Curling up with a good book is a pleasure that few of us get to enjoy in this hectic, always-on, perpetually-connected, 24-hour-news-cycle world. Readers rarely can take the time to savor the words of great minds, or even just enjoy the mental saccharine of popular brain candy books; be they trashy romance or outrageous thrillers. Worse, even when we get to finally sit and relax with our favorite tome, too often discomfort can spoil the experience, leaving us happy with the literature, but suffering from the tortuous pain of a bad reading chair.If you’re one of the bibliomaniacs out there who is developing bad posture from the wrong sitting apparatus, perhaps we can be of assistance with the 18 best reading chairs.Minimal Expense: Seeing is believing when it comes to the POÄNG series of furniture from IKEA. Deceptively cheap, it’s easy to dismiss these pieces, but once you try out the bentwood frames in your choice of rocker or standard, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the comfort, and downright shocked at how elegant they look in person.
Made in your choice of fabric or leather, there’s no downside to be had. [Amazing setup by Katy at TheCleverBunny]Dauntless: Don’t think, just sit. This chair virtually calls out to passers-by to come and relax. Sock arms, wedged legs, and a semi-attached pillow; it comes in sleeper varieties if you expect company, or you can simply enjoy the standard flavor in your choice of customizable colors.At the Abbey: Perfect for John Bates to rest his weary leg, the Chesterfield armchair harkens back to 18th century England, but it’s far from archaic. Rolled arms and deep button tufting add style to any home, and the feather and deep foam cushions will give any rump a pliant rest for reading.Just Like Mom’s: A little more rigid than most of our favorite reading chairs, this has a relaxed yet ready feel. The ‘50’s cut might make it seem a little dated, but once you throw your legs over the side and dig into a volume, it’ll feel like home in moments.Dorm Dreams: Wrapped in velvet or phur, you can get multiple covers for every occasion, then mold The BigOne into whatever shape suits your home and your reading style.
At 8 feet in diameter and sitting 3 feet off the floor, this is the throne of beanbag chairs.Post-Modern: Behind the sharp angularity of the Oculus is a deep seat with very gently sloped arms that puts you in a comfortable power pose, cradling your back and neck. From Hans J. Wegner, the Oculus is good for minimalists who prize plenty of padding.American Custom: There’s few things more American than a recliner, but they’re not typically good for browsing through a book. Using a leverless fabric body with walnut legs, the Dalton’s clean lines can go anywhere, taking the option to lay back or go bolt upright along with it.The Professor: Slung low and deep, the Churchill feels more like sitting in a cigar and whiskey bar than in your house, but once you’re enveloped in the plush leather and the plump cushioning, you’ll be eager to stay for as long as it takes to finish all of Narnia’s Chronicles.Flower Child: Capturing the essence of the summer of love, the Sling uses suspended webbing to give you a sense of sitting on air with just enough structure from the
hardwood lines to add in a feeling of solidity and security.Traditional: Crafted in the same way for 30 years, the Rocker is made out of hand-stretched saddle leather that has been vegetable tanned to perfection. When seated, the chair draws around the reader thanks to mortise and tenon joints. The result is a perfect fit for every person.Body Sculpture: The curves of the LC4 are meant to mimic that of the human body so as you rest on it, you are smoothly and naturally supported. The only challenge is not falling asleep while you dig through Proust’s dense prose.Throwback: Vintage 60’s style in plenty of eye-popping colors, the yasmin is low and deep, putting your back and shoulders at the right angle for reading without straining your neck or ruining your décor. The teacup shape can be tiring, so add in an ottoman, or just get up and move on occasion.A Little English: Inspired by the English club chair, Ray and Charles Eames use molded plywood to create a frame that is comfortable and rustic, but also soft and supple.
Like a favorite baseball mitt, it’s heaven for long sitting sessions.Privacy Perch: When you plant your backside into the Majestic, you’ll feel like peasants should bow and scrape before you. Volute scrollwork lines the exterior while the wings and immense back prevent anyone from reading over your shoulder.Matched Set: An homage to the 1970’s, you’ll find yourself flopping onto these again and again merely because they beg for you to do so. Use one alone or combine them to create your own little book nook, the brown leather and tight stitching might be the only good thing to come from the Disco Decade.Patio Perusing: Part of Harry Bertoia’s 1952 wire collection, this Chaise is intended for reading by the pool or out on your terrace. With a few adjustments you can sit comfortably on the odd shape in a wide array of positions to save your spine from distress and alleviate aches.Nest Egg: Hand-crafted by the people of New Zealand, the bowl shape is for those who take their curling very seriously.
Plush as a gossamer cloud, there’s but one difficulty: Getting out of it.Conversation Piece: An oddly cute piece crafted by the Campanas, there’s only 25 of these in the world. The rarity makes them special, but sit on it for a few minutes and you’ll quickly find that the arrangement of stuffed toys has an allure that goes beyond mere collector’s bliss.Swedish mega-brand Ikea was founded by Småland-born Ingvar Kamprad (1926) in 1943. According to legend, Kamprad even as a boy had big dreams of starting his own business, and he was able to launch Ikea at age 17 through a small loan from his father as a reward for doing well in school. The name is an acronym for “Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd”—Elmataryd being the name of the farm where Kamprad grew up, and Agunnaryd the name of his hometown. The company’s philosophy from the beginning was grounded in a Swedish socialist tenant: “people who are not well off should be given the same opportunities as people who are.”
In the early years, Ikea did not sell the furniture for which it is now famous; instead, it sold a variety of household items, like soap, pens, and stockings, at first locally and then by mail order through print advertisements. Ikea launched its first furniture line in 1948 with a few armchairs and tables produced by artisans in the Småland region. The first annual Ikea catalogue was issued in 1951. When Ikea began retailing furniture at factory prices by mail order in the early 1950s, the established furniture trade saw this move as disruptive to their business. Ikea was not permitted to exhibit in the major furniture fair in Stockholm for decades, and suppliers were encouraged to cease working with Ikea. Kamprad was not deterred. In the mid-to-late-1950s, he commissioned Gillis Lundgren—an Ikea employee—along with Danish designers Bengt Ruda and Erik Wørts, to create new Ikea furniture lines grounded in the modernist concepts of affordability, modularity, interchangeable parts, flat-packing, and self-assembly.
The first Ikea showroom opened in Älmhult in 1958. The Tore Drawers (1958), Regal Bookshelf (1959), and Thonet-like Ölga Chair (1961) were among of the company’s first successes in modern furniture design. Ikea’s program for inexpensive, mass produced furnishings was greatly facilitated by the development of new materials in the 1960s, especially particleboard and plastics. When problems with Swedish suppliers came to a head, Ikea moved production to Denmark and Poland. Still, sales volumes steadily grew, and Ikea opened more showrooms. In 1963, Ikea opened its first store outside of Sweden, in Norway, followed in 1969 by a location in Denmark. In the 1970s, Ikea expanded to Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Canada, Austria, and the Netherlands. Also in the 1970s, Ikea was one of the first furniture companies to introduce self-service storage shopping for customers and computer systems for distribution management. In 1986, Ingvar Kamprad retired from executive management, and Ikea was divided into three separate entities: Inter Ikea Group, Ingka Group, and Ikano Group.
In 1998, Ikea opened its first store in China. Over the decades, Ikea has worked with myriad designers, both inside and outside Sweden. Iconic designs produced by Ikea include the wooden MTP Shelving System (1963) by Marian Grabinski; the space age Telegono Lamp (1970) by Vico Magistretti (originally designed for Artemide); the convertible Tajt Chair (1973) by Gillis Lundgren; the molded plastic Skopa Chair (1974) by Olle Gjerlöv-Knudsen and Torben Lind; the bentwood Poäng Chair & Ottoman (1977) by Noboru Nakamura; the enduring Billy Shelving System (1978) by Gillis Lundgren; the pop, plastic Mammut Child’s Chair & Table (1993) by Morten Kjelstrup and Allan Østgaard; the vibrant and tectonic Vilbert Chair (1993) in MDF by Verner Panton; and the biomorphic, rattan Storvik Lounge Chair (2002) by Carl Öjerstam. Notably, Ikea developed a number of highly successful designs with Danish design Niels Gammelgaard, like the Folke Chair (1977), Ted Net Chair (1978), Järpen Chair (1980), Moment Sofa (1983), Moment Table (1985), Guide Shelf (1985), Oti Chair (1986), Natura Storage (1990), and Trofast Toy Storage (1994).