The Double Happy was designed in 2012, aiming to express the most fundamental characteristics of one of the oldest pieces of furniture: a place to sit. The bar and kitchen variants came into being in 2022, with a decision to treat the footrest like the threshold of a good hotel. A solid bronze ring anchors the stool, promising to shine with age and use.
American Ash is chosen for the body of the stool, a strong wood with a distinctive grain, but light in colour and weight. The seat is thick, with a soft radiused edge that’s easy on the thighs, and a scooped surface to be comfortable for long periods.
The foot rest is cast in bronze with a high copper content reflecting hues of pink and orange. The bronze is hand-fettled after casting, then shot-blasted to a rough finish that will polish to a deep shine over time.
Longevity is difficult to estimate but with a 45mm thick solid wood seat and a footrest that will not corrode, I expect it to serve for generations of everyday life - a hundred years, or maybe two. By distilling the form down to the essential archetype of the object, I hope for aesthetic longevity too. Less certain is whether we’ll have use for such things by then.