The following is a partial list of chairs with descriptions, with internal or external cross-references about most of the chairs. For other chair-like types (like bench, stool), see Seats.
14 chair (No. 14 chair), the archetypal bentwood side chair originally made by the Gebrüder Thonet chair company of Germany in the 19th century, and widely copied and popular today[1]
"A" Chair (Chaise A), designed by Xavier Pauchard [fr] for Tolix in 1927. (Later variants including the "A56" were designed by Pauchard's sons.)[3]A56 Chair by Jean Pauchard [fr] for Tolix (1956)
Bath chair, light carriage on wheels with a folding hood, for outdoor transport, often used by the physically disabled
Beach chair (Strandkorb), designed to provide comfort and protection from sun, wind, rain, and sand on beaches frequented by tourists
Bean bag chair (Sacco) by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro for Zanotta (1968)Bean bag chair (Sacco), designed in 1968 designed by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, and Franco Teodoro for Zanotta
Bergère, upholstered chair introduced in the Régence/Rococo period in France in the 17th century
Bertoia side chair, steel grid wire chairs designed for Knoll by sculptor Harry Bertoia[9]
Bikini chair by Wendell Lovett (1949) Bikini chair, designed by architect Wendell Lovett in 1949 and first exhibited in 10th Triennale di Milano 1954; made of metal, molded plastic, and leather; featured in the magazine Domus February 1954 (#291)
Bofinger chair, first chair worldwide in fiberglass-reinforced polyester to be produced in one single process over a steel mould; considered a classic of modern furniture design history
Bosun's chair, a device used to suspend a person from a rope to perform work aloft
Brewster Chair, a style of upright, turned, wooden armchair made in the mid-17th century in New England named after Pilgrim and colonial leader William Brewster of Plymouth, Massachusetts
Butterfly chair[10] (BKF chair) designed in 1938 by Bonet, Kurchan and Ferrari-Hardoy (Argentina); a light folding metal frame with a large cloth or leather sling hung from the frame's four high points
ButtOn Chair, designed for "fidgety children" in classrooms. Like a stool with a seat that tilts and requires active balance.[11]
Campeche chair, a 19th-century Mexican lounge chair, popular in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the American South. It has X-shaped sides and a sling seat and back made of leather, cane or wood slats. Similar to a planter's chair, but without the extended arms.
Cantilever chair, has no back legs; for support its seat and back cantilever off the top of the front legs (see: Cesca chair) B55 Cantilever chair by Marcel Breuer
Caquetoire, also known as a conversation chair, used in the European Renaissance, was developed for women because it was wider so women's fashions at the time could fit into it; this is demonstrated by the U-shaped arms
Car chair, a car seat in an automobile in which either the pilot or passenger sits, customarily in the forward direction. Many car chairs are adorned in leather or synthetic material designed for comfort or relief from the noted stress of being seated. Variants include a toddler's or infant's carseat, which are often placed atop an existing chair and secured by way of extant seat belts or other such articles.
Carver chair, similar to a Brewster chair and from the same region and period
Chaise a bureau, a Rococo style of chair, created during the first half of the 18th century, constructed so it could sit in a corner of a room (there is one leg directly in the back and one directly in the front, and then one leg on each side)
Chaperone chair, a three-seat chair from the 1800s that allowed a chaperone to observe a courting couple (see: Courting chair)[14][15]
Chaise longueChaise longue (French for "long chair"), a chair with a seat long enough to completely support its user's legs. In the U.S., it is often mistakenly referred to as a 'chaise lounge'. Similar, if not identical to, a day bed, fainting couch, or récamier.
Chesterfield chair, a low club-style chair with a fully buttoned or tufted interior, typically made of leather
Club chairClub chair, a plush easy chair with a low back. The heavy sides form armrests that are usually as high as the back. The modern club chair is based upon the club chairs used by the popular and fashionable urban gentlemen's clubs of 1850s England.
Cockfighting chair, an 18th-century chair for libraries where the seat and arms were shaped so that a reader could sit astride to use a small desk attached to the back.[16] Despite its popular name a sketch from 1794 in the Gillow archives lists it as a "Reading Chair".[17]
Cogswell chair,[18] a brand of upholstered easy chairs. It has a sloping back and curved and ornamental front legs. The armrests are open underneath.
Corner chair, made to fit into a corner and has a rectangular base with a high back on two adjacent sides; one sits with legs straddling a corner of the base
Curule chair was a folding cross-framed seat that developed hieratic significance in Republican Rome. The shape of its legs was revived in the Empire style.
Deckchair, a chair with a fabric or vinyl back and seat that folds flat by a scissors action round a transverse axis. The fabric extends from the sitter's feet to head. It may have an extended seat that is meant to be used as a leg rest and may have armrests. It was originally designed for passenger lounging while aboard ocean liners or ships.[19]Deck chairs
Dentist chair, a deeply reclining chair to allow the dentist easy access to the patient's mouth. The reclining position adjusts as well as the overall height of the chair. Associated with the chair are usually a variety of dental equipment, often including a small tap and sink for the patient to rinse his or her mouth.
Dining chair, designed to be used at a dining table; typically, dining chairs are part of a dining set, where the chairs and table feature similar or complementary designs. The oldest known depiction of dining chairs is a seventh-century BCE bas-relief of an Assyrian king and queen on very high chairs.[20]
Director's chair,[21] a lightweight chair that folds side-to-side with a scissors action. The seat and back are made of canvas or a similar strong fabric which bears the user's full weight and can be folded; the frame is made of wood, or sometimes metal or plastic. The seat and scissors members work together to support and distribute the sitter's weight so that the seat is comfortably taut. The back is usually low and the chair usually has armrests. The stereotypical image of a movie director on location includes one of these chairs, hence the name. Victor Papanek describes this chair as an excellent design in his book Design for the Real World as it is simple and ideally suited to its function. The design goes back to coffer-makers' chairs of the 15th century and eventually to the Roman curule chair.
Farthingale chair, an armless chair with a wide seat covered in usually high-quality fabric and fitted with a cushion. The backrest is an upholstered panel, with legs that are straight and rectangular. It was introduced as a chair for ladies in the late 16th century and was named in England, probably in the 19th century, for its ability to accommodate the exceptionally wide-hooped skirts fashionable of the time.
Fauteuil, an open-arm chair with considerable exposed wood, originating in 18th-century France
Fiddleback chair, a wooden chair of the Empire period, usually with an upholstered seat, in which the splat resembles a fiddle
A fighting chair[23] is a chair on a boat used by anglers to catch large saltwater fish. The chair typically swivels and has a harness to keep the angler strapped in should the fish tug hard on the line.
Folding chair, collapses in some way for easy storage and transport. Various folding chairs have their own names (e.g., deckchair, director's chair), but a chair described simply as a folding chair folds a rigid frame and seat around a transverse axis so that the seat becomes parallel to the back and the frame collapses with a scissors action. Some further collapse the feet up to the back. Folding chairs may be designed to stack on top of each other when folded and may come with special trolleys to move stacks of folded chairs. Folding chairs are sometimes used in professional wrestling as weapons.
Gainsborough chair, an armchair with a high back, open sides and short arms
Gaming chair, legless, curved/L-shaped, generally upholstered, and sometimes contains built-in electronic devices like loudspeakers and vibration to enhance the video game experience; the five main types of gaming chairs are bean bags, rockers, pedestals, racers, and cockpits
A reproduction Glastonbury chair in the Bishop's Palace, WellsGlastonbury chair, a wooden chair with flat seat and sloping back; design dates from at least the early Middle Ages
Glider (or platform rocker), offers the same motions as a rocking chair but without the dangers[citation needed]; a frame rests on the floor and the chair is supported by swing arms within the frame so that moving parts are less accessible
Gossip bench or telephone table, an early 20th century chair with a built-in telephone stand
Hassock, an upholstered seat that is low to the ground and has no backrest
High chairbyCosco (1957)High chair, a children's chair to raise them to the height of adults for feeding. They typically come with a detachable tray so that the child can sit apart from the main table. Booster chairs raise the height of children on regular chairs so they can eat at the main dining table. Some high chairs are clamped directly to the table and thus are more portable.
Inflatable chair, usually children's toys made out of plastic; IKEA briefly marketed them as serious furniture upholstered in fabric; some are designed for use as floating lounge chairs in swimming pools.
Ironing chair, a lightly built folding chair usually with a metal frame and small padded seat and either a minimal padded back or a simple tubular loop back. The chair is usually used as a 'perch', a support for carrying out an activity – such as ironing – by people with disabilities or back problems, but they are also popular with anyone requiring a light supporting chair for extended periods, such as observing through a telescope.[27]
Kneeling chairs or knee-sit chairs, meant to support someone kneeling. This is purportedly better for the back than sitting all day. The main seat is sloped forward at about 30 degrees so that the person would normally slide off, but there is a knee rest to keep the person in place.[30]
Ladderback chair, a wooden arm or side chair in which the horizontal elements of the back give the appearance of a ladder; typically described by the number of such elements; a 'five-back', a 'three-back'; on better examples, the width of these elements is graduated, wider to narrower, top to bottom
Lambing chair, a wood "box" form of winged arm chair rarely having upholstery. Storage under the seat is common as a drawer or compartment.
Lawn chair, usually a light, folding chair for outdoor use on soft surfaces. The left and right legs are joined along the ground into a single foot to make a broader contact area with the ground. Individual feet would otherwise dig into soft grass.
Massage chair, has electromechanical devices to massage the occupant. Another kind of massage chair is one used by a therapist on which the client sits in an inverted position with the back facing the massage therapist. There is a headrest like that of the common massage table for the face.
Navy chair, a durable all-aluminum chair originally developed for the US Navy
No. 14 chair, the most famous bentwood sidechair originally made by the Gebrüder Thonet chair company of Germany in the 19th century, and widely copied and popular today
Nursing chair, a low-seated partially upholstered chair used in Victorian times, with emphasis on a woman breast-feeding an infant
Office chair, typically swivels, tilts, and rolls about on casters, or small wheels. It may be very plushly upholstered and in leather and thus characterized as an "executive chair", or come with a low back and be called a steno chair. Office chairs often have a number of ergonomic adjustments: seat height, armrest height and width, and back reclining tension. They are also known as a Task chairs.[35]
Orbiter, a brand of camera seat used by camera operators that swivels at a low working height.
ON Chair, has a patented three-dimensional sitting arrangement; incorporates lateral movement to standard office chair height and reclining positions
Ottoman, a thick cushion used as a seat or a low stool, or as a rest for the feet of a seated person
Papasan chair, a large, rounded, bowl-shaped chair with an adjustable angle similar to that of a futon; the bowl rests in an upright frame made of sturdy wicker or wood originally from the Philippines
Parsons chair, curving wooden chair named for the Parsons School of Design in New York, where it was created and widely copied today
Peacock chair, a large wicker chair with a flared back, originating in the Philippines; an exaggerated Windsor chair design by Hans Wegner (1947); also a chair designed by Dror studio for Cappellini[37]
Pew stacker chair, stackable chair used primarily by churches that allows chairs arranged in rows to be linked together in such a way that the seats and backs form a bench- or pew-like feel and appearance
Planter's chair, wooden chair with stretchable arms to rest the legs
Poäng, a flat-pack cantilevered bentwood armchair manufactured and marketed by Ikea, with more than 30 million made since its introduction in 1978, and 1.5 million sold annually.
Poofbag chair, similar to an oversized bean-bag chair filled with urethane foam
Porter's chair or hood chair, a chair placed near the entrance of a large house for use by a servant responsible for admitting visitors (see also: 10 Downing Street Guard Chairs)
Potty chair (often abbreviated simply as "potty"), a training toilet for children; in pre-indoor plumbing times this was a chair beneath the seat of which a chamber pot was installed
Portuguese chair, metal outdoor armchair originally developed by the Portuguese furniture company Adico in the 1930s as the 5008 chair, becoming a symbol of the Portuguese cafe culture. The Gonçalo chair, designed by Gonçalo Rodrigues dos Santos in the 1940s, is one of the most famous derivatives of the 5008 chair.[40]
Power chairs, with responsive joystick controls and a tight turning circle for elderly or disabled people to move around a house[41]
Pressback chair, a wooden chair of the Victorian period, usually of oak, into the crest rail and/or splat of which a pattern is pressed with a steam press
Prie-dieu, a domestic chair resembling a prie-dieu prayer desk[42]
Pushchair or stroller,[43] a chair with wheels, which usually folds for transporting an infant; some countries, including the U.S., use "stroller"; others, including the UK, "pushchair"
Ribbon Chair, designed by Niels Bendtsen in 1975. This chair is on display in a permanent collection at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.[47]
ArockingWindsor chairRocking chair (rocker), typically a wooden side chair or armchair with legs mounted on curved rockers, so that the chair can sway back and forth; sometimes the rocking chair is on springs or on a platform (a "platform rocker") to avoid crushing anything, particularly children's feet or pets' tails, that get under the rockers
Saddle chair, uses the same principles in its design as an equestrian saddle; does not have a backrest but is equipped with a chair base on casters and a gas cylinder for adjusting the correct sitting height; the casters enable moving around and reaching out for i.e. tools while sitting
Savonarola chair, a folding armchair dating from the Italian Renaissance. Typically constructed of walnut, it is sometimes called an X-chair. The Savonarola chair was the first important folding armchair created during the Italian Gothic Renaissance period.
Sedan chair, an open or enclosed chair attached to twin poles for carrying; using this form of transport, an occupant can be carried by two or more porters
Sgabello, from the Italian Renaissance and made of walnut, consisting of a thin seat back and an octagonal seat; sometimes considered a stool and was often placed in hallways
Shaker rocker, one of several forms of rocking chair, including side chairs, made by Shakers
Shaker tilting chair, allowed a person to lean back with the chair without slipping or scraping the floor
A shower chair Shower chair, a chair which is not damaged by water, sometimes on wheels, and used as a disability aid in a shower, similar to a wheelchair but has no foot pads; is waterproof and dries quickly
Side chair, a chair with a seat and back but without armrests; often matched with a dining table or used as an occasional chair
Sit-stand chair,[30] normally used with a height-adjustable desk, allows the person to lean against this device and be partially supported
Sling chair, a suspended, free-swinging chair hanging from a ceiling
Slumber chair, an easy chair manufactured by C. F. Streit Mfg. Co. in the first half of the 20th century; has a combination upholstered back and seat portion, the inclination of which is adjustable within a base frame; later versions of this chair had a footstool with a removable top that could reveal a "slipper-compartment"
Spinning chair, commonly used with computers due to its ability to move freely
Sweetheart chair, as used in soda shops, also known as a "parlor chair" and an "ice cream chair" (from use in ice cream parlors); the wire frame in the center of the back curls in a manner to suggest a heart design but the term "sweetheart chair" also has a more generic usage and refers to any chair with a heart-shaped design in the center of the back
Swivel chairs, swivel about a vertical axis; commonly used in offices, often on casters
Tarachair, high-legged wooden chair designed to encourage raised conversation between people, popular first in San Francisco and now Los Angeles
Tête-à-tête chair, also known as a courting bench, a type of settee consisting of two connected chairs which allow two people to sit facing one another
Turned chair (or thrown chair or spindle chair), made of turned wood spindles by turners (with the use of a lathe), rather than by joiners or carpenters
two-slat post-and-rung shaving chair, made from green wood, rived and shaved with a drawknife rather than turned, made by Jennie Alexander[52]
Windsor chair,[53] a classic, informal chair usually constructed of wood turnings that form a high-spoked back, often topped by a shaped crest rail, outward-sloped legs, and stretchers that reinforce the legs. The seat is often saddled or sculpted for extra comfort, and some Windsors have shaped arms supported by short spindles.
Wing chair,[54] an upholstered easy chair with large "wings" mounted to the armrests and enclosing the head or torso areas of the body; originally designed to provide comfortable protection from drafts; a variation is the Queen Anne wing chair
Wishbone chair,[55] a chair with a wishbone-shaped backrest and a woven paper seat.
^Alexander, Jennie (1978). Make a chair from a tree : an introduction to working green wood. Newtown, Conn.: Taunton Press. ISBN0918804019. OCLC4715888.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Prie-dieu". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 316.
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