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Down memory lane in loungers

My fascination with the lovely piece of furniture called a chaise lounge began with its presence in the anteroom of my grandmother’s powder room, where it used to be a permanent fixture next to the large antique wall mirror behind the half-moon table with a yellow lamp. The luxurious chaise lounge was an ornate work of art with intricate carvings on its feet and nailed decorations that had silk tassels on the right side. In a shimmering pearlescent brocade upholstery, it truly was the stuff dreams are made of.

As a ten-year-old girl, it was my favorite spot in her house where I would find myself curled up with a book of poetry from her limited shelf. The deckchair has been a nostalgia item ever since and I have always kept one in its contemporary avatars wherever I have lived since. This piece of furniture works great for me as I love lounging on it. It really bridges the fine line between a daybed and a chair that I can do just about anything on.

So intrigued have I been with this unique piece of furniture that I continually go back to study its ancient past to discover new facets all the time. I understand that the prototype for this type of seating originated in ancient Egypt to become the basic design that has been used ever since, even centuries later. Various works of art from ancient Greece depict figures reclining on these early deckchairs.

Even Africa has its own version carved out of wood as a rather simplistic and utilitarian piece of equipment. The Olmecs of ancient Mexico also had a Mexican version of this charming piece of furniture that was deployed as a day bed. The term Chaise Lounge pronounced ‘ShAz Loong’ is of French origin and simply means long chair. Attracted by the versatility of the item, only the French could have naturally been drawn to this exquisite piece of furniture that they completely transformed.

It is true that the artistic movements of France have duly reflected the deckchair as a popular element in Rococo period painting and validated the need for it to be represented artistically. Stylized architects of the early 20th century also fell in love with the lounger, adoringly creating version after version that is still found in museums as popular exhibits. Actually, initially, creating sun loungers was not an easy or affordable task. This handcrafted item had to be folded by hand, which limited its overall availability.

Fortunately, as I grew older, my love of the item was easily taken care of by modern machinery and engineering that allowed it to be built and made available for general use by furniture enthusiasts. In addition, with superior materials they began to be more comfortable. Now that I’m sitting on my patio reclining on the wicker lounger I bought last summer, I can’t help but dream of the hallmark in my grandmother’s house of yesteryear.

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