For many people, a dreary doctor’s office waiting room is no source for creative inspiration. But that’s exactly where Winnipeg designer Nicole Marion was when a single element on an otherwise unremarkable chair caught her attention. “It was a little boring, overall, but it did have a nice curved detail,” says Marion of the 1970s tubular chair in question. “I wanted to see if I could emphasize that curve by using a much larger tube diameter.”

This was back in 2018, when Marion had recently founded her own studio and was looking to design something for herself — no client brief, no project specifications. Well versed in residential product design (after earning her master’s degree in architecture from the University of Manitoba, Marion designed furniture and accessories for such renowned Canadian brands as Gus* Modern, EQ3 and Article), she first experimented with the idea of a dining chair nearly a year later, but found the scale of the amped-up tubes to be too extreme in that scenario. After tweaking the proportions, profile and ergonomics somewhat, she landed on what would become the Percy lounge chair.

Working with a local metal mill shop, Marion produced a prototype with just two components — a continuous 50-millimetre-diameter aluminum-tube frame and a pair of plush upholstered cushions. “I was drawn to the combination of hard metal and soft upholstery,” Marion says of the resultant chair, which boasts strong mid-century modern vibes. “I feel mid-century design is sensitive to the human body and mind. At its best, it’s a considered response to how we move through — and enjoy — the world as humans.”

Percy made its debut at the Toronto edition of IDS in 2020, where it charmed the crowd and was awarded Best Prototype. Energized by the accolades, Marion further refined the design to be more aligned with her vision, and to effectively straddle the aesthetic line between residential and commercial. “After modifications were made for durability and sustainability of materials, it wasn’t a big jump to the commercial markets,” she notes. Marion then reached out to her contacts at Herman Miller (which was about to merge with Knoll), and they were immediate fans. It was placed with British manufacturer NaughtOne (established in 2005, it has been a part of the MillerKnoll collective since 2019), which specializes in well-made and sustainable furniture.

With a playfully informal expression that is vaguely familiar yet rather surprising, Percy was a natural choice for NaughtOne, as the company was looking to add more lounge chairs to its portfolio of laid-back modern designs. Also compatible with the brand was Marion’s fearless appreciation of bold colour — the designer often develops palettes informed by everything from her children’s drawings and nature to architecture and overlooked or seemingly insignificant details.

Percy is now made with a durable recycled and recyclable steel-tube frame at the brand’s factories in North America and the U.K. (to minimize environmental and shipping costs, as well as lead times for both markets). It’s offered in 16 vibrant powder-coated RAL colourways that range from cotton-candy pink, leaf green and stop-sign red to steel blue, jet black and oyster; more than 100 upholstery fabrics allow Percy to be perfectly tailored to suit any environment.

With its compact yet generous scale, the Percy lounge chair easily and comfortably accommodates many different body types and sitting positions, while its robust materiality makes it an ideal addition to flexible workspaces, as well as high-traffic commercial or hospitality settings.