A tub chair is a simple but elegant piece of furniture that may be used in the living area or bedroom of a home as well as in the office. The tub chair has a back that is curved and that continues to the front of the chair forming the chair arms. This curved back may remain level from front to back or be slanted toward the floor in the front. Tub chairs take their name from the fact that they are shaped like the back of a claw foot bathtub. The result is a chair that requires a minimal amount of floor space but provides a maximum amount of comfort.
Leather tub chairs are available in a variety of colors. Of course, consumers are not surprised to find these leather chairs in the classic colors of black, brown or white, but improved leather dying techniques make leather chairs available in almost any color of the rainbow.
Microfiber upholstery is also quite popular today. This fabric is offers extreme durability but also is soft fabric that breathes. A microfiber tub chair may be just as popular a choice as one covered in leather. Swivel tub chairs make a great addition to the living room. The swivel action allows you to turn your chair so that you are at the perfect angle for viewing the television. Once the show is over, you can turn to become a part of the conversation pit. When reading, your chair can adjust once again so that you have the light correctly positioned over your shoulder for reading. The chair never needs to leave the floor so you do not have to worry about any heavy lifting.
Most tub chairs have a removable cushion to pad the seat. Underneath the cushion, there may be springs, straps or even a solid wood bottom to the seat. The back of the chair may be thickly padded or offer no padding at all.
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Cane backed chairs can be especially comfortable in the warmer months as they allow for even more air circulation to the back, but if you will spend a lot of time in the chair, you may prefer the thicker cushioned back for the chair. The small footprint of the tub chair makes it an excellent choice in other places as well. It is an ideal chair to add to the bedroom. Bedroom chairs can become a place you start to relax before going to sleep and match up perfectly with a stylish platform bed.
In an office, the tub chair can provide side seating for a desk or comfortable waiting room seating. Any place you put one of these chairs, you will add stylish and comfortable seating.
History of Tub Chairs
Going back in history a couple of centuries, we realize that owning a tub chair was a privilege that was reserved to aristocrats and royalty. According to the history books, the tub chairs were used in French courts and only the king himself was allowed to be comfortably seated in such a chair.
But over course of time this once regal piece of furniture evolved and found its way in bars and clubs in the United Kingdom and all over Europe. The antique tub chairs were rather massive and bulky whereas the contemporary versions are more practical and utilitarian. The basic design, which is a manifestation of simplicity, remained the same: a rather low seating area in proportion to a semi-circular back that extends over into the armrests of either side with rounded end pointing towards the floor.
Interestingly enough, according to the writer Thomas Sheraton, the distinctly rounded shape of the tub chair’s backrest was essentially something that emerged under the regency of Louis XV. And amazingly, still to this day and age – well, if you have the budget – you can purchase for instance brown leather tub chairs from around 1860 which are still in excellent overall condition. Apparently you would need to do some research and you can only get them through specialized antique stores, but I recently spotted a pair for approximately 6,200 British Pounds Sterling, constructed in oak with Louis XV-style carved designs on the exposed legs and rails.
Eventually, tub chairs found their way across the Atlantic Ocean and made it to the United States. Coming out of the Boston area in the 17 century, cabinet makers crafted a few selected models of chairs that were very similar to the ones who came over from France and the United Kingdom.
Even though it’s unclear why and how the tub chair prevailed over course of time, this unique piece of furniture became the poster child of the Art Deco era. Over the past 20 years, the market got flooded with all different kind of designs and nowadays the customer can get anything, from very plain and cheap tub chairs to fancy tub sofas.
Tub Chairs Swivel
Not only have these chairs evolved in terms of style, the materials and design, but also their functionality got enhanced to meet the needs of the different settings where practicality is a must and not just a nice-to-have. The swivel tub chair is the perfect solution for an office setting, for instance. While you can remain in your current seating position, you can swing around effortlessly. The high backrest will always provide you with perfect support for your spine, which is obviously an important aspect, considering that most of us with an office job will have to remain seated for many hours.
However, swivel tub chairs are also ideal candidates for waiting areas, bars or lounges. Sometimes you can even see them at airports and waiting areas. Basically, wherever functionality trumps design, the tub swivel chair is the perfect choice.
The Tub Chairs Leather Aficionados
As we discussed earlier, if you have enough pounds sitting in the bank and at your disposal, the sky is the limit. The leather tub chair is probably the most significant version of this comfortable seat. However, be careful when you make a purchase. Unfortunately, over the past decade, more and more tub chairs leather imitates found their way into the UK. These items are usually of mediocre quality and not worth the money. I always suggest that you double check where a piece of furniture was manufactured. Apparently, not all imports are bad, but unfortunately a good number of consumers is not careful enough and they waste many pounds on plagiarised tub chair leather seats.
The Cheap Fabric Tub Chair
Yes, leather tub chairs are nice. But are they necessarily the best choice for you? It all depends. For instance, we have two maniac dogs living and the older one just loves leather. Anything made of leather is not safe in our house. I lost countless pairs of leather sandals to our Labrador’s appetite. And bearing that in mind, there are better options than spending hundreds of pounds on expensive chairs. I personally don’t like the look of inexpensive fabric tub chairs, but it just doesn’t make any sense to buy something that is pricier. So I’d rather get a set of sturdy seats and if I don’t like the design of the fabric, I can always get some cheap tub chair covers. And if Summer, our Labrador, decides that she all of a sudden likes not only likes leather but also our new tub chair cover, well, than at least we didn’t waste too much money.
Tub Chairs UK
Don’t look elsewhere. This has nothing to do with patriotism, but the truth of the matter is, you can get tub chairs cheap in the United Kingdom for under £100, you don’t need to have them shipped from overseas. For example, AM Enterprise Ltd, Continuum (Scotland) and JU Furniture Manufacturers Ltd are just a few of many reputable tub chair manufactures located in the UK.
Living Room Tub Chairs
My favourite place for tub chairs in my home is the living room, and I will tell you why. In the living room, you usually spend most of your time and secondly you probably also have the most interaction with your family members or guest. In other words, the living room is the location where are need both, comfort and functionality, the most out of all other rooms. Of course, tub dining chairs are handy, no question about it. But you typically only spend a limited time in the dining room. But of course, no living room is complete without a couch – therefore, check your local furniture stores and see what tub sofa models they have in stock. If you really safe money, wait until right after Christmas, that’s when many stores and online suppliers have a tub chairs sale!