The
CM 388 C Club Chair is one of the most famous and beloved items from the Heywood-Wakefield furniture catalog, as it has been since it was first introduced in 1950. It features a simple yet sophisticated design—a hallmark of Heywood-Wakefield work—and, if you've never had the pleasure of sitting in one, it's incredibly comfortable.
“Aristocraft” was the original designation for the series to which the Club Chair belongs. In the 1990s, though, when we began reviving the brand, we didn't know that. I named the series “Biscayne,” after the beautiful Biscayne Bay in my home town, Miami. The items in the series now include several significant structural updates that drastically improve durability over the vintage pieces, and we've introduced two new pieces.
The Chair Without a Companion Piece
One of these new pieces is the Biscayne Collection's Club Chair ottoman, which we're very excited to introduce. Somehow, in the early days, the company neglected to design an ottoman to accompany the Aristocraft Club Chair. This omission is one that quite a few owners of this iconic mid-century modern chair have asked us to remedy. And so we have.
The Chair Gets a Companion Piece
Designed as an authentic accompanying piece to the CM 388 Club Chair, the new Biscayne Ottoman features the same distinctive feet, side-panel design, and matching solid-wood top frame front and back. The height and width are proportioned to precisely fit with the chair. The massive solid birch molding that runs horizontally along the front of the chair was duplicated for the front and back of the ottoman, and the bull-nosed front side of the chair frame was used on both ends of the ottoman.
In these ways, the design of the new ottoman is a true derivative of the chair’s original styling, so the two pieces perfectly complement each other.
The ottoman's cushion is attached by Velcro to a cloth (or leather) deck that fits under the cushion and over the webbing, which is made of the same fabric chosen for the cushion. This allows for easy removal and cleaning.
As with the rest of the Biscayne series, the original steel springs and slats—which wore out or easily became damaged and often had to be repaired or changed out—have been replaced with modern elastic webbing. This retains its elasticity much longer than the old springs-and-slats setup, and it doesn't get stiff or saggy like the old metal straps did.
Take a look at the Biscayne Collections' Club Chair and ottoman combo
here. If you're one of those people who've long been waiting for this ottoman to accompany a chair you already own, the ottoman may be purchased individually.
Other Biscayne Series News
The second exciting addition to the Biscayne series is the
CM 388 L Love Seat. This two-seat, 51''-wide mid-century modern-inspired love seat is built exactly like the 78''-wide
CM 388 Davenport and the 32"-wide CM 388 C Club Chair to complete the series.
An ottoman to fit with the Love Seat and Davenport is available by special order. The ottoman for the Davenport can feature a wooden center panel if desired to eliminate the need for a separate coffee table. This ottoman has a cushion on the right and left sides of the wood center section.
