apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I think teh chair is timelessly out of style these days - just kidding. It is a popular chair and I think it will likely always have a place in decor....somewhere.... The secondary market is not always a good point of reference to measure the use value of an object.

I like them, theyre comfortable to lay in (lets not pretend you can actually "sit" in these things) but the rattan is what kills it for me. Its damaged too easily and Im personally not a big fan of the material.

Dunno, the design needs an update for me at least.

I never thought it was very comfortable and very hard to get out of.

I agree with Monica. I found them uncomfortable, but I bet my dog would like sleeping in it.

I always found myself drawn to the one at my friends pad...so I just up and bought one (from Craigslist - of course!) and LOVE it! I have it tucked in a corner (at one end of the big sofa - so the actual ratan really isn't visible from the room...) under a great hanging lamp and use it lot as a "reading nook". My tastes range from funky bohemian to mid-50's modern...and this sneaks in great. I also happen to be 37 years old, so this is not in a dorm room!

So there. =)

That room in the photo is quite nice. The chair adds nothing. You could put a pappasan in Versailles, and it might improve with the surroundings (upholstered in chintz), but really, do you want one in your house?

The bar at the extremely swanky new Grand Hyatt in San Antonio has big Papasans on the patio. It is actually pretty cool to have lots of them in such a huge space. But for a small space it is always in the way.

I'd rather have a Butterfly Chair...

I just found one in the alley last week ( minus the cushion). A round, low shape was precisely what I needed in my room. I am going to spray the base a glossy black and eventually sew a cushion from a bold black folkloric print and I will hang above it two whimsical black/oval paper silhouettes of my children and I think it'll be outrageously beautiful.

I love my papasan...though they are ridiculously hard to get into and out of. Once you find your balance, it's quite comfortable.

If someone was smart, they would update this thing using a different base than the "197's sitcom Three's Company" Bamboo and Rattan style.

These chairs are incredible comfortable and the shape isn't bad really.

I could see a base in titanium or sleek Scandinavian style bentwood or something.

i dont think so.... i just really hate the frame.

i love the cushions, and i've always found them to be very comfy. My parents had one when i was little and i LOVED laying in it, but i hate the look of them now. everytime i go into pier 1 i want to ask if anyone buys them anymore.

i was going to ask if anyone knew of a chair with a cushion like this with a more modern frame then i remembered i had an urban outfitters dish chair (basically the papason chair with a metal frame) while away at school... duh! i can't think of any other way the frame could be reworked to be a little more modern.

i don't have room for one of these . . . always thought it would make for one terrific dog bed.

I think this chair took up the entire walking area of my freshmen dorm room. Thank God my dad wouldn't let me bring it home that summer.

We have one and, aesthetically, I loathe it. But it is our cat's very favorite sleeping spot so my husband refuses to get rid of it. If it could be retooled with a different material (no rattan) I might like it better.

I have had one (gift) for years and I never use it for anything more than a place to throw stuff when I walk into my bedroom. It's totally uncomfortable, a pain to get in and out of, and really unattractive (stone washed pastel splotches?).

"Sturdy"? Ha.

I love the look of these chairs but believe it or not - they're very very hard to come by in Holland. Otherwise I'd have gotten one a long time ago.

I sat in one a long time ago and thought it was very comfortable, and wanted one, but by the time I was in any position to buy furniture, they were already out of style. Plus, I was selling furniture at the time and deliberated a nicer chair. Didn't get that one either. I'd still get a papasan if I had an extra room to put ugly but comfortable stuff.

I put mine out on the street. THe meth addict on our block adopted it.

It had it's time in college, but then it just became an eyesore and had to go.

actually I like both the papasan and the "butterfly" chair. both are comfortable to be in. getting in and out of is another story.

just to be silly for a moment, is there a mamasan chair as well?

I used to smoke up in my friends college apartment in a chair like that. Its just that sort that kind of chair.

I have these cheap round folding chairs from ... I forget, probably Garden Ridge... it's actually quite modern, and for a folding chair, pretty nice. It is hard to get out of, though.

And also, my 3 year old calls it the "Parmesan" chair, which makes me love it even more.

okgoodanswer, you hit the nail on the head: this is supreme stoner decor. The fact that it's hard to get out of is irrelevant, since stoners aren't constantly getting up and sitting back down again, and they really are pretty comfy for extreme lounging purposes.

f wall decals, starburst clocks and owl knick-knacks can rise from the grave of 70s tackiness, why not the papasan chair too?

my dad had one a log time ago and i thought it was the coolest. but i was a teenager, so... yeah... i think that in a teen's bedroom, it could be made adorable. but in my living room, notsomuch.

OMG, I...I think I like it! I have always hated these, why does it look good to me now?

I can totally see this in a Wary Meyers kind of room.

Lol I work at Pier 1. We sell ridiculous amounts of these chairs. We even have a double papasan which is basically a loveseat. They are comfortable - but kinda ugly. However they do carry a white-washed frame now which actually looks a million times better!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/very_lame/2325338441/in/set-72157604087053481/

I have one. I made a giant pillowcase for it. It is so comfortable & cozy & my cats love it.

I also hate it. It is ginormous & cumbersome. I will eventually get rid of it, but curling up in a big round dish is just so cozy.

And I am a stoner.

i recently considered getting one for my bay window. i want a comfortable chair and recliners just seem a bit big for such a small apartment with all the other furniture. thought one of these might fit well with the right cushion pattern. there's quite a range available.

One word: Hideous
Never had one
Never will

A former roommate had one in our shared apartment. It was comfortable enough, but fairly old. What bothered me most about it was that it was nearly impossible to get crumbs, dust and dirt out of all the button indentations! I could never sit on it without thinking about how many generations of her family's dead skin flakes were inches away from my ass. Vacuuming with the pokey-thing attachment never seemed to get it all. They're ridiculously overpriced brand new, and I would feel the same about any second-hand one I purchased, so I don't see a Papasan in my future.

However, bravo for giving it a shot and facing criticism!

I think they are comfy but the base is ugly. Plus even though they are comfy to sit it, hard to get out of!

I agree with everyone on the rattan. I have always hated that material. I remember back in 1978 my boyfriend's(soon to be hubby) best friend had a room with two of these in them and it was called the smokin room,lol. I guess these chairs were perfect for that.

How about this one? Hot or not? http://www.inmod.com/ecopod.html

Wow I never realized how uncool they were.

I LOVE mine and have had it for a several years. I recently replaced the original cushion with a white one and I--personally--think it looks lovely and cozy tucked into the corner of my living room...though a loveseat and coffee table do partially obscure the rattan so perhaps that helps. And I am in college (5th year senior, ugh), but I don't live in a dorm room...I have a gorgeous 1930s high-ceilinged one-bedroom apartment that I have furnished almost entirely with MC finds from craigslist. And I'm not a stoner...and I never felt like getting in and out of it was that big of a problem...certainly not enough to dissuade me from sitting in it...which I do all the time. It's a wonderful reading chair!

I have always wanted one of these. Every time I go into Pier One I sit in one for a brief period. It seems to be comfortable for that short time. However, I can see how it might be hard to get out of after sitting for an extended period. I will probably buy one off of Craigslist for a reduced price and replace the cushion with a new one (gets rid of the cootie factor). After I have one, I probably won't want one anymore and it will be turned into an elevated dog bed. In the end I won't have to fight my dog for the couch.

:o)

I agree with what seems to be the general consensus --- comfortable and fugly! Would look better with an updated frame. Awesome pet bed. Can be great for kids' rooms or casual spaces, but for a formal living room? It'll bring down the tone.

Hmmm well I just moved into my first place of my own, without roommates. I have a papasan chair that I've had for 6 years (got it for my 19th birthday) and it is currently the only sit-on-able furniture in my living room (waiting for that perfect craigslist couch). I agree, it is kind of ugly (in a cute way, like a pug), and all the places where it is tied together are now untied, or have been retied 12 or 15 times... and you can feel the bamboo under your butt when you sit on it... and you have to sit crosslegged if you want to sit upright, which makes your feet fall asleep... however, it lasted me through college and traveled from apartment to apartment, and I can carry it without help from anyone, and really, it is very comfortable for the first 5 minutes I think that even when I get rid of this thing and finally graduate to real furniture, I will miss it when it's gone. And I will always be tempted to get another one when I go to Cost Plus or Pier 1.

i think it'd be worth a redesign. it needs to be less busy. it's a rather huge chair. it is insanely comfy though. maybe some day ikea will make a cuter alternative that is still cheap.

i think the chair could be good with a solid base, just a circular base in a color and then a better looking "dish", solid as well?

My wife's freshman roommate in college decided to buy one of these. She loved filling their tiny dorm room up with furniture. A second fridge because she didn't think the one my wife had was big enough, BAM, a giant cabinet filled with DVD's instead of just putting them in a slipcase type setup, BAM, a horrible uncomfortable metal chair, BAM. I didn't mind the papisan, although it needs the updates listed above, but a dorm room is not the place for them, their simply isn't enough room, when space is at a premium there.

not all dorm rooms are small.

sounds like shawnari just needs a new cushion.

as a tropical lounger, this chair is second only to the hammock.

put it in a breezy, open-air pavillion on a cliff overlooking the ocean.....bliss

I've never lived in a house that didn't have them - although where I grew up, we called those single-person round ones mamasans, and reserved the name papasan for the oval-shaped 2-person ones.

I have one now, and I bought it to be a comfortable chair in my bedroom both because it doesn't seem like home without one and because they're the most comfortable chairs to sit and knit in ever. To date, I've never managed to sit in it once, because it wasn't in the house 30 seconds before my dogs took it over, and I haven't been able to wrestle it back from them since.

So, NorNor, yes, they do make excellent dog chairs - for big dogs, anyway. To wit: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1339/1430925684_98dd4c8f29.jpg

Super comfortable, but really the look just kills it.

Bloomingdales is about to come out with a chair that looks kind of like it, but isn't as big, and has a much more modern base.

i can see it work w/ a cool print, even w/ the rattan. a more updated frame would be nice, though.

The look kills it in my opinion - plus they are impossible to get out of and look hideous. I never found one comfortable myself - I'd much rather spend more money and buy a chair that improves the decor, not ruin.

I always liked them and have had two, but the cats were determined to ruin them, and I don't mean with their claws.

I have actually been thinking about rescuing the one we still have in storage from my husband's bachelor apt (in hunter green cordoroy, if memory serves) and redoing the cushion in that Ikea puzzle-piece fabric for the kid's room. And maybe painting the base white? Dunno, maybe it's seriously not worth the work.

I have concluded that papasans are to chairs as Crocs are to shoes: comfortable, cheap, and almost everyone agrees that they're ugly.

I had one in the early 90s and loved it. So comfy and cozy. My ex made me get rid of it when we moved in together (I got it pre-ex) and I've never gotten over that denunciation of the papasan. The base is hideous, but they're so cheap. If it was rebirthed, I'm sure it would go designer-retro and be priced stratospherically. Maybe I'm remembering it too nostalgically....or maybe I should get another one.

It was very comfortable as a nursing chair, very useful as a baby nap chair. Now, it's a cozy spot for cuddling and reading together with a toddler. It's a comfortable chair. Maybe it does not look so good in modern interiors, but I still love it.

Also, I disagree that "the chair is busy enough on its own" - all the pictures in the catalog are taken from a very low point of view. In a medium size room (our papasan is in the corner, by the window) you can barely see the base. You mostly see the pillow. We have white pillow, and I think getting a pillow with a large patters is best.

I love the idea of these being outdoor patio furniture in sunbrella fabric for a tropical island resort feel. But that's where it ends.

I think they're wonderfully comfortable (although I did almost manage to tip myself out of one once...) , but agree with a bunch of other people here in that the base really needs an update. Ditch the rattan, streamline it a bit, and then I'd be happy to have one in my living room.

Some things are just too comfortable to give up.

Uncomftable!
Meant for a child's body, adults cannot get in or out of this chair gracefully.
When i was 20 i appreciated that chair as decorating.

I agree with the redesign. Plus it should be lower so that when you add the cushion it is easier to get in and out of. Perhaps using metal and having the seat swivel would also increase it's comfort and fun. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have an ajustable height gizmo to ease the getting into and out of. Not bamboo, a more modern attempt would really set it off nicely with an elegant cushion fabric design.

The whole point of the papasan is comfort and exotic style at low cast AND movability! The reason everyone sees these in college dorms and apartments is because they are so lightweight, you can take them everywhere you move and they are low cost that no one cares that they banged up a bit by your roommates and party guests.

Personally, I love the papasan! I have many good memories of that chair (yes, from college...) and I think that some people actually have some great ideas on how to use one (who said they were going to paint the base black?) It is just a fun piece of furniture, like Bean Bags, that everyone should have a chance to try once in their life.

The only places I ever see these anymore are out on the curb on trash pickup day.

I was once directed to a papasan as sleeping arrangements at my sister's house. I was offend by the design and offended by the lack of proper sleeping arrangements. I was 17. Grow up people.