Navy Collection

The Emeco Navy Chair has been in continuous production since the 1940s. Composed of aluminum, 80 percent of which is recycled, and put together by one of the finest and most advanced metal-working workshops on earth, it's a wonder of engineering and modern design. It takes 77 steps to make the Navy Chair, as the famous line goes, and each and every step is vital to the complete success the chair has enjoyed for over 60 years. Built for the military, suited for everyone, indestructible and owner of the most impressive warranty in the furniture business, Smart Furniture is very proud to make the Navy Chair available to our customers. It is one of the most popular and critically lauded side chairs built in this century, and it has a legendary heritage, creative process, and story.

Immediately popular on release in 1944, the very height of the American war effort, the Emeco Navy Chair transcended the barriers of military and commercial life to become a ubiquitous product both at sea, where it was originally designed to serve on submarines, battleships and aircraft carriers, and on the mainland, where it became a fixture of offices, homes and boutiques. At that time period, most major American production facilities had turned their attention to making products for the army; in fact, many historians and economists agree that it was the tremendous and inspiring commitment to the war effort in conjunction with New Deal reforms that brought the country back from the Great Depression that began in 1929.

Aside from the connection to the war effort, the chief reasons for the Navy Chair's popularity was it's beautiful look and it's legendarily strong and durable construction. This is a chair you can't break; a chair made to withstand the worst of warfare on the open sea. Made of aluminum and constructed in a highly technical and precise system of 77 steps, the Navy Chair is actually three times as strong as steel. It's so strong that the creators of the chair, as well as the navy men who used them, claim it can withstand a torpedo blast. That's nothing to sniff at. Because of it's incredible strength and ingenious engineering, the chair is extremely durable.

Built for sea use, the material in the chair is highly resistant to corrosion of any kind. Knowing that a metal chair would be looked at warily from a Navy standpoint, this one was built to completely reject the effects of exposure to water. So confident are the makers of the Emeco Navy Chair that their product is the strongest, most durable side chair ever produced, they guarantee it for 150 years. That's right, this is a chair guaranteed to last you two lifetimes. The first Navy Chairs, produced in 1944, are now 66 years old, and show no signs of decay or rickety construction. The 77 step process, the material, and the goal of the chair all conspired to make it very nearly indestructible.

Of course, the make-up of the chair, it's incredible strength and durability, is only one part of the puzzle. The true allure of the chair rests more with it's simple beauty and usefulness. This is a chair of which you've seen many, many knock-offs. And there's a good reason; like the well-made steak and the elegantly mashed potatoes, it's bare-bones material construction gives way to something entirely winning and multi-purpose. It just works. It's comfortable, it's well-made, it lasts forever.

The sheen of the chair is attractive, and the simple but unique backing looks great. This is a chair where the chief design imperative, to make something the Navy could use, was never made too important to preclude the addition of elegance and beauty. For a a great, useful, modern, handsome side chair, you really can't go wrong with the clean lines and easy fit of the Emeco Navy Chair.

There's also an environmental aspect to the design of the Emeco Navy Chair. A chair that's built to last for 150 years is one that, if taken care of, is almost never ever thrown away. That cuts down significantly on the impact furniture has in the realm of landfills and waste management facilities. Go to any major landfill site and you can see the effects that tremendous amounts of waste are having on the environment.

Metallic objects have an even tougher time biodegrading, of course, and major pieces of furniture, when thrown away, often become real problems for the waste facilities that receive them. But more than just being long-lasting, this chair is also made up of 80 percent recycled material, and is itself recyclable. To use a phrase from Emeco, "now that's what we call sustainability." When you buy from Smart Furniture, incidentally, you're contributing to another eco-conscious furniture maker; SF works with environmentally aware companies to decease the footprint of business and consumer on the earth.

The design of the Emeco Navy Chair is multipurpose. It's so unique that critics and design lovers the world over have fixed on it as a breakthrough for modern design in America. It's so strong and durable that the United States Navy commissioned it for use on the high seas during the worst fighting in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It's so environmentally conscious that 80 percent of it can be responsibly disposed of, and 100 percent of it is guaranteed to last you and yours 150 years. It's so elegantly beautiful that you can find it nearly anywhere, from government buildings to boutiques, from offices to retail outlets.

It's such an inspiring work of cohesive construction and engineering that the design process takes 77 famous steps to adequately complete. A fixture of design for more than six decades, and seen in the boardroom, the office, the military, and nearly anywhere a side chair can be seen, this is a design that has, and that will, withstand the test of time. The Emeco Navy Chair is more than a great piece. It's an international classic.