Introduction: Contemporary Cardboard Chair

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About: It's said that to perfect a skill takes about 10,000 hours of work and study. If that's the case I've got around 9,000 hours to go. But, like they say, it's not the destination but the journey.

This cardboard chair is easy to build and can be decorated or used with the addition of small seat and back cushions. It is based on a decades old Scandinavian contemporary chair design. The pictures give a general construction overview and highlight some of the design features. The basic construction consists of the following steps:

1) Main Frame - 2 matching interlocking pieces (thickness = 4 pieces glued cardboard)  that form the "X shape" skeleton for seat and back support. A notch (approximately 1" wide) is cut in each piece of the skeleton at the intersection of the back and seat to facilitate joining the pieces together. Locate the first notch at the top of frame piece #1 and extend it down to the exact middle of the frame. Locate the second notch at the bottom of frame piece #2 and extend it up to the exact middle of the frame. Then slide the two pieces together at the notches to create the frame skeleton.

2) Skeletal support for additional strength of the seating area as shown in photos.

3) Seat and Back - thickness = 2 pieces glued cardboard.

4) Chair Trim - for additional support and appearance as shown in the photos.

Finally, while I cannot give a definitive weight rating. I can attest that the chair shown in the photos supports a 180 pound adult with no visible signs of structural stress.