Company: Bernhardt Design

Company URL: BernhardtDesign.com

Product/Collection Name: Harper

About This Product: The Harper Chair reimagines one of America’s most enduring icons: the rocking chair. Long associated with leisure, hospitality, and craftsmanship, the rocking chair is deeply woven into cultural memory. Harper celebrates this tradition while offering a bold reinterpretation—one that is contemporary, sculptural, and timeless. Designed to honor heritage while embracing modern sensibilities, Harper embodies motion, comfort, and sustainability in a single fluid form.

Though the Adirondack chair provided an early spark, the design evolved toward the Windsor rocker, known for its refinement and complexity. The Windsor traditionally relies on a set of stacked and joined components—glides, spindles, arms, and backrest—assembled like layers of a cake. Harper reimagines this vocabulary of parts as a single continuous loop. The result is a chair of seamless harmony, where structural elements flow together in an aerodynamic rhythm, echoing the very movement it was designed to hold.

Visually, Harper balances openness and intimacy. Its exterior recalls the delicate lattice of a bird’s nest, crafted from slender maple spindles that lend lightness and transparency. Inside, a cocoon-like seat appears to float, suspended within the frame. Instead of a traditional wood seat, Harper introduces a finely tailored leather saddle, referencing equestrian craftsmanship. This detail enriches the chair with warmth, texture, and a sense of familiarity, while elevating comfort and refinement.

Material integrity lies at the heart of Harper’s design. Constructed from solid American cherry and maple, the chair reflects a conscious commitment to domestic, responsibly sourced hardwoods. Maple, chosen for its pale clarity, enhances the sense of transparency, while cherry provides strength and rich tonal depth. Over time, the cherry gracefully darkens, offering a dynamic, evolving character that underscores the chair’s longevity. This natural aging process, rather than diminishing the chair, adds value and depth—ensuring that Harper grows more beautiful as the years pass.

Sustainability is central to Harper’s ethos. Its durable hardwood construction and leather seating ensure exceptional longevity, minimizing the need for replacement and reducing environmental impact. By emphasizing classic materials and timeless design rather than trend-driven styling, Harper stands as a sustainable alternative to disposable furniture. Its adaptability across generations and spaces reinforces the idea of furniture as heirloom—designed to last, to evolve, and to be cherished.

From every angle, Harper reveals something new. Its form shifts with the viewer’s perspective, at once delicate and substantial, open and grounded. This ever-changing quality makes the chair a living sculpture, as dynamic in stillness as it is in motion.

Named in honor of Bernhardt Design founder Anne Harper Bernhardt, Harper is a celebration of history, imagination, and craft. It brings together innovation and responsibility, elegance and endurance. More than just a rocking chair, Harper is a narrative of American design—rooted in tradition, refined for today, and built for the future.