Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Papasan

Ah, papasan chairs. Do you remember them?

Of course you do.

Did you have one?

I did.

Although I can't quite picture the color/print of the cushion; I think it was floral. I'm sure I have a photo of it somewhere, but none that are handy.

I used to love Pier 1 when I was a kid. Loved it -- the clothes, the trinkets, and yes, the papsan chairs. We re-did my room when I was, oh I don't know, in jr high I think, and my mom acquiesced and bought me one. (Thanks, mom!)

Look at me!

I'm not sure why the ol' papasan emerged in my consciousness earlier this week, but it did. And I got a bit nostalgic. I started pining for the papasan. Okay, not exactly pining, but wondering about it's current status.

When you google "papasan chair," Pier 1 is the first hit, actually. And they have a whole web page dedicated to the chairs, which are, if you were wondering, "a Pier 1 tradition"

They state:

We’ve been selling these unique chairs since we started business in 1962. This hip-hot seat is a best-selling staple in each and every Pier 1 store.

Still?? Wow. I guess I've grown up. I don't seem to see them much anymore. But if they are still a best-selling staple, they are definitely still around.

To my delight, I found a recent survey hosted on the Apartment therapy website. Here it is; give it a try:

Hot or Not? The Papasan Chair Reconsidered

What do you think? Is the chair worth revisiting? Can it be saved from it's shag-carpeted, dorm room past?

Would you revisit the Papasan chair?
-absolutely

-I could be talked into it
-never again

I found myself in the middle category, like the majority of the survey takers. Here are the results:

absolutely = 69
I could be talked into it = 88
never again = 60

Huh, do you think the papasan will make a comeback?
The chair does have myriad benefits and uses.

Cat bed
Dog bed
papasan puppies from Josh Cohen

And it can even be used as a baby bed, but of course now they have special, made-for-baby papasan chairs, which I did buy and place my very own babies in. (Well I am a child of the '70s.)

They are a bit space consuming though, so, if you get tired of using it in the house, I came across some functional outside uses as well:

Garden planter
planter from Hiram Fowler

and even solar cooker (I kid you not!)

papsan solar cooker from Appropedia
Ah the papasan.........

I'm not going to get one.

Well, if Jacquie and my mom both get a Westy, maybe I'll reconsider.

11 comments:

papasan fan in PA said...

too funny that you would post this 24 hours after I posted our papasan frame on Freecycle.com!

I inherited the papasan from my parent's house after my mom died. It had been moved to their side porch and my mom had made several cushion covers to change the look and keep the cushion from getting stained. My kids LOVED it in our basement, but took many a tumble out of it when they didn't sit balanced in the middle. (which added to the fun of the chair)
Two years ago, we changed around the basement and gave it to a friend for her teenager's basement. From there it went to a charity tag sale and didn't sell. For sentimental/environmental reasons, I picked it back up instead of sending it to a dump.
Now, it's on freecycle waiting for a new home.

I might add that we also gave a Pier I, brand new papasan to Rod's former intern when he graduated from Penn State. He said it was the best present!

I guess if no one responds to freecycle, I'll just hold onto it for 2 more years and then send it, with a new cushion, off to college with my first born.
And that's my 2+ cents about papasans :)

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Oh, *love* the papasan chair. We had 1 (or 2) from Korea, I think, that were woven with yellow and white vinyl. Does that still count?

And it would be a perfect addition to *any* Westy!

Ellie

Pat said...

Your chair was green print--everything in your room was a shade of green. Remember those crazy cubes that you had with it? And as I recall, your bed sat on the floor with no frame. The room was tiny (7x9?)but you did love it. My most unfavorite memory of that room was finding your package of cigarettes(you were 13)--they were right out in view.

Just 3 more years and you can enjoy such stuff with Anneke.
Love, Mom

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Pat, that is possibly the best comment ever. It was a cry for help, I'm sure.

I don't like those damned things. And I remember once helping Aline move, we watched her brand new papason mattress fly right out of the bed of the truck on one of the sea world drive turns. We went right back to get it, but it was gone. I think she had a shell in her new house for quite a while.

xo

Jacquie

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Well sheesh! She should just have gone back to Pier One for a new cushion!

Ellie

Me, You, or Ellie said...

And Central PA? That's more like 2+ dollars. And a whole a lot of Papasan history.

Ellie

Pickles and Dimes said...

I love papasan chairs! In fact, I had TWO of them when I first got married (the first time, ahem) and we used those as our living room furniture instead of a couch. One had a dark green cushion, and the other was cream. We also had the footstools to match, naturally.

One of the frames finally broke, so we used the cushions for both chairs on one frame - cushy!

The only reason I got rid of the second chair a few years ago was because it was in our spare bedroom, covered with cat hair, hardly used, and we needed the space for the dog's crate.

Although, because he's the type of dog who's a "nester" and a snuggler, he'd probably prefer the papasan.

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Oh, c'mon Central PA, put it back in the basement. It sounds as though no one has even needed stiches yet!

I do remember those very mod, very cool cubes. I did love that room! And mom, cigarettes were likely not the only thing to have been smoked in there, lol. (And please do let me enjoy the next four years.)

beth

Pat said...

Oh my...I am shocked!
(that'll be the day).
And I will hold your hand through 3adolescences.
Love, Mom

more from papasan in PA said...

I loved your green room and all your cool frogs.
For the record: cigarettes were the ONLY things I smoked with Beth..and you wouldn't find them in my room because I was too cheap/broke to ever buy any!
Smoking is pretty out with today's teenagers, but I don't really want to know what's "in".

Logical Libby said...

I could never get out of mine. I felt like I always had to throw myself on the floor.