A Lounge Chair (and How to Fix, Modify, and Keep It Forever)

Category: Furniture

Imagine your favorite sweater. You didn’t necessarily buy that sweater with the expectation that it would become your favorite–the connection was built up over time. As the sweater was worn, it inevitably needed to be repaired. It was no longer in its original, pristine condition–the wear and repairs became signifiers of a relationship. The memories that are now associated with it form the basis of a relationship. The sweater has become an irreplaceable object in your daily life. What would it be like if we had these relationships with other objects in our lives? The Lounge Chair (and How to Fix, Modify, and Keep It Forever) encourages product sustainability by forging a personal connection with our belongings. It is designed to reduce our reliance on disposable goods and to support good practices in other areas of our lives. When our objects are generic and easily replaceable, we are less likely to care for or about them. Our instinct is to replace instead of repair, contributing to a landfill. This chair will foster an emotional connection through continued experience, maintenance, and repair–ideally it will become unthinkable that you would ever want to throw it away. The chair was constructed using 1-3/4" x 1-3/4" hard maple stock and the seat is woven out of cotton rope. Maple was chosen for its balance of durability and cost. The wooden frame lacks any sort of hardware, making use of half lap joinery instead. This ensures the longevity of the frame and its construction. The woven seat mitigates the use the harmful materials and adhesives commonly associated with upholstered furniture. The final chair and accompanying guide considers how objects are meant to exist and live in the world. Through continued care and stewardship, we can allow our belongings to exist in a more meaningful way.