My grandmother Greta worked in a furniture store as a young woman, and boy did she have great taste. Even decades later, her sofas, lamps, and accessories were still in good shape, and they’d gone from trendy (when she bought them in the ‘50s) to dated (when I first saw them in the ‘80s) to gloriously retro (now).

Among the treasures were the chairs in the breakfast room, which had an unmistakable midcentury shape and rope accents for texture. I updated them for a modern audience with a few construction changes--an aluminum frame for the seat and back and mahogany legs (estate grown, of course) tall enough for a bar--and design tweaks, including a choice of light buff or gray. Grandma would be delighted with the Greta Counter Stool!

Imported.