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Object Lessons: The Adirondack Chair

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Object Lessons: The Adirondack Chair

August 22, 2017

A mountainous region in northern New York State, the Adirondacks were the final frontier for American explorers and vacationers. It wasn’t until a popular guidebook called Adventures in the Wilderness; or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks was published in 1869 that people decided to go and have a look en masse. And though the book was intended for fishermen and deer hunters (who were advised to bring “stout pantaloons, vest, and coat”), the area soon became popular with the extremely wealthy. Their rustic Great Camps, with bowling alleys and cable lines to the New York Stock Exchange, made fanciful use of the local spruce, stone, and birch, and created an architectural style that was the unlikely offspring of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, William Morris, and the Swiss chalet.

The Adirondack chair came next and went on to have surprising staying power. In 1903, Thomas Lee, who had a summerhouse in Westport, New York, in the Lake Champlain area of the Adirondacks, was in want of a comfortable perch that, when positioned on the side of a mountain, would keep the body somewhat upright. He fancied a chair that would allow him to enjoy the view while balancing a drink or a book on the armrest. After some trial and error, he came up with a design made from 11 planks of hemlock and detailed with a sloping back, an upward tilting seat, and enormously wide armrests. Anticipating Bauhaus in its simplicity, the Adirondack chair went on to be modified over the years, including by Lee’s ersatz friend Harry Bunnell, who borrowed the original, added his own touch, and obtained a patent on the sly, calling the design the Westport Plank Chair. The chairs now come in a multitude of styles, all recognized as Adirondack. Here are some examples.

Object Lessons The Adirondack Chair portrait 12
Above: Various styles of Adirondack chairs on Cream Hill Lake in Connecticut. Photograph by Megan Wilson for Remodelista.
Object Lessons The Adirondack Chair portrait 12
Above: When Middlebury College was looking for sturdy, accommodating perches for readers, artists, and writers attending their summer Bread Loaf program, they commissioned a special edition Westport Adirondack Chair from Jardinique.
Object Lessons The Adirondack Chair portrait 12
Above: Mill Valley–based Guideboat Co. owner Stephen Williamson (the founder of Restoration Hardware) is a fan of the Westport Adirondack chair; see more at Shopper’s Diary: Merchant Marine (he tells us he is going to offer the chairs in the near future; fingers crossed).

Six to Buy

shine company&#8\2\17;s westport adirondack chairs come in a range of  20
Above: Shine Company’s Westport Adirondack Chairs come in a range of colors—shown in Aqua—available for $137.24 each on Amazon.
the spruce point inn in maine offers the hotel’s cypress westport adiron 21
Above: The Spruce Point Inn in Maine offers the hotel’s cypress Westport Adirondack Chairs in a ready-to-assemble kit for $495. A child-sized version is available for $349. You can source vintage versions like these above on 1st Dibs.

the natural adirondack chair is \$79.99 at world market. 22
Above: The Natural Adirondack Chair is $79.99 at World Market.
loll design&#8\2\17;s modification of the original adirondack chair is made 23
Above: Loll Design’s modification of the original Adirondack Chair is made of 100 percent recycled plastic. The two-slat Emmet Lounge Chair was designed for Room & Board and is available for $399.

the muskoka hardware chair in iroko, a type of african hardwood, is £\190  24
Above: The Muskoka Hardware Chair in Iroko, a type of African hardwood, is £190 ($242 USD) is one Adirondack chair among many available at Adirondack Outdoors.

what we now consider the classic adirondack chair is constructed with many slat 25
Above: What we now consider the classic Adirondack Chair is constructed with many slats and a rounded top. This version, $209 at L.L. Bean, is foldable for off-season storage.
For more options, see Gardenista’s roundup of Modern Adirondack Chairs.

Object Lessons columnist Megan Wilson is the owner of Ancient Industries and curator of the Remodelista 100 presented in the Remodelista book.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on July 1, 2014.

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