Before he became a furniture designer, Guillaume Sasseville spent nearly 10 years working in architecture, including an eight-year stint at Montreal's award-winning Saucier + Perrotte.
Although he's switched from large, institutional structures (buildings such as the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ont., which won a Governor-General's Medal) to human-scaled things like chairs and coffee tables, he hasn't lost his knack for crafting space.
His new Étoffe rocker, for example, has a high back and wool-covered seat so that the sitter is enveloped as if in a small but cozy room. The details help refine the sense of enclosure: The armrest weaves in then out of the slatted oak basket to provide both a sturdy elbow perch and strong, comfortable spinal support.
Approximately $1,200. Available soon through eng.atelierstjean.ca.