It takes a keen eye and a strong design sense to outfit a supervillain's lair. You can't just buy your furniture at IKEA. It needs to be opulent, but also menacing. That's where French design firm Harow comes in with its 24-karat gold-plated skull armchair. It's scary. It's coated with bling. It's perfect for your hidden island headquarters.
Harow says the chair's function is to "establish its domination." The chair is designed with a faceted look, like it was carved out of gold crystal. It has gaping eyes on the back and what looks to be a very cushy black velvet seating area in the front. It's made from reinforced fiberglass over a steel frame and then coated in 24-karat gold that your minions will have to constantly polish to get the fingerprints off.
Luxury Launches reports that the chair comes with a substantial $500,000 (about £347,000, AU$717,000) price tag.
Harow first introduced an all black version of the skull chair a few years ago, but the gold-plated edition is a real stunner, speaking to both opulence and a slight bent toward insanity. There are many supervillains who would appreciate this piece of furniture, including almost any main baddie from the James Bond universe.
The chair isn't the first unusual object to be coated in gold and sold to people with a lot of money and likely a strong sense of humor. Retailer Kay Jewelers offered up a very expensive gold-and-diamond BB-8 droid from Star Wars last year, just prior to the opening of "The Force Awakens."
We also saw a gold-plated men's racing bike in 2014 that cost nearly as much as the skull chair. This presents an interesting dilemma. Are you the kind of supervillain who sits back and commands your hirelings on your way to foiling your superhero nemesis, or are you the kind of supervillain who takes an active interest in your own health? Blofelds should buy the chair. Banes may prefer the bike.
This looks extremely comfortable for a skull.
Harow