The man chair

November 8, 2011 - 10:11 AM by

Funny thing happened at a birthday party the other night. We walked in, and a few male friends were vying for what a friend of mine calls “a man chair.” You know what I’m talking about. It’s the La-Z-Boy or Berkline recliner, footstool at the bottom, cushy fabric, often soft leather, but doesn’t have to be. There are man chairs with drink holders and massage buttons, man chairs with magazine holders, man chairs that recline into fully flat positions.

Ligne Roset ottoman chair

I laughed, because this chair that we were all gazing at looked exactly like my friend’s husband’s former chair. I say former, because she made him get rid of it. Yes, she had succumbed at some point, and they had purchased the slimmest, most attractive recliner they could find, but in the end she couldn’t face having it in her living room and they sold it, and got — to my mind — a much cooler living room option, the Ligne Roset Ottoman. My husband couldn’t believe they got rid of it, and, it appears, other men who knew of this furniture change were also dumbfounded.

A 'lady' recliner

But the thing is, and this is what some of us were discussing, that Israeli living rooms really don’t lend themselves to reclining man chairs. Our salons are smaller than their American counterparts, often joined to the dining room, and one needs to maximize seating space in slimmer options. True, you want your furniture to be comfortable and inviting, but not at the expense of the entire space. And even though they now make ‘lady recliners’, it’s still the same idea. Lots of bells and whistles, and too big.

A better version of what used to be in my friend's living room

In any case, a few of us set off the next day to some furniture gazing and possible shopping, including looking for a slim recliner for said friend who had been hogging the birthday party home man chair. Found a couple of possibilities at an Italian outlet in Jerusalem, in leather and we all felt that these chairs could work in a living room. I’d even be willing to consider it at some point in time, but I’d have to get over seeing all that hardware every time the chair is opened.

It also turns out that said chair from Saturday night, which I kept saying looked like friend’s husband’s former chair, was actually his former chair. You know why? They had sold it to said couple, and as that new owner kept saying, “I can’t believe you sold me your chair.”

Tags: , , , , , • Category: design, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on The man chair

  1. Rachel on Tue, Nov 8th 2011 3:40 PM

    2. Some years ago, when I was on a journalists’ junket to the Natuzzi furniture factory in Italy (call it my Italian couch trip) one of the executives asked our group why it was that they always received orders from their Israeli distributor for a certain kind of chair; it wasn’t popular in any other country. “What kind of chair is it?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He showed us a picture of a television recliner.
    http://israelity.com/2011/02/06/nostalgia-sunday-and-then-there-was-ikea/

  2. Pawsitive Reinforcement: Training with Rewards Not Reprimands » Whiskers Tails on Fri, Dec 2nd 2011 6:06 AM

    3. [...] the toilet), eating his dinner (versus your groceries), and dozing on the dog bed (instead of the manchair). Even times when your dog resists temptation to maul the mower, chase the neighbor’s kitty, or [...]

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