Kenneth Cobonpue's designs look amazing, but they'll cost you.
(Image credit: Kenneth Cobonpue)
If you're such a big fan of Star Wars that you simply have to base your home furnishings on it, that's not a difficult thing to do. There are plenty of companies selling licensed Star Wars furniture, but what if that's all a bit too cheap and common for you? What if you really need some luxury Star Wars furniture at a price most can't afford?
Well, here's the good news: there's now a range of high-end Star Wars furniture designed by Kenneth Cobonpue, and it comes at suitably eye-watering prices.
Who wouldn't want a TIE Fighter chair? (Image credit: Kenneth Cobonpue)
Kenneth Cobonpue is an award-winning designer and manufacturer from the Philippines who has made a name for himself by combining natural materials, traditional craft and experimental design to create unique and whimsical pieces of furniture. Given the opportunity to collaborate with Disney on a collection based on the movies or brands of his choice, Cobonpue immediately picked Star Wars, and was given free reign to create as he wanted.
The results are some striking-looking pieces with prices to match. The most Star Wars-looking is without doubt the TIE Fighter chair; featuring woven wings and a matching table, it bears a distinct resemblance to the Empire's go-to starfighters, and it's marketed as being the perfect choice for a game room.
The Sidious Chair faces off against the Chewie stool, overlooked by a Jedi lamp (Image credit: Kenneth Cobonpue)
If you're after something more comfortable, we'd go for the Sidious easy armchair. With a raised backrest to resemble the Emperor's hood, it's an elegant yet menacing piece that looks great for lounging around.
On a similar note, there's also a Vader easy armchair with its own foldable swivel table and an open weave canopy for that echo of the Dark Lord's famous helmet. Ideal if you want a bit of privacy for hatching evil plans.
By far the most adorable piece in the collection is the Chewie rocking stool, adorned with a thick Wookiee-style coat of microfibre strips and wrapped in a fabric belt resembling Chewbacca's bandolier. And the weirdest piece? The Little Jedi lamp, made out of what looks like a tangle of lightsaber-wielding Jedi action figures going into battle against a solitary red Sith.
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Hatch your evil plans from the safety of the Vader easy chair (Image credit: Kenneth Cobonpue)
The best thing about this strange collection is that none of it looks too Star Wars-y; it's fantastic-looking deco furniture with just enough of a Star Wars feel to get the fans – at least the ones with deep pockets – flocking to it. And yes, those pockets will have to be pretty deep; the TIE Fighter chair clocks in at $2,700 (with the matching tables another $655), and if you have an eye on the Vader easy chair then that's going to cost you a cool $4,320.
There's good news for those of you who can't quite run to those price tags, however: the Chewie rocking stool could be yours for just $1,345. Puts that $999 Apple monitor stand into perspective, doesn't it? And if you still can't stretch to that, then check out our best office chair buying guide instead, which has some more affordable (non Star Wars) options.
Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.
