In yesterday's Chron, we learned -- or were reminded -- that as Americans, um, grow larger, so does furniture. Susan Fornoff's article details the fact that American furniture makers are making wider, deeper, cushier seating to accommodate us.
But is it going to sell if it's ugly but comfortable? As Pulaski Vice President Jim Kelly says, "when you deal with fashion, you're never going to sell it unless it's pretty."
Just a comment that deeper and cushier actually can be harder to get out of for "larger Americans." Height of the seat may actually be what makes the most difference.
So....everyone is getting fatter, furniture is getting bigger, and apartments are getting smaller?
Maybe I'll just pad and upholster my entire living room.
But the furniture's designed for the McMansions, which are getting larger, too.
After we bought our leather chair -- which isn't the bulkiest leather chair out there today, but which did need to have a deep enough seat for my long legs -- I ran across a pair of real Art Deco club chairs. They looked like puppies, compared to our chair...
... chihuahua puppies.
When looking for furniture with my parents the other day, I noticed a lot of the "conventional" furniture stores are jumping on the "chair and a half" fad with increasing fervor. Am I the only one who thinks these things are horrid? I've seen few people large enough to fill them, and few people small enough that two of them could sit comfortably. They're messed up looking.
This fad, and the fad of putting silver cupholders in the armrests of couches (like in the back seats of minivans) need to die.