Poliform Mad armchairs

Five chairs, five postures

The point of a family this size is that the choice is about posture, not about size. Mad Chair is the original and the most compact, at home in a bedroom as easily as beside a sofa. Mad King has a deep seat and a high back, for sitting back rather than upright, and comes in an asymmetrical version that can carry a tray. Mad Queen keeps the curves and enlarges the volumes, so it is the softest of the five.

Mad Joker is the reading chair. Its back is high enough to support a head, which is the difference between a chair you sit in for twenty minutes and one you fall asleep in. In a room with a television on one side and a window on the other, Joker is the one that gets moved to face the window.

The Chaise Longue is asymmetrical by design and the largest piece in the family. It behaves less like a chair and more like a small sofa for one person, which is exactly what a corner with good light usually wants.

Upholstery is where Mad is unusually open: fabric and leather in a long list of grades, and the same shell reads completely differently in a smooth hide and in a textured wool. We quote two covers as a matter of course so the difference in price is visible before it matters.

Joker's back is tall enough to hold a head, which is the whole argument for it.