Have a seat
Have a seat
A catalog of Apple Store stools, benches, chairs, and more.
There are a few Apple products you cannot purchase no matter how much you’re willing to spend. Take, for instance, the cubes. Not this cube or that cube: these cubes.
If Apple ever needs another revenue stream, Herman Miller ought to worry. That is, at least, what the email feedback I receive suggests. More people ask about Apple’s furniture than any other aspect of the stores.
That’s probably because there’s no “A Chair” of Apple Stores. With one exception, even the seating you can actually buy hasn’t permeated public space to the point of blandness, like SFO’s Egg Chair lounge.
Today I’m going to attempt to catalog all of the seating, past and present, that one could find in public areas at an Apple Store. This post will serve as a reference point, so please contact me if you think I’ve missed anything or made a mistake, and I’ll update the web version. For seating primarily found in Boardrooms, see my older work.
Note: This is not a sponsored article and it contains no affiliate links. I am not trying to sell you anything.
Stools
Bar Stool 64 — Alvar Aalto / Artek
2001 – 2015
The Genius Bar stool that started it all. Early stores used stools with clear lacquer. These were gradually phased out in favor of a black lacquer variant beginning at Apple SoHo in 2002. The last store to open with Artek stools was likely Apple Firenze in September 2015.
Morrison Stool — Jasper Morrison / Cappellini
2015 – Present
Introduced at Apple Brussels as a component of the New Store Design. If you’ve visited a store since 2015, you know this stool. Available in multiple heights.
375 Barstool — Walter Knoll
2021
These stools occasionally appear at Apple The Grove. I don’t know anything else about them, but you can contact me anonymously if you do.
Benches
Wood Bench — Apple
2001 ~ 2012
Wood benches functioned as Theater seating in the very first Apple Stores and were later found only in significant stores near Genius Bars and entrances. The benches were produced in a variety of lengths and matched store tables. Most have been replaced by upholstered leather benches.
Upholstered Bench — Apple
2015 – Present
Since the dawn of the New Store Design, Apple has created a comfortable variety of upholstered benches in many shapes and sizes. Some of these benches are patented.
Apple Mall of the Emirates brought cloth upholstered benches to the Avenues, which were later reupholstered with leather. Apple The Mall at Bay Plaza expanded this concept with an upholstered leather back rest. The benches at stores like Apple Aventura are one with the amphitheater.
Standalone upholstered leather benches have been produced in multiple lengths, widths, and at least two cushion styles. Apple SoHo’s Forum includes curved benches. Apple Wuhan has square leather benches.
Seats
Tatino (Tato Collection) — Enrico Baleri & Denis Santachiara / Baleri
2001 – 2016
The unfortunately infamous “Just for kids” seating. Yes, I know the stories. No, we won’t discuss them here. The last store built with Tatino seats was Apple Riverside 66 Tianjin. Most of the remaining seats disappeared around 2020.
Forum Seat — Apple
2015 – Present
These are four varieties of Forum Seats: wood cubes with spindles, wood cubes without spindles, leather cubes, and leather balls. Only the latter three are used today. The original Forum Seats introduced at Apple Brussels closely resembled The Ulm Stool by Max Bill. Their spindled design did not accommodate leather cubes and balls, which were first used at Apple Union Square in 2016. Forum Seats are patented.
Grove Seat — Apple
2015 – Present
Trees with integrated seating — “planters” in Apple patent terminology — were used for the Apple Watch at Selfridges pop-up before making their way to permanent stores. Stores with a plaza sometimes include outdoor planters without leather trim.
Theater Chair — Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
2002 – 2004
Apple worked closely with Bohlin Cywinski Jackson on many significant stores over the years, some of which included a prominent Theater with rows of built-in chairs. BCJ also designed the Pixar Animation Studios Theater, where the chairs first appeared in 2000, two years before Apple SoHo opened.
Tandem Sling Seating — Charles and Ray Eames / Herman Miller
2003
A very, very small number of Apple Stores — perhaps no more than these four — had Theaters with the same seats often found in airport terminals. These locations were all slightly larger than average and suited for performances, but perhaps not significant enough to be rewarded with more luxurious plush chairs.
Theatre Chair — Apple
2021
Apple Tower Theatre contains unique seating on the balcony level reminiscent of Steve Jobs Theater. Armrests fold in to the seat backs and conceal receptacles. Tower Theatre is the only public venue where this type of seating exists.
Exterior Seating
Bertoia Side Chair — Harry Bertoia / Knoll
2006 – Present
Apple Fifth Avenue was the first store with a true plaza, and Apple picked a chair capable of withstanding New York City’s climate to foot the cube. It must’ve been a good choice, because almost 17 years later, the chairs are still there and at a few other stores.
Kos — Studio Segers / Tribù
2016 – Present
Various items in the Kos collection including an armchair, an armless chair I can’t find online, and occasionally a bench are found at the latest stores with a plaza. The Kos collection is visually identical to the Mistra line by JANUS et Cie, which has also been spotted at Apple Stores.
Luxembourg — Frédéric Sofia / Fermob
2017
An Apple Park Visitor Center speciality. Look for them in the olive grove on Pruneridge Avenue.
Teak Adirondack Chair
2018
There is very little information available about the teak Adirondack chairs on the veranda at Apple University Village. The Seattle Times says they’re “custom-built,” which seems plausible.
1900 Armchair — Fermob
2021
You’ll only find this chair on the scarcely-photographed balcony terrace overlooking the courtyard at Apple Via del Corso in Rome.
Featured image
Apple Chestnut Street
Photo via Eric Volpe.
I'm always ready for a deep dive, but this one was next-level. Thanks for sharing!
🧑🍼Not talking about Baleri’s Tatino [Malaga Nero] Poufs.