Once known as "blow-up chairs" the vinyl, tacky, need-an-extra-chair-in-a-pinch, has taken on a more stylish look and feel. Tastefully designed inflatable PVC products are becoming more acceptable as indoor and outdoor furniture these days with the introduction of Blofield, the reintroduction of Quasar Khanh's line, funky options from Recycoool and more. Take a look.
Blofield Air Design created three sizes of an inflatable polyvinyl chloride Chesterfield; a three seater sofa, a two seater loveseat and an armchair. Designed by Jeroen van de Kant, they are made of strong PVC with a nylon bottom and come with a 230 V electric pump and repair kit.
The two seater is available in three colors: stone white, midnight grey and earth green.
The single seater armchair is available in two colors only; stone white and midnight grey.
The three seater is still in production and not yet available.
Located in the Netherlands, they do ship worldwide.
Update: Blofield received the Red Dot design award for their Chesterfield Sofa and has added the Baby Blo in more colors:
as well as a new lamp (The Blo Light) and above, a spa tub (The Bubble Blo), both of which will launch in September 2010 at the Maison et Object show.
Shop Blofield here.
Branex Design has a re-issued collection of 40 micron thick Crystal Clear transparent PVC furnishings originally designed in 1966 by Vietnamese designer Quasar Khanh. The line has 5 pieces: the Chesterfield, The Chester, The Satellite Chair, the Relax Lounge and The Pouf.
The Chester and the Pouf (shown below) are available in transparent orange as well as clear.
The Chesterfield sofa, The Relax lounge and the Satellite chair, shown below, are only available in Natural (clear):
The collection is available for purchase here.
And here.
And here.
The Nappak
Nappak of Germany redefines the "power nap" with a modern portable inflatable shelter.
The designers:
learn more here.
Recycoool
Not made of PVC, but instead of old tires, Israeli designer Nir Ohayonset's line of furniture is green, unique, and modern. The recycoool items are all originally designed hand made products, made out of recycled rubber inner tubes pumped with air into a metal construction:
Recycoool
In the UK, the inflatable Lounge Air Seat goes by several different names and is available at several places, including Amazon UK.
Available in orange, light grey or dark grey, it comes in a wearable backpack, complete with pump and can be used indoors or out. The cylindrical roll can be used as support or an ottoman.
Buy it here.
The Nappak is an inflatable piece of shelter for sleeping within.
The inflatable 5 in 1 Sofa bed, manufactured by Guangzhou Wshunlyda Inflatables Products, is mass distributed to the trade so it's sold under several names. It's not as stylish, but it's a more affordable alternative:
The 5-in-1 inflatable sofa/bed.
In addition to being a comfortable sofa, the air lounge inflatable sofa/bed can easily become a comfortable bed or recliner Just flip open the bed from Underneath the sofa, and you've got a nice place to sleep As a bed, the air lounge can comfortably hold two adults Features: Durable and comfortable Inflates in a minutes Can be a sofa, lounger, or bed Size: 78 x 60 x8" Includes: Air lounge inflatable sofa/bed Air pump Repair kit
It comes in many different colors depending upon the distributor.
Looking for some fun, super cheap blow up furniture? Not as durable, but very fun, is Bubble Furniture. Mainly for children, they have inflatable chairs, sofas, backpacks, even clocks and more:
Shop Bubble furniture here.