The furniture of Edward Wormley breathes with warmth, elegance, and unparalleled craftsmanship. Throughout the mid-century, he collaborated with the furniture manufacturer Dunbar to produce chairs, tables, couches, and cabinets to furnish the modern American home. According to Wormley, "Furniture is needed for practical reasons, and because it must be there, it may as well be as pleasant as possible to look at, and in a less definable psychological way, comforting to the spirit." This philosophy runs throughout the Listen-to-Me chaise, one of his most popular and enduring designs.
Conceived at Wormley's New York office in the same year Dunbar asked him to be their exclusive designer, his chaise lounge delicately undulates atop a cherry and maple base to effortlessly support a lounging body. Pieces like these that incorporate the warmth of wood and hand-made production allowed consumers what Leslie Piña described as a "comfortable alternative to historic styles and extreme modern design," helping Dunbar and Wormley to become leaders in luxury mid-century furniture design.
