Underground Journal

What Are Tub Chairs?

Tub chairs are stylish comfortable chairs that have been around in their modern form for almost a hundred years.  They’re also known as captains chairs, and sometimes Koller chairs, the name given to them by the designer most associated with them, Josef Hoffman.  Hoffman was an architect and like many of his era a furniture designer, in much the same way as Arne Jacobsen, the designer of the egg chair.

The tub chair, or barrel chair, is similar in form to a barrel cut in half long ways.  It’s very comfortable, and fits well into many different types of decor.  Although it was originally though of as an Art Deco design, it wouldn’t look out of place in an Arts and Crafts home, or even a very modern home.  In fact the leather tub chair was a popular look in the 50′s moderne design, although that look is bit dated today, the chair itself is timeless.

The modern version can be had as a swivel tub chair, good for a living room and watching TV.  Others are a little slimmed down, for use in the dining room, or even as office furniture.  Although not in a swivel version (with four legs instead), the chair as originally intended, was a living room type of chair, and is similar in size to a recliner, or easy chair.  You can find them at many of the big box retailers in faux leather, or in a fabric tub chair.

That you can still find the design 100 years after its creation is a testament to it’s longevity, in fact it’s become a “modern classic” chair if you will, in the same realm as a Shaker chair or Parsons chair. If you’re looking for a comfortable chair, with a timeless look that fits in many types and styles of modern (and classic) home decor, then consider a tub chair.

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