Oct 11, 2018

THE HAPPY CHAIR



The chair on the left in this picture is my Happy Chair. I bought it at the JC Penny Home Store in April of 1992, and I have lived almost half my life in it. It was the first piece of furniture I ever purchased (I think I paid $400 for it and about had a heart attack when I wrote the check), and if memory serves, it was originally cream waffle weave fabric.

This poor chair is old and stinky and worn out and probably not worthy of St. Vincent de Paul coming to pick it up, but I. Cannot. Part. With. It.

I have laughed and cried and read and stitched and slept and cuddled Stewey and played pumpkin and looked out the window and stared at the wall in this chair. It has been there as my cockpit in good times, bad times, in between times, and all times.

It fits me.

My mom would be completely appalled, but I sit sideways in this car with my right leg hitched over the arm. I don't know why that's comfortable...given my age and portliness you would think it impossible for me to be able to do so, but it somehow works for me and it's now habit.

The arms are also wide enough to hold my cup of damn good. Or a chart holder. Or eleventy-seven skeins of floss. There have been more needles parked in these arms than a dialysis unit, and both 
Bosco and Stewey loved to perch themselves there (when no needles were present) and look out the front door at the house.

This poor chair has been through it all, I tell ya. It once spent time in the garage because a nine-pound spider crawled over the top of it an disappeared into the depths of it, and even that wasn't enough to convince me to let it go. (The nice men at Stanley Steamer took it apart and cleaned the Bejessus out if it, so if the spider was still in there, he was very very clean.)

I thought that today was the day that I was going to take the Happy Chair down to the garage, and then call a junk man to come pick it up along with some other stuff from the house that I've sorted through, but...no.

I've compromised and capitulated and given up and complied and done what was recommended and followed orders and behaved myself HARD for a while now. I gave up control of my life in many ways, and prayed for strength and surrender to just let my life unfold according to whatever the plan was that was supposed to be best for me. I've changed myself in both big and small ways, and I've followed directions.

But today....I'm drawing a line.

I'm keeping my Happy Chair right where it is, and later today I am going to research upholstery companies and then look at fabrics to get it re-covered. I might have a slip cover made tor it, or I might have it completely re-done. I don't know. But what I do know is that this chair and I are going to be Happy together for many more years to come.

21 comments:

  1. Until you make the final decision and selection(s) I can recommend febreeze. I can help with the stinky. From you pictures, it doesn't look too bad.

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  2. We all have things that have memories. It is almost impossible to give them up. I agree that the best thing you can do is a cleaning/ refurbishmennt of some sort. I have an old sofa that I simply cannot stand to give up!

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  3. A word of caution, it will cost a bit to recover. Even if you don't recover and decide to slipcover plan on spending the funds to replace the foam in the cushion. I've done both several times for furniture I've loved. I think you'll be happy with the decision. I terribly admire all your work this past week. I don't know how you've managed. Take care of yourself!!!

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  4. Slip covers are great!! If it fits why change it, sometimes they put the padding in just the wrong spot then PRESTO it doesn't fit anymore. Get two slip covers one dark & one light so you can change seasons! ;)

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  5. I just got a new recliner and I hate it. I still have my old recliner and will now look into getting it refurbished. Some things just cannot be replaced. Hang on to that Happy Chair.

    Sandra in Texas

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  6. Coni, not to take away from the wonderfulness of your happy chair but I have a question since you have invited us into your home sweet home. What are the major awards I am seeing on the table behind the sofa. They look like Emmy's! Have you been holding out on us????

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    1. Alas...those are sales awards from HaLo Branded Solutions. (But I do take them in hand every now and then and give heartfelt acceptance spoeches every now and then!)

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  7. It is more than a chair....Keep it!

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  8. Strangely, in the last few months I’ve started to sit with one leg over the arm of my chair! Is something strange going around???

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  9. Love the chair since it holds such memories! If you love it keep it. Comfortable chairs can sometimes be hard to find!

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  10. I read what you'd written to mean that you were able to sit in the chair with your leg over YOUR arm, and I was trying to figure out how that could possibly be comfortable. It was only reading Lynn's comment above that caused me to check and figure out what you meant. And yes, I do that to! LOL

    Megan
    Sydney, Australia

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  11. Good for you, Coni!! I'm getting my favorite chair reupholstered right now. And boy do I miss it!!!

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  12. Getting furniture reupholstered can be almost as expensive as getting a new piece, but the new pieces aren't made as well. A good upholsterer will make your happy chair better than new! Mine is also going the upholsterer next week.! Here's to rejuvenated happy chairs!

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  13. Coni, keep and re-upholster it. It will cost as much as a new chair but don't let it go. I had a marvelous stitching chair,but because it was 'old' and I could buy a 'new' one for less than the re-upholster price.... I let it go... My old chair was perfect, and this new one is actually only OK. It was a mistake. Sigh.

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  14. febreeze will solve the stinky problem and getting slipcovers will allow you to take them off and get them cleaned or washed - I did that to my happy chair and it is like brand new and smells wonderful now!!! I had mine made but you can buy great looking ones - I thinks there is a slipvcovers.com site that fits this chair as it looks almost exactly like mine - that was sort of the 1990's favorite style.

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  15. Coni, that's "a damn good chair". Keep it!

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  16. Gracious, don't add more stress to your life! Keep the happy chair until it ceases to make you happy.

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  17. Re-upholstering is a great idea. Make sure they don't over-stuff the chair or it won't be as comfortable.

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  18. Coni, when you find a good chair with good bones, like that one, hold onto it! They don't make them like they used to! And now that I know how you sit in it I wouldn't be able to picture you in any other chair :)

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  19. Good for you - keep the chair. We had some really old furniture and like you I hung my right leg over the arm because it relieved the pressure on my back. We changed our furniture recently and it's not the same. I miss my old chair! Recover yours!

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