Space stations probably sprout structures like this, but as a seat it is startlingly comfortable. The circular shape accommodates the most awkward body contours in most feasible positions, and it rocks gently like a cradle when you shift about in it. Based on a concept by the Italian designer Enzo Berti, its funkiness credentials are proved by an appearance on Big Brother. It comes in red or black velour.
£249, furnitureshopuk.com; 0333 123 4565 Photograph: Guardian
An ectoplasmic whiff of Louis XV flamboyance, conjured up by Philippe Starck. The design condenses baroque overstatement into a single mould injected with polycarbonate. It looks as fragile as glass, but this stuff can endure any amount of scratching and kicking, and is pliant enough for most sitters. Moreover, the chairs can be stacked up to seven high and stowed in a garden shed, although they could equally be indoor residents and spook dinner party guests.
£179, johnlewis.com; 08456 049 049 Photograph: Guardian
Yes, it is costly, but whether you go for violet, blue, black, green or the ethereal translucent white, you can be pretty sure that none of your neighbours will relax like you do. Its resemblance to exotic sea-life is uncanny and yet it can support the human bulk with graceful ease – as blissful as a waterbed, according to the manufacturer. Hollow plastic tubes are hand woven and screwed to a moulded metal frame so that your derriere is cradled by a yielding web.
£2,860.87, panik-design.com; 01908 307020 Photograph: Emilio Tremolada
Your flat is cramped and cluttered. This fibreglass ball chair is a cheap way to add a private retreat to the family home: if you swivel it away from the infant mayhem in your living room you are cocooned in a womb-within-a-room. “Something between a piece of furniture and a piece of architecture,” according to Germany’s Vitra Design Museum catalogue. The original design was a sensation when it was exhibited at the 1966 International Furniture Fair in Cologne and it launched the career of its creator, Eero Aarnio.
£569, iconicinteriors.com; 0800 9155 313 Photograph: Guardian
The crumpled leaf shape defies gravity, giving it the grace of a suspension bridge. The prototype, made from recycled inner tubes and covered with rush, ensured stardom for designer Tom Dixon and is now in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. This one comes in wicker, woven marsh straw, various fabrics and leather.
From £1,114, designshopuk.com; 0870 2424 128
Photograph: Guardian
It resembles a meditative cairn in a Japanese garden and should be similarly soothing, for the trio of faux-leather cushions strung along the metal spine will cradle a sore back and neck. It will swivel on its chrome foot, but although it has a business-like air its reclining angle makes it better suited for a nightcap than working at a desk. Black leather is the alternative.
£168.59, atlanticshopping.co.uk; 0121 230 1644 Photograph: Guardian
Possibly a pricy way to acquire a floor lamp, but you get a seat thrown in as well. This fibreglass sculpture, designed by Giorgio Gurioli, is a halogen light on top and an unusual, well-ventilated resting place below. It could be an adventurous solution to a dark landing at the top of a taxing flight of stairs. It comes in black, white, orange and red.
£2,268, homefrenzy.com; 0870 7200098
Photograph: Guardian
A “cushion basket” is how Le Corbusier Group described this yielding cube of leather. The French architect had sensationalised seating in 1929 when he turned the conventional club chair inside out so that the the framework, once modestly concealed, became part of the design thrill. This is a daintier version of the Grand Confort prototype and comes in a variety of Italian leathers.
£612, iconicinteriors.com; 0800 9155 313 Photograph: Guardian
The petals of these Gothic blooms support your legs, arms and back ergonomically. You can have his-and-hers in red and black on either side of the fireplace, the simple countours concealing an elaborate hi-tech frame. There is a triffid-like menace that may unsettle delicate spirits, but lovers of the bold and bad will rejoice in the sheer wackiness, not to mention the comfort.
£249, furnitureshopuk.com; 0333 123 4565 Photograph: Guardian
This is no friend to curl up in with a thriller, but with a twin it would make a grand impact flanking a doorway. It might even double up as a stepladder for slender toes should your overhead lightbulb blow. Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed it around 1902, and this reproduction is made from ash wood with a leather or a fabric seat cover.
£338, bonbon.co.uk; 020-7352 5202 Photograph: Guardian
