Step chair

Last updated
Composite photo of a step chair, of the common diagonal-side-cut type. The chair is shown facing in the same direction, once folded into a chair, and once folded into a set of steps, such that the top of the chair back touches the floor. Ottakringer leiterstuhl (katarina noever 1978).jpg
Composite photo of a step chair, of the common diagonal-side-cut type. The chair is shown facing in the same direction, once folded into a chair, and once folded into a set of steps, such that the top of the chair back touches the floor.

A step chair, also called a ladder chair, a library chair, a convertible chair or a Franklin chair, is a piece of furniture which folds to become either a chair or a small set of steps or stairs. Building one (usually in the diagonal-side-cut style) is a popular DIY project. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

It is sometimes claimed that these chairs were designed by Benjamin Franklin.[ citation needed ] Franklin himself preferred to sit in a step chair he designed for his own library. This chair folded in a slightly different way from the common diagonal-side-cut step chair; the seat flips up, resting against the reclined back of the chair, and forming three steps; one formerly hidden under and parallel to the seat, and two attached vertically along the seat's front edge and midline. [4]

A variant form has a third position, in which the back of the chair becomes an ironing-board. [5] This design was common in the 1700s, but was revived in the 1990s. [6] It has been described as suitable for small apartments. Its design is sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson, and thus called a Jefferson chair. [7] This type is also known as three-in-one chair, bachelor chair, or onit chair. [8] [9]

A type of step chair in which the seat folds to form the top and side faces of an extra step, and a support slides in beneath it Design for a Small Stepstool with Front Casters (verso- sketch demonstrating folding mechanism) MET DP807142.jpg
A type of step chair in which the seat folds to form the top and side faces of an extra step, and a support slides in beneath it

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seat</span> Object for sitting on

A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodworking</span> Process of making objects from wood

Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chair</span> Piece of furniture for sitting on

A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in various colors and fabrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson Memorial</span> Memorial in Washington, D.C., U.S.

The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the American Revolution, founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, and the nation's third president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metamorphic library steps</span>

Metamorphic library steps are a type of archaic dual-use furniture, consisting of a small folding staircase that can be transformed into chair or desk form. In desk form, it can also be considered a mechanical desk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorel Industries</span>

Dorel Industries Inc. is a Canadian company, based in Montreal, Quebec, which designs and manufactures juvenile products and home furnishings. Its Dorel Sports division, sold in 2022, sold bicycles. It was formed in 1987 as a result of a merger between Dorel Co. Ltd., founded in 1962 by Leo Schwartz and Ridgewood Industries, founded in 1969. Dorel employs approximately 10,000 people and its products are sold in over 100 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocking chair</span> Type of chair

A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands attached to the bottom of the legs, connecting the legs on each side to each other. The rockers contact the floor at only two points, giving the occupant the ability to rock back and forth by shifting their weight or pushing lightly with their feet. Rocking chairs are most commonly made of wood. Some rocking chairs can fold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawhorse</span> Structure for supporting lumber workpieces during sawing

In woodworking, a saw-horse or sawhorse is a trestle structure used to support a board or plank for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, forming a scaffold. In certain circles, it is also known as a mule and a short sawhorse is known as a pony. The names come from the shape of the frame, which resembles a horse. A sawhorse may also be a rack for supporting logs for sawing, known in the US as a sawbuck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Isaacson</span> American author, journalist and professor

Walter Seff Isaacson is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN, and the editor of Time.

Benjamin Franklin Parkway, commonly abbreviated to Ben Franklin Parkway and colloquially called the Parkway, is a boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia. Named for Benjamin Franklin, a Founding Father, the mile-long Parkway cuts diagonally across the grid plan pattern of Center City's northwest quadrant. It starts at Philadelphia City Hall, curves around Logan Circle, and ends before the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butt joint</span> Techniques to join two pieces of wood together

A butt joint is a technique in which two pieces of material are joined by simply placing their ends together without any special shaping. The name "butt joint" comes from the way the material is joined. The butt joint is the simplest joint to make since it merely involves cutting the material to the appropriate length and butting them together. It is also the weakest because unless some form of reinforcement is used, it relies upon glue or welding alone to hold it together. Because the orientation of the material usually presents only one end to a long gluing or welding surface, the resulting joint is inherently weak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trestle table</span> Table made from two linked A- or X-shaped supports

In woodworking, a trestle table is a table consisting of two or three trestle supports, often linked by a stretcher, over which a board or tabletop is placed. In the Middle Ages, the trestle table was often little more than loose boards over trestle legs for ease of assembly and storage. This simple, collapsible style remained the most common Western form of table until the 16th century, when the basic trestle design gave way to stronger frame-based structures such as gateleg and refectory tables. Ease of assembly and storage has made it the ideal occasional table, and it remains a popular form of dining table, as those seated are not so inconvenienced as they might be with the more usual arrangement of a fixed leg at each corner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swivel chair</span> Rotating chair

A swivel, spinny, or revolving chair is a chair with a single central leg that allows the seat to rotate 360 degrees to the left or right. A concept of a rotating chair with swivel castors was illustrated by the Nuremberg patrician Martin Löffelholz von Kolberg in his 1505 technological illuminated manuscript, the so-called Codex Löffelholz, on folio 10r. It is purported that Thomas Jefferson drafted the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 while sitting on a swivel chair of his own design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folding table</span> Portable furniture

A folding table is a type of folding furniture, a table with legs that fold up against the table top. This is intended to make storage more convenient and to make the table more portable. Many folding tables are made of lightweight materials to further increase portability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stool (seat)</span> Seating furniture without backrest and armrest

A stool is a raised seat commonly supported by three or four legs, but with neither armrests nor a backrest, and typically built to accommodate one occupant. As some of the earliest forms of seat, stools are sometimes called backless chairs despite how some modern stools have backrests. Folding stools can be collapsed into a flat, compact form typically by rotating the seat in parallel with fold-up legs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient furniture</span> Furniture in the ancient world

Ancient furniture was made of many different materials, including reeds, wood, stone, metals, straws, and ivory. It could also be decorated in many different ways. Sometimes furniture would be covered with upholstery, upholstery being padding, springs, webbing, and leather. Features which would mark the top of furniture, called finials, were common. To decorate furniture, contrasting pieces would be inserted into depressions in the furniture. This practice is called inlaying.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Ehrich</span> Swedish industrial designer

Hans Ehrich is a Swedish industrial designer. Together with Tom Ahlström he, in 1968, founded A&E Design, a company which Ehrich still (2022) manages. Between 1982 and 2002 he was the CEO of the sister company Interdesign in Stockholm. Internationally, he is regarded one of Sweden's leading product designers, and is referred to as the “Grand Seigneur” of Swedish industrial design. Ehrich is living in Stockholm and Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Step stool</span> Type of free-standing ladder

Step stools are half way between a ladder and a stool, being used, as a support platform, for reaching targets that are at heights between ~2m and ~3m. The most common modern type is made with two separate ladders connected to each other at the upper end, where there is a platform with an area big enough to stand with both feet on it, having the rest of steps the same area, but not in all models, for some step stools have classical ladder steps. This folding design arrangement eliminates the need for a fixed support on a wall, as in the case of a standard ladder. They are widely used in the kitchen, to the point that in some places they are called "kitchen ladder".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multifunctional furniture</span>

A multifunctional furniture is a furniture with several functions combined. The functions combined may vary, but a common variant is to incorporate an extra storage function into chair, tables, and so forth, making them so-called storage furniture. Multifunctional furniture can accommodate more efficient use of living spaces. Lack of space can be an important reason for choosing such furniture, but combination furniture is also seen in larger homes for more space-efficient utilization. Historically, furniture with transforming mechanisms was called "mechanical furniture".

References

  1. Barrett, Neal (12 October 2007). "How to Build a Step Stool: Simple DIY Woodworking Project". Popular Mechanics.
  2. Marshall, Chris (8 September 2014). "Project Plan | Convertible Step Stool Chair | Woodworking". Woodworker's journal. (PDF with plans
  3. Scott (9 December 2017). "DIY Ladder Chair - A Modern Twist on an American Classic". Remodelaholic.
  4. "Library chair with folding steps". www.benfranklin300.org. The Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary (Exhibition). 1760–1780.
  5. "14-1302. - Bachelors Chair Woodworking Plan". Woodworker's journal. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-01-22.
  6. Rohrlich, Marianne (4 June 1998). "Currents; CONTRAPTION -- Step Right This Way (Or That Way)". The New York Times.
  7. Zimmer, Lori (Apr 1, 2011). "The Bachelor Chair is a Step Stool, Seat and Ironing Board All in One".
  8. "Bachelor, Jefferson, Folding, Ironing Board, Step Stool, Chair". www.cottagecraftworks.com.
  9. "Ironing Board Step Stool | Collectors' Concerns | Kovels Komments". www.kovels.com.