Louis Ghost Armchair by Kartell, Set of 2 designed by Philippe Starck
At A Glance: The Louis Ghost Chair is a one of a kind art object, blending ultra-modern techniques and materials (like plastic) with old world style. Somewhat reminiscent of the chair our boy Dave sits in at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you so choose, you can add a printed image to the seat back. The effect is interesting, to say the least.
Click here to purchase the Louis Ghost Chair in Crystal. The crystal chair is available in singles or sets of four with a substantial discount.
What's To Like: This is a chair that stands out from the crowd in a big way. Light as a lawn chair, designed like something you would see in a house of state, and produced with strong, innovative materials (it's no ordinary plastic), the Louis Ghost is a unique chair you can be proud to call your own.
What's Not to Like: The images that you can have printed on the back of the chair do little for it. You can get the caricatured head of a Japanese woman, a baby's head, a bear's head, or a Zorro mask.
The Bottom Line: Offbeat, fascinating, and a clash of culture and civilizations. A conversation piece, to say the least. The Louis Ghost is perfect for the minimal modern home.
Accent Face Options
The Louis Ghost Armchair by Kartell combines a famously royal design with modern materials to create a chair with historical significance in a contemporary world. The Ghost Chair maintains the Louis XV style in appearance but is manufactured using transparent polycarbonate that creates an illusion - giving the Ghost Chair its name.
The Kartell Louis Ghost Chair was introduced in 2002, and it has been recognized by many for its unique look and surprisingly indestructible design. Philippe Starck, designer of the Ghost Chair, created a special edition chair featuring Barbie's photo on the seat back for the 50th birthday of Mattel's famous Barbie doll and Kartell's 60th anniversary this year.
Made in Italy, the Kartell Louis Ghost Chair can be stacked six high, making this piece perfect for both commercial and residential use. Not only is the Ghost Chair scratch resistant and made from durable materials, but it is also weather resistant and may be an ideal chair for indoor or outdoor use. Available in two opaque and six transparent colors, the Louis Ghost Chair fits flexibly into a variety of settings. The chair's ergonomic design and aesthetic flexibility allow the Louis Ghost Chair to provide comfort to customers in dining rooms, classrooms, and offices around the world.
Philippe Starck, in collaboration with Kartell, celebrates technology, innovation, and luxurious plastic with the Louis Ghost Chair. Enjoy the luxury you deserve without paying high prices. Buy Kartell's Louis Ghost Chair today.
Louis Ghost Chair Review An independent take on the Louis Ghost chair using design, comfort, style, quality, and environmental sustainability as criteria.
Philippe Starck Louis Ghost Chair designer, Philippe Starck, engineered his "democratic design" to create an armchair for Kartell that was available to the world. Starck enjoys taking pieces once designed for the elite and transforming them into modern comfort. Winner of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Designer magazine, Starck's most famous furniture pieces include the Ghost Chair series, the Bubble Club group, and the Ero S Chair. Few designers have had an impact across the world of design like Philippe Starck. From modern furniture, restaurant interiors, to architecture, the French icon has made lasting impressions to all those exposed to his work. However, his most significant designs have been in the world of staggeringly original mass produced consumer goods, which have been sold in stores like Target across the United States. In addition to his mass-produced furniture, some of Starck's more notable projects have included designing the Optical Mouse for Microsoft, the interior of former French President Francois Mitterand's private apartment, and the Paramount Hotel in New York.
The son of an inventor and engineer, Philippe Starck is gifted with an imaginative mind. Starck combines this creativity with his architecture and design background to ensure every project he is involved with betters the world around him. Starck not only talks about improving the world we live in, but he lives out these beliefs in his everyday actions. Founder of an organic food company, Starck has begun designing affordable wind turbines for the homes of everyday people. His next green endeavors will include hydrogen vehicles and solar-powered boats.
Creativity and technology, glamour and functionality, quality and innovation: a combination of extraordinary factors together with a strategic vision of distribution has contributed to the lasting success of Kartell. Headquartered in Milan, Kartell manufactures products like the Louis Ghost Chair and distributes them in over 70 countries around the world. Winner of multiple Compasso d'Oro Awards, Kartell is one of the most highly regarded companies in the design world, and Kartell has been recognized numerous times for its excellence. The company is known for collaborating with the world's most respected designers to produce furniture, labware, and lighting that continue to stretch the imagination.
By cultural and entrepreneurial choice, since its origins in 1949 the Italian manufacturer has chosen to characterize itself as the market leader in the production of designer articles which use technology and plastic materials. This choice requires a great understanding of materials and transformation technology. Kartell was accredited for its Quality Management Systems in 2005, maintaining its commitment to on-going research and innovation in the fields of technology and design with plastics. A leader in furniture design, Kartell reaches its 60th anniversary this year and addresses an international audience with a collection unique in originality, variety, size, and range.
After many years of thinking about the Louis Ghost Chair, I finally found a REASON to buy two for my dining room. They are exactly what I expected and their placement in the room in front of a window with a clear class table on a glass pedestal is perfect. The scene is just like a little jewel box within a much larger box. I love the chairs.
1/2/2012
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Absolutely love this chair
By hipnycmom
from Burlington, IA
About Me Midrange Shopper
Pros
Attractive Design
Comfortable
Ergonomic
Lightweight
Perfect
Sturdy
Cons
Best Uses
Bedroom
Dining Room
Formal
Informal
Kitchen
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
I have never been a fan of plastic/plastic-y things but this product has changed me. The Ghost chair is such a beautiful piece that it instantly upgrades the look of any room. It takes very little visual space so it doesn't crowd the room even while adding function. I use this as the chair for my laptop/writing desk, which sits alongside the Kartell Ghostbuster cabinet, and have a spare Victoria ghost chair for an additional person to sit or where I leave my handbag/various odds and ends. These chairs have really completed the look of my room. Beautiful, comfortable, sturdy, and lightweight. Definitely recommended!
4/5/2011
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
versatile & stylish
By lbot
from San Francisco, CA
About Me High-end Shopper
Pros
Attractive Design
Comfortable
Lightweight
Stackable
Sturdy
Cons
Best Uses
Desk chair
Dining Room
Informal
Kitchen
Side chair
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
I was looking for stylish but not-too-expensive chairs to use temporarily while we remodel. We got a set of four crystal (clear) ones and they look great anywhere we put them. I was surprised at how sturdy and comfortable they are. The finish is very high quality. Corners and edges are smooth. The chair comes with soft plastic feet attached to protect floors. They're lightweight enough to move easily and they stack so they're perfect as extra seating.
The proportions are good -- not too large so they don't take up a lot of visual or physical space but ample enough for comfort. It's also nice to find a relatively compact chair with arms. I only wish there was barstool height version.
2/14/2011
(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
An Independently Commissioned Review
By Wes at Delegator
from Chattanooga, TN
Pros
Attractive Design
Good Price
Great Brand
Versatile
Cons
Optional Decals
Best Uses
Dining Room
Living Room
Patios
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
First Impressions The Louis Ghost Chair is a truly unique product. Made up of a transparent polycarbonate, the chair's appearance makes good on the claim in it's name; neither here nor there, it's ghostly. The design of the chair is handsome and traditional, reflecting the Louis XV style. However, the twist on the classic design that the unmistakably 21st century material and sensibility provides is nearly thrilling. Kartell has made the old new and the tangible intangible; for this reviewer, a comparison to the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey proved apt. In that film, an astronaut is drawn into a wormhole that pulls him into a kind of future; on the other side is furniture designed in the same shape and style as the Ghost, but solid. With the Louis Ghost Chair, the result is just as uncanny and new, and the transparent material adds a final twist as intriguing as the one in the film. As a piece of furniture art, the Ghost is very successful, but less so as a practical sitting device. While the chair's comfort rating is nothing to brag about, it's certainly nothing to sneeze at either. When it comes to pedigree and environmental ratings, the Kartell Louis Ghost Chair is unrivaled for quality and sustainability.
The X Factor The sturdiness of the chair, which is a welcome surprise. The look of the chair, as transparent and ghostly as it is, gives the impression that the Ghost Chair is as insubstantial as it's image. This is untrue. The chair held up without any wobbling or lack of rigidity through three days of testing and observation.
This is the kind of chair that can draw some very different opinions. Some don't like the almost insouciant twist on the classical Louis XV form, and others have a mental block against plastic; that it looks or implies cheapness, or a tacky sense of style. For us, this chair hit the sweet spot of modern and classic, modern and functional.
The Bottom Line For pedigree, style, design and modern beauty, there aren't many chairs that can rival the Kartell Louis Ghost Chair. It's the creme de la creme of plastic furniture art, and the designer and design company couldn't be any more significant in the world of modern furniture. A great buy and highly reccommended.
7/4/2010
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
4.0
Great designer chair
By Val
from Bergen County, New Jersey
About Me High-end Shopper
Pros
Attractive Design
Comfortable
Lightweight
Sturdy
Unusual decor accent
Cons
Small wrinkles
Best Uses
Any room accent piece
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
Great looking accent chair- the "see through" aspect is what most people like! It looks great in my living room, and can be placed anywhere I need extra seating. Goes with everything since it's transparent.
6/21/2010
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
GREAT CHAIR [...]
By DOG LOVER
from cincinnati, oh
About Me Midrange Shopper
Pros
Attractive Design
Comfortable
Lightweight
Sturdy
Cons
Best Uses
Dining Room
Formal
Gifts
Informal
Kitchen
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
love the design.[...]
12/13/2009
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
5.0
Everyone notices this chair and loves i!
By Carmen
from TN
Pros
Attractive Design
Comfortable
Lightweight
Sturdy
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Kartell Louis Ghost Chair:
I purchased this chair in the crystal with the chinese checker option. It's the first piece everyone notices in my living room and comments on- all good! I bought it b/c of the design and light weight. I wanted an easy to move occasional chair to pull into use for extra seating, but I was surprised to find how extremely comfortable it is to sit in. I use it much more than I expected!
Not at all, the biggest problem will be scratching. I recommend purchasing either Kartell Plastic Polish (sells for $16.90 a bottle) or Novus Plastic Polish (you can find this at any hardware store) to clean and remove scratches.
Answered on 3/29/2011 by Melanie from Smart Furniture
Kartell offers a Plastic Cleaner for $16.90 and there are many other options for plastic cleaners and polishes out there (i.e. Novus, 3M, Meguirs) that will remove small scratches. If you have really scratched it up I doubt much can be done. Think of it as vintage and worn in, it will keep you from crying.
Answered on 3/3/2011 by Anonymous
Q:
Is this chair considered sustainable or eco-friendly?
Asked on 1/15/2011 by Student Designer from Philly
Yes. Kartell is a very green company and strives to make things that last and should they reach the end of their life cycle can be recycled. The Louis Ghost Chair is a #2 recyclable item and is manufactured in Italy where a manufacturers' only option is to be responsible to the environment.
Answered on 1/18/2011 by Melanie from Smart Furniture
Q:
what is the maximum weight limit for the ghost chair?
Kartell has not published an official weight limit for these chairs, but they are very strong and sturdy. I would say 250 lb. would be a limit I would not go over.
Philippe Starck
