Twenty-five Euro Stool/Chair/Armchair by Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe

Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe
Twenty-five Euro Stool/Chair/Armchair, 2005

What can €25 buy: a stool, a chair, or even an armchair? Niels van Eijk and Miriam van der Lubbe tested all three possibilities in this playful furniture series from 2005. Each piece was created with the same limited budget, but offered a different balance between size, comfort, and material quality.

The smallest object, a stool, uses sturdy beech multiplex. Moving up to a full chair required more material, so the designers switched to a less expensive underlayment board. To stretch the budget far enough for an armchair, they chose economical chipboard. The furniture becomes larger and more comfortable, while its material value gradually drops.

To make this possible, the designers adjusted the material to match the size:

  • The compact stool was made from beech multiplex, at 2 Euro/m2
  • The larger chair used underlayment board, at 8 Euro/m2
  • The armchair was constructed from inexpensive chipboard, at 10 Euro/m2.

By keeping the price fixed, the designers invite us to decide what matters most: better materials, more generous proportions, or greater comfort.

Twenty-five Euro Stool/Chair/Armchair was presented at Droog’s Value for Money project during Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 2005.

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