It piques and provokes what one might expect of it, and yet it is inexplicably aesthetic and harmonious – a nonconformist on velvet paws. Eileen Gray commented quite pragmatically on her work with typical understatement: "An armrest was omitted in order to leave the body more freedom in movement and to allow it to bend forward or to turn to the other side unrestricted". Seldom was a nonconformist more ready to talk.