What is it about chairs at the side of the road that stops me in my tracks?  I had something completely different to post about today and then I saw the four perfectly good, albeit old, chairs outside the dumpster. A little sanding and paint, new fabric on the cushions, remove the caning and replace it with the same fabric as the new seats…I’M OUT OF ROOM IN MY HOUSE or I would rescue them.  It must be something about bulk trash days that brings all the chairs to the curb as I’m driving by from wherever.  These old chairs are right outside my window.  Aggghhh

I didn’t even know I had a fascination with chairs until Sandra pointed out that nearly every framed photo in my home has a chair in it.  And here I thought I was fascinated with gardens and porches….apparently I was in denial.

The more I think about it the more it rings true.  When I left Oak Tree Road to come to Stowe Lane I brought very little with me.  My spoons, of course, my clothes, some kitchen stuff, some other stuff, my Grandmother’s metal top kitchen table and the following: fabulous blue slipper chair, two folding mahogany chairs that belonged to Grandmamma, a wingback in a subtle oriental floral, my father’s wingback, a 1929 rattan for the porch, two rattan arm chairs from the set left behind on Oak Tree Rd, the reproduction swivel desk chair for my office, hhmmmmm.  Oh yeah and the Adirondack chair I rescued from the dumpster by hauling it in the back of a 750LI.

Ok I love chairs.  Maybe it has to do with a funny saying my mother had when we were kids and only half sitting on the kitchen chair at dinner, “Sit right, the rent’s paid.”  Meaning you didn’t have to high tail it for the door if the landlord came knocking.  Maybe I find it comforting, maybe it’s the style, maybe it’s the design, maybe it’s that its individual meant just for your butt.  Who knows?

I put on an all-out search for two additional dining room chairs to complement my four existing chairs.  Notice I didn’t say match the other chairs, I’m not a matchy matchy kind of girl.  But complement it must.  Lend itself to that collected over time, I’ve got a story to tell, I’ve been here for years vibe of my home it must.

I’ll always take note of an interesting chair, can’t pass it up.  I have a Pinterest board called Something about Chairs.  As do many other people on Pinterest, I’m finding out.  The names vary from “For the Love of Chairs” to “Chair Fetish” (also a group on Flickr), “Chairs, Chairs, Chairs”, “Unique Chairs”… you get the picture.  Point is I’m not alone.

So what’s the attraction for all these people? Unframed is a blog of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art intended to create a conversation about the art and artists of LACMA, Los Angeles, and Southern California.  They recently had a blog post entitled, wait for it, “What is it about Chairs?”  I kid you not.  They asked John Kapel why chairs have such allure. “He gave a thoroughly compelling explanation of why chairs are particularly expressive opportunities for a designer.  According to Kapel, a chair is a showpiece, one that is often positioned in a living room such that it can be appreciated from many different angles – unlike, say, a sofa, which typically sits against a wall. He also explained the complex geometry of a chair, its assortment of lines and angles that invite design innovation. And he made the point that, unlike, say, a table, a chair cradles the human body, and reflects our physicality.”  See…it does come down to “sit right, the rent’s paid”.  To read the entire post, http://lacma.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/what-is-it-about-chairs , it has even more interesting chair masters works and conversation.

To me I think there’s always a story.  An object being kicked to the curb when it still has use bothers me. If something belonged to someone special and you can picture them in it or you can feel their energy when you sit in it that becomes amazing to me.  When you can be enveloped in comfort and wonderful fabric then it’s the tactile nature of it that I love.

Then there are all the chair idioms, grab a chair, pull up a chair, nearly fell off my chair, play first chair, play musical chairs, keep you on the edge of your seat, there’s never a bad thing said about chairs. To sum it up there is a magnet on my microwave from Curly Girl Designs (www.curlygirldesigns.com):  A good cook knows it’s not what is on the table that counts but what is in the chairs.  That’s where I live, mismatched chairs and all. I know like I know I just love chairs.

ps. It’s not just me…Nicole found one she loved too.  It resides in her office, just sayin.

I never thought about chairs before – why would I?