Thomas Lamb Steamer Chair : AROUND HOME : Notes on Remote-Control Airplanes and Steamer Chairs

WITH THE HISTORIC Canada-U.S. free-trade agreement already ratified by Congress and the House of Commons, Canadian design should find new fans south of the 49th Parallel. Thomas Lamb’s elegant Steamer lounge chair, however, had a head start: In 1979 it became the first Canadian object to enter the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent design collection. Appropriately, the warm, woody look of the Steamer’s see-through slat frame conjures images of Canada’s vast forests. The look also jibes with the market niche of its maker, Toronto-based Ambiant Systems Ltd.: “a contemporary,craft-oriented Scandinavian look, with direct, honest use of wood,” as Lamb puts it. The chair mesmerizes by its organic, unified design--mysteriously at first, until one realizes that each piece (made of nine-ply Canadian maple), is molded with an identical curve. More than eye-beguiling, the curvature provides optimal thigh and lower back support.

Like furniture made of curved sticks dating back at least to Roman times, the Steamer folds flat. Combined with its light weight, this makes the chair especially attractive to urbanites, though the Lambs appreciate this attribute in their roomy country house in Uxbridge, Ontario. Says Mary Ann Lamb: “I use six Steamers around the table as dining chairs. For big dinners I haul out extra chairs that hang from wooden pegs on the basement rafters.”

A cedar version of the Steamer, expected soon, permits the chair’s use outdoors. Indeed, in its chaise longue configuration, the Steamer seems a svelte update of the traditional ocean-liner deck chair. Lamb disavows such inspiration, however. Instead, he sought to exploit the manufacturer’s unique, specialized machines for steam-bending wood. Such a pragmatic approach discourages pirates: Here’s one modern classic you won’t see as a cheap knock-off.

Prices start at about $630, $744 with arms, and $936 with upholstery. Through your interior designer or retail furniture stores, such as Hirsch Business Interiors in Los Angeles, Access in Palm Springs, Fari International in Newport Beach, Presidio in Santa Barbara, Southwest Business Interiors in San Diego.