The Reading Chair
So, remember mini decorating spree I mentioned, where we re-did three areas? The playroom, sitting area of our room, and office? To make our lives more functional? And PRETTIER?
Well, Chris says the sitting area of our bedroom doesn't count as redecorating, because all we did was buy a chair.
He said an entire blog post could not be written about a single chair.
He forgets that I can expound FOREVER on just about any minor topic.
Besides, there's also an ottoman.
Before the new chair, the sitting area contained, depending on the age of our children, a cheap but pretty functional bland, brown chair from Target (which I tolerated), or a nice nursery-esque glider (which I loved but is now in Lorelei's room). We've had that brown chair (actually, we have two of 'em) since I lived in Alexandria, Virginia.That chair moved to FOUR different dwellings before settling in our abode in The Sticks.
I pined for a reading chair. A REAL reading chair. A big, comfy, reading chair. Preferably custom-made, because I'm incredibly controlling when it comes to furniture that contains fabric.
We went to our go-to furniture place, making the enormous mistake of not hiring a babysitter. (When I FINALLY do furniture for my formal living room, we agreed we'll leave the kids at home.) The salesperson had me sit on chair after chair. "Nope," I said, getting up out of yet another stiff, formal chair. "It's going in our bedroom sitting area. I want big and comfy. I want room for my kids to climb up with me, so I can read to them."
"And it has to be FIRM!" Chris chimed in. He hates too-soft furniture.
We finally found a design, which was pretty basic but exactly what I wanted. We selected firmness and the little feet styles of the chair. We opted for the ottoman. Now? Color. "See, it comes in these 5 colors," the salesperson said.
"Hmmm," I said. "I guess one of those might work." They were neutral and boring, but they'd technically work in the space. Nothing was WRONG with them. One was even green. Sage green. The same sage green you see everywhere right now. And beige. And chocolate brown.
"Or . . . you can customize," she said.
"Okay!" I said, ignoring Chris's groans. Furniture-store design centers---with all those fabric samples dangling with tantalizing possibility---are so, so fun to me. I could spend HOURS there. So, maybe it was a good thing I was carrying Lorelei on my chest in the Ergo carrier, and while she's good-natured, the child does have a time limit on her agreeableness. And then there was Charlotte playing hide-and-seek, despite me telling her that I'd really rather she not HIDE from us in the furniture store, tempting as it was. As a result, I picked my fabric relatively quickly---a modern lime green (which I thought was oh so very bold) in a highly textured, soft fabric (crucial for the coziness I was aiming for), plus every possible warranty they sell, seeing as how I have young children. I debated a bit between a similar fabric in orange--bright orange--and that would've been super cute (and talk about bold), but Chris's eyes widened just enough that I could tell his "whatever you think is best" had an undercurrent of "holy crap, that's ORANGE."
I loooooooove how the green chair (and ottoman) turned out, though its placement in the sitting area has highlighted the need to redo the curtains (which I've never liked). The chair doesn't go well with the burgundy, which I suspected, but it annoys me, partly because correcting it is technically a very easy fix. I want to bring the curtains up from the family room (which are striped with browns, olives, and oranges), but that has to wait until we finally get shades in there (now there's an ongoing saga).
That chair is just crying out for a fantastically fabulous decorative pillow (or, as Chris calls them, utterly pointless pillows). I've looked and looked, but so far? Nada has stuck my fancy.
Anyhoo, I have LOVED reading to Charlotte in this chair. It's comfy and cozy and perfectly firm at once---I swear it was designed for Charlotte and Mommy. Last night, as Charlotte climbed up, she said, "There's room for both of us!"
"There is," I agreed. "Did you know the reason I picked this chair was so you could fit up here with me?"
She grinned.
I continued, "I sat in lots of chairs, but I said, 'Nope, I need one that can also hold Charlotte.' Don't you think that's a good way to pick a chair?"
Charlotte turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling. "Yup. That's a very good way to pick a chair, Mommy."
Well, Chris says the sitting area of our bedroom doesn't count as redecorating, because all we did was buy a chair.
He said an entire blog post could not be written about a single chair.
He forgets that I can expound FOREVER on just about any minor topic.
Besides, there's also an ottoman.
Before the new chair, the sitting area contained, depending on the age of our children, a cheap but pretty functional bland, brown chair from Target (which I tolerated), or a nice nursery-esque glider (which I loved but is now in Lorelei's room). We've had that brown chair (actually, we have two of 'em) since I lived in Alexandria, Virginia.That chair moved to FOUR different dwellings before settling in our abode in The Sticks.
I pined for a reading chair. A REAL reading chair. A big, comfy, reading chair. Preferably custom-made, because I'm incredibly controlling when it comes to furniture that contains fabric.
We went to our go-to furniture place, making the enormous mistake of not hiring a babysitter. (When I FINALLY do furniture for my formal living room, we agreed we'll leave the kids at home.) The salesperson had me sit on chair after chair. "Nope," I said, getting up out of yet another stiff, formal chair. "It's going in our bedroom sitting area. I want big and comfy. I want room for my kids to climb up with me, so I can read to them."
"And it has to be FIRM!" Chris chimed in. He hates too-soft furniture.
We finally found a design, which was pretty basic but exactly what I wanted. We selected firmness and the little feet styles of the chair. We opted for the ottoman. Now? Color. "See, it comes in these 5 colors," the salesperson said.
"Hmmm," I said. "I guess one of those might work." They were neutral and boring, but they'd technically work in the space. Nothing was WRONG with them. One was even green. Sage green. The same sage green you see everywhere right now. And beige. And chocolate brown.
"Or . . . you can customize," she said.
"Okay!" I said, ignoring Chris's groans. Furniture-store design centers---with all those fabric samples dangling with tantalizing possibility---are so, so fun to me. I could spend HOURS there. So, maybe it was a good thing I was carrying Lorelei on my chest in the Ergo carrier, and while she's good-natured, the child does have a time limit on her agreeableness. And then there was Charlotte playing hide-and-seek, despite me telling her that I'd really rather she not HIDE from us in the furniture store, tempting as it was. As a result, I picked my fabric relatively quickly---a modern lime green (which I thought was oh so very bold) in a highly textured, soft fabric (crucial for the coziness I was aiming for), plus every possible warranty they sell, seeing as how I have young children. I debated a bit between a similar fabric in orange--bright orange--and that would've been super cute (and talk about bold), but Chris's eyes widened just enough that I could tell his "whatever you think is best" had an undercurrent of "holy crap, that's ORANGE."
I loooooooove how the green chair (and ottoman) turned out, though its placement in the sitting area has highlighted the need to redo the curtains (which I've never liked). The chair doesn't go well with the burgundy, which I suspected, but it annoys me, partly because correcting it is technically a very easy fix. I want to bring the curtains up from the family room (which are striped with browns, olives, and oranges), but that has to wait until we finally get shades in there (now there's an ongoing saga).
 |
| None of my photos are doing justice to the lime color and texture of this chair, which sort of defeats the purpose of posting photos in the first place. |
That chair is just crying out for a fantastically fabulous decorative pillow (or, as Chris calls them, utterly pointless pillows). I've looked and looked, but so far? Nada has stuck my fancy.
 |
| Charlotte is a fan. And every girl needs a magic wand while she reads. |
 |
| Reading together. |
Anyhoo, I have LOVED reading to Charlotte in this chair. It's comfy and cozy and perfectly firm at once---I swear it was designed for Charlotte and Mommy. Last night, as Charlotte climbed up, she said, "There's room for both of us!"
"There is," I agreed. "Did you know the reason I picked this chair was so you could fit up here with me?"
She grinned.
I continued, "I sat in lots of chairs, but I said, 'Nope, I need one that can also hold Charlotte.' Don't you think that's a good way to pick a chair?"
Charlotte turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling. "Yup. That's a very good way to pick a chair, Mommy."
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