What a tub chair can add to your living space

A tub chair has many features and it can be certainly seen as furniture trend-setter, because it combines both, comfort and style. These chairs come in all kinds of different colors and they resemble the appearance of a cut-in half bath tub. Specifically, tub chairs were named that way because of their design, featuring a rather low sitting area with high armrests. Therefore, when you see a person sitting down in such a piece of furniture, their posture will remind you of someone sitting in a bath tub.

Due to the fact that the tub chair is designed to completely take off the pressure of a person’s backbone while reclining in it, you will find get comfortable easily and almost automatically gain a stress relieving experience. In the past, especially the leather tub chairs were usually seen as a piece of furniture primarily for older people who might have purchased one following the advice of a back specialist. But over course of time, the perception has changed and tub chair manufactures experienced a sudden increase in demand. Alongside with that, more technically advanced models were put on the market, for instance the so called swivel tub chair. Nowadays, they are common sight in many regular homes and public places. And you may also run into them in hotels or offices.

One of the major advantages of a tub chair is the fact that the cushioned back makes it possible to spend a good amount of time reclining is such a seat. As mentioned earlier, not only the furniture manufacturers but also designers picked up on the steadily increasing demand by consumers, asking for more variety and enhanced functionality. As a consequence, these days you find wide spectrum of all different kind of tub chairs.

Another significant and positive aspect of these chairs is their adaptability – in other words, because they are low and don’t take up too much space, they fit practically everywhere, even in the smallest room. And with the broad selection of different tub chair covers, you can easily make them blend in perfectly with the other pieces of furniture in the room.

Image Courtesy of randallsoffice.co.uk

In sum: tub chairs are practical, stylish and first and foremost – affordable. At least if you go for a basic model. As we just discussed, because many designers tried to separate themselves from their competitors, you can also find rather exclusive tub chairs. Those custom made pieces come obviously with a rather high price tag. The Internet is usually a good starting point to scout for good deals on tub chairs, however, I would also recommend that you take your time and visit a bunch of local furniture stores and ask for specials. Especially in this economy, many businesses offer good deals on tub dining chairs, office tub chairs or tub chair covers.

The History Of The Tub Chair

Are you a tub chair owner? If yes, or if you contemplating on buying one, you should know that this piece of furniture used to be privilege only royalty had access to. Tub chairs were used in French courts and were reserved only to the king. But this once considered kingly seat eventually found its way to more ordinary people as time passed. All across the United Kingdom and Europe, tub chairs were used in clubs and bars.

Today’s tub chair is design to serve practical purposes, but back in the days, the antique tub chair was bulky, heavy and massive. But interestingly enough, its basic design which is rather simplistic, prevailed even to this day and age. This chair features a high back and armrest with a low seating area. A user will truly sink in deeply and the image will resemble of a person sitting in a bath tub.

What we learn from history books, specifically the writer Thomas Sheraton, it was under Louis XV regency when the tub chair was ‘invented’ for the lack of the better term. If you have enough money in your wallet, you might even be able to purchase an antique and original brown leather tub chair which was crafted in the 19th century, and amazingly, some of them are still in a remarkable mint condition. Obviously you won’t find those selected items in your local furniture store and you may need to search a little bit before you will find what you are looking for. However, the other day I saw a great offer online for approximately 6,500 British Pounds, constructed in Louis XV-style, all original oak hardwood with carved designs on the exposed legs and rails.

Once the tub chair had conquered Europe, it didn’t take long until it made it across the seas and over to the United States. but as a matter of fact, already in the 17th century cabinet makers located in Boston had already experimented with tub chair-like designs.

There is not too much historical data on the tub chair available. Hence, it is not really clear why it withstood all these decades without ever changing its basic design. All we know is that the tub chair became the most important piece of furniture of the entire Art Deco era. And in the past few decades, we saw a whole myriad of different designs and materials entering the market. Today, customers can practically get anything from top-notch tub sofas to a rather plain and cheap tub chair.

The Tub Chair Swivel Experience

As with so many other items, the tub chair came not only a long way with regard to style and design, but even more importantly, also with regard to enhanced functionality. And I am sure you have seen swivel tub chairs at all different kind of places. The swivel tub chair is an ideal candidate for any office setting. Why? Because you can stay seated while turning around easily. What makes this seat so great is the high backrest which will provide you with important support for your back and spine while spending another long day in the office.
But the swivel tub chair is also found its way to other places, including bars, lounges or even air-port waiting areas. Essentially, whenever functionality is the most important aspect, the swivel tub chair is a great choice.

The Tub Chair Leather Lovers

This is probably the ultima ratio when it comes to sitting comfort, quality and elegance. However, based on what you’re looking for, it might very well put a huge hole into your bank account. But if you can afford it, leather tub chairs can not be surpassed. Although, I need to warn you – before you purchase a leather tub chair, you must make sure that you don’t fall for a cheap imitation that was exported from an Eastern country to the United Kingdom. These chairs may look as decent furniture at first glance, but turn out to last only for a short amount of time. So before you actually go to the register, double check the manufacturer’s label and see where the chair was made. Too often customers spend a lot of pounds on tub chair leather seats of mediocre quality.

A Cheap Fabric Tub Chair Must Not Always Be The Worst Choice

Alright, as we just discussed, leather tub chairs can be a great investment. But that does not necessarily mean that they are the right choice for your situation. Let me give you an example. We have two dogs. The older one, a Labrador, eats anything made of leather – yes, she literally eats it. So you see where I’m going with this. Spending thousands of £ on a high quality antique tub chair just to feed it to the dogs is not really a reasonable thing to do.
And yes, it’s true, a cheap fabric tub chair doesn’t look that great, but it might very well be the best solution for you. By the way, if you don’t like the design of the fabric, or if you just want to get some extra protection for your chair, consider a tub chair cover. Tub chair covers come in a wide spectrum of colors and designs and are an inexpensive way to change the look of your chairs in an instant.

Tub Chair UK

You don’t have to look any further. And by saying that, I don’t mean that everything that is being imported is bad – not at all. But it is a matter of fact that you can get a high quality tub chair cheap in the United Kingdom, without buying an overpriced product from abroad. Actually, some of the world most respected tub chair manufacturers are coming from the UK, including, AM Enterprise, JU Furniture Manufacturers Ltd and Continuum.

Living Room vs. Dining Room Tub Chairs

In my opinion, the best and most useful place to put a tub chair in is the living room. Because that’s were a regular family spends most of its time. And that’s where your TV is and where you accommodate your guests.
However, there is certainly nothing wrong with a set of dining room tub chairs. It’s just a matter of personal choice and I believe they serve you best where you need the most functionality and comfort.
Lastly, you can get some really unbelievable deals on tub chair sofa models, regular tub chairs, swivel tub chairs etc. right AFTER Christmas! That’s when many stores want to make room for next years collection and need to get rid of the ‘old stuff’ during a tub chair sale.