Yes, Tolix chairs are designed to be comfortable thanks to their slightly curved seats and added footrest. The backrest of a Tolix chair is flat, which may cause extended periods of sitting challenging for some, while more comfortable for others. However, adding thin cushions to the backrest can increase the level of comfort for these chairs.
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According to Disegno Journal, the Tolix chair was invented by French industrialist Xavier Pauchard in . At Café Solutions, we’ve continued Pauchard’s legacy by creating Tolix chairs of various designs, colours, and heights. Here’s everything you need to know about comfort before buying Tolix chairs.
Tolix chairs are iconic metal seats that are higher than most other chairs. You’ll spot them by their simple industrial style and sturdy build. They feature a curved backrest, four legs, and often come in colourful finishes. These chairs remain popular in Australian cafés, restaurants, and homes for their durability and timeless look.
Tolix chairs aren’t good for long sitting without cushions. You’ll feel sore after 30 minutes due to their hard metal parts. Your back gets tired from sitting up straight, and the seat feels cold. For longer use, you need to add cushions to make them nicer to sit on.
Their height design focuses on strength over softness. Many café owners in Australia add seat pads for customers who want to stay longer. If you work from home, pick something else for your desk chair. For meals with shorter times, these chairs work fine, mainly with thin cushions.
Tolix chairs are made from materials like sheet metal, mostly steel or aluminium. The metal is shaped, welded, and covered with paint for colour and protection. You’ll find most chairs have zinc coating underneath to stop rust. This strong build helps them last for many years in your home or business.
The first of these chairs were made from steel, giving them their factory look. Today’s models might use lighter aluminium so that they’re easier to move. The finish affects how they handle Australian weather. Painted ones might fade in the sun, while some newer types have wooden seats with metal frames, giving you a warmer place to sit.
Yes, Tolix chairs give basic back support, but sometimes lack a good design for your body. Your lower back won’t always get proper support from the straight backrest. The stiff frame keeps you sitting up, but doesn’t fit your spine’s natural curve. For better support, you can put a small cushion behind your lower back.
Yes, standard Tolix chairs hold weights of up to 120kg, making them strong enough for larger individuals. However, you might find the seat too narrow if you have a larger body. The arms on some models can also limit comfort. Look for wider Tolix chairs that offer more room for your body type.
Tolix chairs without cushions are only comfortable for short times. You’ll feel the hard metal surface, which gets sore after about 15 minutes. The slight dip in the seat helps a bit, but your sitting bones still feel pressure. For daily use at home, adding cushions will make them much more comfy.
Tolix chairs can be used as comfortable seating in commercial dining rooms, outdoor patios, and kitchen islands. You’ll find them good for quick meals, brief work, or as extra seats for guests. Add thin pads to make them nicer. They last well both inside and outside in Australia’s weather. Many homes use them at breakfast bars or patios.
Here are some ideas on where you can use Tolix chairs at home or at your business.
You can buy good Tolix chairs from Café Solutions across Australia. They offer many styles and colours to match your space. Other places to find them include local furniture shops, but always check the quality before buying. Most stores also sell Tolix chair cushions to make them more comfortable. Prices vary based on quality and if they’re genuine or copies.
Tolix chairs can scratch easily if you don’t take care of them. Their paint marks easily from sharp objects and rough use. You’ll see scratches more on dark colours. To protect your chairs, use soft pads under items and don’t drag them across rough floors in your home or café.
Yes, Tolix chairs come in several sizes to fit your needs. You’ll find normal dining chairs, tall bar stools, and kids versions. The seats range from 45cm for dining, to 65cm to 75cm for bar height. Different back heights are also sold. This range lets you pick the right style for any spot in your home or shop.
Yes, Tolix chairs do come with armrests called Model B chairs. You’ll find these give extra support when sitting and help you stand up more easily. The arms are made from the same metal as the rest of the chair. These models are a bit wider and feel more comfy, while keeping the Tolix look you like.
Want more information on High-Quality Tolix a Chairs? Feel free to contact us.
What’s the point of blogging if you don’t put a stake in the ground and say what really interests you? After all, I’m not a journalist tied to the story that my editor gives me… I can choose what to say and when to say it. So let’s talk about the Tolix chair.
And replica furniture is a real bugbear of mine, not because I am a snob or rich (neither feel true) but because I think about the effect of buying a copycat over an original design. I know first-hand how expensive it can be to design, develop, manufacture and market an original design. To see copies appearing on the market takes some of the income to be generated away from the designer.
Read more about the law on Replica Furniture →
By reducing the income a designer can expect to make has a longer-term effect on design. The process needs to be shorter, or faster in order to keep costs lower. This also affects the research & development of products that might never become great sellers but aid designers thinking to help them become better designers and produce better designs. We want these things, so we need to realise our involvement as consumers in this process.
So, let’s talk Tolix. If you didn’t know this company’s designs before, you would have sat on the Tolix chair outside cafe’s and restaurants or even in your own garden. If you haven’t say in the exact one, you will have sat in something inspired by the Tolix chair. Sometimes designers of the imitation might not even realise that they’ve seen the chairs before, but they have been nevertheless.
Image credit Wunderlust Hotel
Photograph by Chelsea Fullerton of Go Forth Creative.
Image above by Market Lane Coffee
“Over the years, this [Tolix] chair has come to symbolise what I like to term democratic excellence, meaning that it’s mass-produced and universally acceptable.” Terence Conran
Xavier Pauchard (-) was a pioneer of galvanisation. Shortly after the first world war he found himself in charge of a flourishing manufacture of galvanised sheet-metal domestic items, which at the time, embodied household comfort. It was in that he registered the trademark TOLIX, at the same time changing to the production of chairs, armchairs, stools and metal furniture. The Model A chair has become an icon of industrial design, crafted in sheet metal to become solid, durable and inexpensive.
You’ll find a lot of Tolix chair replicas, saving you a massive £150 per Tolix chair in some cases. But, when you are about to enter your credit card details into the checkout just consider the true cost of the chair, even if the quality seems comparable. How would you feel if your work was copied and others profited from it?
Elle Decoration fought the fakes recently with the Conran Shop Get Real campaign. The campaign was originally conceived to address the disparity between intellectual property laws in the arts. The law saw product and industrial designers receive significantly less copyright protection than was granted to artists, writers and musicians. In my mind, this was not where the matter ends. It may add protection in law but doesn’t begin to change the perception of ‘fakes’ in the minds of consumers; consumers who have less money to spend and a lured by the replica prices for well-known designs.
“By protecting new designs more generously,” says Terence Conran, “we are encouraging more investment of time and talent in British design. That will lead to more manufacturing in Britain, and that, in turn, will lead to more jobs – which we desperately need right now. Properly protected design can help make the UK a profitable workshop again. We have the creative talent – let’s use it.”
Cult Furniture, who sell replicas of the Tolix chair, even make a statement on their product page that they are in no way affiliated with the company Tolix. “Our furniture is inspired by the designs of Xavier Pauchard and not to be confused with those which are manufactured and sold by Tolix”. This token gesture might help them in law to give the consumer the choice but who are we kidding?
Read more about the law on Replica Furniture →
Whichever choice you make, I hope that you consider these points and make informed decisions. So that when you sit on your Tolix chair you know exactly how you feel about it. Real versus replica, the debate continues…
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Dsw Plastic Chair.