Club Chairs

The original club chair was first introduced in France and was called fauteuil confortable or comfortable chair. It was more like an armchair that is covered with leather, a far different form than what we know of club chairs today. How that bulky armchair became known as club chair isn’t yet clear. The closest that historians could think of is this type of chair was the favorite seat among many gentlemen’s clubs, thus the name club chair. It is not really hard to imagine men gathered around wearing their tuxedos and sitting in this type of chair.

Over time, the club chair of old evolved as well. Its classical image gave way to more defined and simple Art Deco chairs of the early 20th century. It still retained its basic feature of a stocky, single-seat chair with back and arm rest. Upholstery and carpentry were the two main trades involved in creating club chairs. On the sides were felmongers who supplied the leather needed to cover the chair.

To make the chair even more confortable, new padding techniques were used and double spring coils were used to cushion the seat, back, and arm rest. New discoveries led to the change in materials used, with plastic taking most of the basic parts. Even the leather covering was replaced with synthetic, leather-like materials.

The club chair continuously changed its appearance, but the basic concept of a comfortable seat was never lost. Today, we see different types of club chairs in many dining establishments, bars, and even homes. They are either high or low, with soft cushion or with hard but elegantly-looking wood seats. They come by names like banquet chair, barstool, and arm chair. You may even come across club chairs called Boheme, Louvre, or Timber.

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