You Are Where You Sit

Posted by J. Mark Bertrand
on Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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If over time people come to resemble their pets, then I'm in good shape . . .

But what if it's the furniture you have to worry about?

Walk into the local furniture mart and you'll discover that things are generally oversized and overstuffed and faux-finished. Now two of those three descriptors could apply equally well to me. (To date, I haven't had any 'work' done.) But in the hope that furniture can exert a reverse pull, I'm trying to surround myself with all things tasteful and modern.

Case in point, our new chairs:



They were manufactured in Minnesota, probably in the sixties, by a company called Homecraft. The design is inspired by the Eames DCM, with a key modification in the interests of comfort: padded seat and back. We found one reupholstered in cowhide and Laurie (who's writing about this stuff too) latched on immediately. I was skeptical, because while I like the look of the Eames molded plywood chairs, sitting on them in another matter. One repose on the Homecraft variation, though, and I was sold. We found three more at a Twin Cities shop and plan to have them reupholstered, too. They're as comfy as one of those awful puffy leatherette recliners, only with clean lines.

What can I say? I love modern furniture. (Or to be more precise, as in any other aspect of life, I hate most of it and love some.) I have no taste for the retro-kitsch plastic stuff, for example. Tulip as a flower? Fine. As a soteriology? You bet. As a table and chairs. Prepare to die. The International Style suits me fine, though. If I could get away with turning out house into an industrial looking mid-century corporate lobby, I'd have Barcelona chairs out to wazoo. But Laurie has to live here, too, so we're finding an eclectic balance.

Now if only I could find someone to adopt that cat!