Friday, January 4, 2013

Deciding to Buy a Papasan Chair


Why a papasan chair?
I love my husband's taste; it is different from my own, yet he has an eye for beauty that I agree with.  So, when I asked my husband several years ago what his dream home would have, he gave me a list:  Alienware laptop, home theater, and a papasan chair.  I might sound like a broken record here, but I hadn't heard of a papasan chair before then.  I had to search for an image online to figure out what kind of high-tech. seating it was to be among the company of an Alienware laptop and home theater system.  This is one image I found, courtesy of Wikipedia:

Rattan meets Futon meets Fraternity meets Dog Bed?

If I were to describe my husband's style in a photograph it would be:
Void meets Gravity meets Electric Energy meets Elegant Chaos.
Something wasn't adding up for me.

When I asked him a while later why he wanted a papasan chair in particular, he said simply:  "I sat in one. It was extremely comfortable for me.  I'd like one."  He is often a man of a few verbal words, but if you were to read his writing, it reminds me of that Elegant Chaos above.  Dignified, precise, and divergent all at once.

Long story short, we bought a papasan chair because my husband had only 3 requirements for his dream home, and it was one of them.

What style did we decide to buy and from what retailer?
I couldn't find an online retailer that would ship a papasan chair frame to my home state, Hawai'i, where we currently reside.  The best solution we found was Pier 1 who could ship the item to one of their stores for pick-up.  I stepped into Pier 1 for the first time in my life to go papasan chair hunting with my husband.  I fell in love with that store!  If our current budget wasn't so tight-fisted right now, and if I wasn't brought up to want to DIY everything I can, I'd buy as many pieces as I could from that place!

After we walked around in awe for a good 20 minutes, my husband asked for an "outdoor papasan chair" and a, wait for it, BLACK indoor cushion.  The sales associate let us know that the black cushion would not do well outdoors, so I explained that the outdoor chair would be inside the apartment.  My husband is partial to metal over rattan, primarily because he felt it would be more sturdy and last longer.

When we came to pick up the chair 3 weeks later, it was a miracle and a labor of 15 minutes that we could fit it in my brother's four door Plymouth Neon.  My husband and I also went shopping for bedding and he picked out two pillows from a big box store to go with his papasan.  Here is what his choices amounted to:
We paid full retail price for this chair base, bowl, cushion, and pillows.  The chair base, bowl, and cushion with tax totaled $210.  The throw pillows were $12 for two, so this chair was a pricey $223, which puts a bit of a gash in our $500 living room furnishing budget.

Regardless of what I've read about papasan chairs since, like this Apartment Therapy article about whether it is Hot or Not?, this chair is the most comfortable chair I've ever lounged in.  It's even my daughter's favorite piece of furniture, dressed in my husband's style.

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16 comments:

  1. Awww.. I've wanted one of those forever (actually, since grade 12 - and i'm 40~) - my husband bought me one for Christmas! All the children are taking turns trying it out right now. We are a family of readers, and this is the perfect little reading (or breastfeeding) chair... :)

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    1. =D I am so glad you got one for Christmas, especially since you have wanted one for so long! =D I agree that it's a great reading chair and my daughter often naps in it. :)

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  2. I just purchased a double at pier 1 I am a lover of this furniture but don't bother with the wood I've had mine for a week and already has a crack I felt it might have been the workmanship contacting pier 1 in the morning I believe they will replace only I am having it replaced with outdoor style for a long lasting chair

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    1. I am sorry your wood cracked. I'm glad my husband chose the outdoor metal chair base. It has served us well for the past year, although we removed the wrapping around the base perimeter.

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  3. I love the combination of this papasan! I am now trying to find the exact frame/cushion/throw pillows for my own apartment. Tell your husband he did a great job picking it!

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    1. Thank you for your comment. I think my husband is feeling pretty proud of himself now! =D We got the throw pillows from Wal-Mart about a year ago, near their bedding section. Hope you find a combination you love!

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    ReplyDelete
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    1. I am glad you've stopped by to visit and comment!

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  5. What a beautiful little nook! No wonder your family loves it.

    Do you find the plush fabric is comfortable in hot weather? I'm tempted because it looks so cozy, but we don't have central air, so "cozy" can be a liability three months out of the year.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, we live in Hawai'i where our warm weather lasts most of the year. We haven't had an issue with the fabric absorbing heat, but we do have a fan pointing right at it. :) Thanks so much for your comment and question.

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  6. Does the wrapping come off everywhere? On the indoor ones, the wrapping holds it together.. will I be able to take it off the metal one completely?

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    1. We took the wrapping off the metal one completely. Mostly because the areas where the metal rubbed together made the plastic wrapping weaken and break, so it looked neater without it. It's mostly for decoration, as the metal is welded in place. Hope this helps! :)

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    2. Awesome! Thanks, I asked the same thing in reply to your other comment since I didn't see it show up here I thought the comment thing was broken. Haha guess not!

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    3. :) Haha. Blogger e-mails me the comments and I have to check my e-mail to hit "Publish." It's just unfortunate that 90% of the comments I'm e-mailed are spam. Thank you so much for stopping by for a little chat! =D

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    4. I just bought this same chair but I find it does not stay in place. The frame is always sliding down and around the base. Have you noticed this with yours?

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    5. Hi, Linnix,

      We had the same problem. My husband zip tied the bowl to the frame, and we haven't had any problems with it since. We also added extra cushioning under the Papasan cushion over time (in the form of spare pillows). I may eventually need to buy a new cushion, unfortunately. Hope this update helps!

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