To answer your question, I have not.

But I think it would be worth it for the cool factor.

Definitely get the pair. If you end up only wanting/needing one, you'll have a spare to sell.

Oh GET THEM, even if they need reupholstering. You'll be living my dream.

Seriously, get them and hold them. Time will tell what needs to happen to them. You could resell them in a second for what you paid if you decide you don't want them (for g' knows what reason -- the ergonomics are unparalleled), and more later.

I am looking at a pair that are in abysmal condition fabric wise, so they are probably a re-foam + reupholster and unusable til then.

I know that if I got one, I would NEVER get to sit in it unless I was home alone, so a pair would be great.

I figure even if I spent $1500 each on refoaming and upholstery I would still be ahead of the game, but it's still a pricey proposition. But I am more likely to do it piecemeal this way than I am to drop 7-10K for a new pair (never).

Yes, do it! And post frequently with your progress.

I found this by a little poking around on the net. Your dream may not be out of reach! You might contact them and see what the costs would be.

Here is a link that might be useful: retro-redo

If you buy the pair, are you going to then buy new ottomans to go with them? Because you'll need to factor that into the whole equation.

I had been wanting to get DH a womb chair for some time, but finances haven't permitted. He found a cute new (and much less expensive) italian chair & ottoman he liked a few months ago, so the womb dream is now a mere vapor.

I decided to pull the trigger on these.

The auction is on Friday and I submitted an absentee bid that will be placed incrementally from the opening of this no reserve auction up to my bid. They start at 50% of the low estimate, so it's theoretically possible that I could get these for about 10% of retail.

I have bid on chairs in this condition before and lost, so there is a general interest in restoring these chairs and people are apparently pretty willing to pay a significant price for potential:

Both chairs are faded, one has ripped upholstery, one is missing the glides, and one has partially hardened foam, the other is mummified. It's a bit weird to pay the price of a decent sofa for two chairs in bad shape (if the bidding hits the high estimate).

I can hope that I do get them toward the low end, and that I lose out on them at the maximum bid, I guess.

Good luck at auction!

can't wait to hear what happens--break a leg! but I'm sure you know it's good to be fatalistic about these things - if they're meant to be yours, they will be.

And jakabedy, did you think you would get away without sharing the name/link to that Italian chair that made the womb chair pale in comparison?? The womb chair is one of my if-I-won-the-lottery kind of things (unless I find it or a knockoff at GW, of course as I did a pair of somewhat cat-scratched LC2 good quality knockoffs--I'll take them for $15 : )) It's not piracy if you buy the knockoff at gW, is it? : )

anyway, I'd love to know of a chair that's just as comfortable as the womb chair...

I have been retail shopping online for vintage, and I am seeing everything from $1800 low to $3000s average for womb chairs that have faded upholstery (I would want to reupholster anything faded unless it was really "important".) I am seeing a fair amount with ottomans in the 4-5 range...some not needing recovering.

There is a 1946 (first year) @ $7500 (no ottoman) in original 1946-only fabric. This one, I would keep as is, if I were ever to spend $7500 on something like this.

So, I should make out okay, because I will come in under even with a full rehab.

This is my personal feeling, but I would rather not have a pirated or knock-off of something so iconic. If I can't have the real thing, I wouldn't want it.

Not even if you found it for $15 at GW? I would never pay what I see them for at retail, but when I came upon them sitting there next to the mysteriously stained Haitian cotton sofas and papasan chairs and such I just had to rescue them -- they don't know they're ba*tards : )

Good luck, Pal!

I don't know flyleft, maybe for $15.

I am not particularly big on labels for labels' sakes, but that might be why I also would not want a pretender.

Some things are so iconic that I would want it real or not at all. If there is something about the knock off that makes it obvious I guess that's ok, or if it's something that became ubiquitous like Thonet-style or Cesca-style chairs. I would never buy a (K)Nak-off-ashima either--although I would buy a New Hope School piece that was clearly someone else.

Fly,

It's not that the new chair is wonderfuller than the womb chair. It isn't at all. It's just that DH was really ready to replace his Ikea Poang chair and we weren't ready to spring for a womb chair. He found a chair that he liked, and he seldom has a strong feeling about anything, so I went with it. it's cute, DH is happy, and I'll still get the Womb chair someday!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Italsofa Shanghai chair

I think I got them, although I am never sure until they contact me, if I bid in advance.

Here they are, pretty sad looking in their current state: I hope they don't stink, at least.

Congrats, pal!

Now the challenge is going to be picking the fabric.

The original fabric would have been Prestini or hopsack-type most commonly, I think followed by Knoll Velvet (mohair), and some other options.

The current version of the Prestini and the hopsack are relatively inexpensive, while the Knoll Velvet is 3-4 times as much per yard and a couple of options have "unlisted" prices. Since the listed prices run up to almost $200 a yard, one can only surmise...hmph.

jakabedy, that's a cute chair! May I ask how much it cost?

And congratulations, pal! No matter what, you own some original womb chairs. VERY cool. Do you have plans to get ottomans/ottomen? :)

Ebay. In my research someone said 6yds per chair. However that surely is in square yardage.(as opposed to running yardage which is the whole 54" wide). I personally have never recovered one of these chairs,which is why I had to do some googling to find anything about them.I found out that the material is glued on to stick to the curvature of the frame,which would be a pita,and why the labor costs are so high. You might contact those people that I gave the link to and ask them the correct yardage amount and see what shows up on ebay.

Congratulations Pal! Can't wait to see them reupholstered.

Good for you....can't wait to see what you select for fabric!

flyleft -

I think it was less than $700 including tax (10% here), and that includes the ottoman. It was a floor model and there was a sale. So it is probably regularly a few hundred more than that.

Wow, jakabedy--that's not bad at all, nowhere near what I thought. Congratulations : )

One of the 1990s womb chairs with ottoman that did not need to be reupholstered went for $1700 including buyer's premium. If you can buy one at auction you can get a pretty good deal if it's a good day. Strangely one also went for $3000 and in that case I would get a new one.

Mine were the cheapest since they clearly need to be redone, but it may be some time (year+) before this happens.

Loribee, there was some Mccobb at the Auction and the Planner pieces did pretty well, considering it seemed to be a weak and indecisive auction day.(Which is how I probably got my chairs)

yes, go to a car upholstery place. They are the real pros at this stuff, bring the chair and discuss how they plan to do it. have them recommend to you the fabric that will work best.