An ode to chairs

When I was in Zambia I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor or on logs. This was partly because women in Zambia don't get chairs and have to sit on the floor (don't get me started about THAT) but also because chairs were in short supply while we were camping. One evening one of the leaders emerged from the van with a camp chair and offered it to me and I nearly fainted with joy. 'Oh sweet bottom support, how I missed you' I cried. He walked swiftly away.

So now that I am back home the packing for the big house move is in full swing and this also means that the search for furniture and other miscellaneous items that I just know will look amazing has reached fever pitch. The charity shops have been good to me yielding some brilliant items from ornate, sapphire glass bottles to bargain basement photo frames that have been painted and filled with our holiday snaps. Ebay has also been my faithful friend and today came up with a real jem, a monks bench.

Now for those of you not in the know a monks bench is a carved, wooden indoor bench. It opens up into the base for extra storage and looks just plain fab in a kitchen with some cushions scattered across it. Ours is going to be painted light blue and I'm going to sew some cushions for it. I already have it's location perfectly planned, right next to the patio doors so friends can come sit and chat to me while I cook or on sunny days I can study at the dinning room table with the patio doors open.

Already the monks bench is a happy addition to our house in my minds eye which got me to thinking what a sound investment a good chair is (beyond that all important bottom support of course...). My last chair purchase was an olive green Parker Knoll arm chair (another ebay find) True it wouldn't look out of place in a nursing home but my goodness I love that chair. It's so comfy and I fit into it perfectly, almost like I was made for the chair. It has wings so you can rest your head and it practically spurs me on to read good books and think important thoughts. The chair demands it!

The fact that it's old in some ways makes it even more special, as the legendary Gilmore Girl's put it when moving in to their renovated old Inn – 'It's less like it's part of our lives and more like we're part of it's life for a little while.' Gilmores, that's wisdom for you! So get yourself a good chair, one that's built to last and has never heard of mdf. You won't be sorry!