone is interested, I can translate it but my French is a bit rusty and maybe there is someone here who can do a better job!
Allen says
Your web browser should translate the text to English for you.