Armchair lounging: The chaise longue
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Chaise Longue
It is often called “chaise longue” or lounge chair, a long seat for reclining. Developed in the 18th century, it closely resembled the daybed of the late 17th century and the bergère armchair, but with an extension of the seat beyond the front of the arms. Some chaise lounges, said to be brisée, or broken, were divided into two or three parts, thus forming a chair and stool, sometimes with a separate footrest. The versatility of this piece of furniture is so appealing and fits seamlessly into any room in a house.
The name comes from the French Chaise longue which means long-chair. Art movements in France were reflected in the furnishings as well, and the chaise longue was a popular piece in the Rococo period. The rococo style loved asymmetry and contrast in elements that were unbalances. Because of the similarity of the French word longue and the English word lounge, the chaise is most commonly referred to in English as the chaise lounge, though French speakers tend to go with longue.
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Architects of the early 20th century also adored the chaise style and used it in many settings to reflect the straight lines and long floor plans popular in the time. It was an extremely popular show case in many architectural displays. Originally, chaise lounges were not easy, nor economical to construct. The metal hand was actually bent by hand which made the chaise lounge unavailable to the general public. It also had to be shipped in full assembly which provided transportation problems. Today, modern machinery and intuitive engineering have allowed the chaise lounge to be constructed and distributed much more economically.