Kartell Louis Ghost Armchairs

Internationally recognized furniture designer Phillippe Starck is responsible for this armchair. When I first saw this chair at a furniture design expo, I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it. Well a few days later I realized it was love and I had to own one (or 6). I now own seven of these chairs: six in the crystal for my dinning room table and one in smoke at my office. The Ghost Armchair is always a conversation piece - with most folks approaching it tenatively not sure if it is a "real chair" or not. One client asked me if this was what Wonder Woman sat in while she flew the invisible plane.

The Louis Ghost chair is a playful interpretation - some might even say a reinvention of - the classic Louis XVI armchair. Starck's design has been called a "a postmodern triumph of technical innovation and historical style" and well I can't say it any better than that. Basically he brings the classic & formal design of the Louis XVI chair and presents them in a modern way using modern materials. The Louis Ghost Chair is made as a single form of translucent or opaque black or white injection-molded polycarbonate. Translated that means that the polycarbonate gets injected in a mold as a single chair - it is not put together in pieces. As such there are no weak points on this chair.

But let's get down to the real questions about this chair....

The Louis Ghost chair is surprisingly comfortable. It is made out of a relatively softer plastic so you don't feel like you are sitting on a block of hard plastic. You relax into it as soon as you sit down because there are plenty of curves to the chair that you don't expect. I expected the chair to feel narrow but it does not. The seat area is very generous. The arms had a nice curve and are a good a good height and width. The round or medallian back is wide enough to offer good support.

I have found this chair perfect for sitting around a dinning room table and to be a great sitting chair while having converations - activities that require you to be a bit more alert. If you are looking for a good chair to curl up in - this isn't it. The only con that I can think of (and it isn't much) is that it is prone to fingerprints - windexing these chairs is a small price to pay for such great design and comfort. These chairs are scratch resistent and weather resistent. I half expected to see scratches develop on them over time but that just hasn't happend and now I am convinced it won't. And after 2 years of use - inside and outside - my chairs still look great.

If you are thinking about getting these chairs - than I highly recommend you do so. You are already drawn to them for a reason and now you know that the function is as good as the beauty of this design. You won't be disappointed.