My Search for a (Nontoxic, Plastic-Free) Chair and a Half
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I’m routinely on the hunt for chimeric pieces of furniture that fulfill more than one function:a couch that’s also a bed, for instance; a lounge chair that also rocks, reclines,andswivels; an armchair that could pass for a love seat. It all began with therecliner-glider chair. Like many people who are, or have at one time been, pregnant, I was fearmongered into believing I would not survive my child’s first year of life if I didn’t invest in a recliner-glider for her nursery. It’s a type of chair that nobody would choose to own on the merits of design alone, and yet it regularly comes with a price tag commensurate with blue-chip collectibles. I searched for months before giving up and settling ona recliner-glider from West Elmthat was somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200 and not very comfortable. So when my daughter was finally out of the rock-and-recline phase, I was eager to evict the eyesore and replace it with something I actually liked.
But when it came to this new piece of furniture, it couldn’t be a question of “like” alone, because this chair was also destined for myprecious baby’sroomand was bound to be endlessly fondled, snuggled in, slept in, climbed on, and reallyusedfor years to come. Crucially, it needed to be extremely, face-meltingly comfortable — an antidote to the many god-awful nights of approximating sleep in the recliner. And it needed to be big enough to seat both myself and my daughter side by side for activities ranging from nursing, cuddling, and, most essentially, reading. I was looking for a chair and a half.
I was also looking for something that would be safe enough to lick. Like so many of my fellow Angelenos, the devastating January fires woke me up to the number of seemingly innocuous materials used in virtually every object in our homes. Once unleashed by a blaze — or any other climate catastrophe — these innocent ingredients (so often bearing comforting labels like “OEKO-TEX Standard 100”) can transmogrify into airborne and environmental toxins. And so I began my search, paying attention to plastics, “forever chemicals,” flame retardants, and mysterious synthetics — ingredients in lots of furnitures nowadays. It’s a lot to navigate — especially in an era of rampant greenwashing, where virtually every high(er)-end brand makes claims to “sustainable” and “ethical” and “nontoxic” sourcing and production.
At 44 inches wide and 41 inches deep, theSixpenny Neva Chair’s dimensions more than meet the criteria. It’s capacious, it’s cloudlike, and perhaps best of all when it comes to furnishing a child’s room: The slipcovers are removable and washable. It’s also among the more modestly priced in this category, coming in at $1,649. As far as my quest to find a truly “natural” option, I was impressed by Sixpenny’s construction and sourcing: solid rubberwood legs; kiln-dried hardwood and plywood frame; far more natural-fiber textile options (mainly cottons and linens and blends of the two) than synthetic ones. When I dug a bit deeper into the specs, though, I learned that the “feather down” fill option is cut with some of the company’s “vegan” poly fill, which I find objectionable both for the light deception and also the dubious use of the adjective “vegan” to refer to anything inedible. The cushions are also stuffed with an unspecified “foam” (read: synthetic high-density polyurethane made from petroleum).
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Looking for aneven biggerversion of the above? TheArhaus Kipton Chairhas entered the chat. Another brand that vaguely alludes to sustainable practices while offering few details beyond the fact that Arhaus was “founded in 1986 on a simple idea: Furniture and décor should be sustainably sourced, lovingly made, and built to last.” Hmmm … Meanwhile, its handsome, generously sized Kipton chair is loaded with foams and offered only in a 100 percent polyester “linen” (how is the word linen not, like, protected by some strict designation the way Parmesan and prosciutto are?) unless you pay extra to customize it. Sure, we appreciate that the thing is made in North Carolina — hence the $3,400 price tag, I’m guessing — but I’ve grown allergic to phrases such as “Seat cushions contain dense foam made from partially plant-based material.” What does that mean? But I do still like the chair. Of all the options, at 51 inches wide and 44 inches deep it’s edging most into love-seat territory and — call me a sap — but I love a love seat. I’m a romantic.
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Anyway, on to theEva Chen for West Elm collection. I genuinely like a lot of the pieces in her collection for the homeware giant, so much so that I had a brief delusion that we should buythe lofted bedfor our daughter years before it would be appropriate (she’s still in a crib).Chen’s design for a chair and a half, priced from $849, is likewise alluring: nice, modern detailing that doesn’t pin it to any design fad, rather leaving it pleasantly unmoored between mid-century and postmodern, with dimensions (48 inches wide by 34 inches deep) to place it squarely in the present. Another thing that places it in the present is the preponderance of synthetic textile choices and no alternatives to the very synthetic foamy fill. Even the two 100 percent cotton fabrics are slathered with a non-optional “water repellent” (read: PFAS) coating and are therefore not even among theGreenguard-certifiedoptions.
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I spent a good amount of time considering the affordably priced ($945) domestically madeEvergreen Chair from Sabai, the trendy newish “eco” brand with a focus on all types of cycling: up, re, etc. The chair comes in a cheery awning-at-a-cute-café stripe that feels like it would be right at home in someone’s chic Nantucket beach house. At 37 inches wide, and 36.5 inches deep, I could imagine Joan Didion getting lost in it. I very seriously considered it in the hemp-cotton “yellow clay” stripe — it would make a very cute nursery chair — but even with so many commitments to sustainability and circularity, and certified-it-won’t-kill-you foam, I just … wanted something truly, fully natural.
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TheCisco Home Genevieve Chair and a Halfis a handsome, exceedingly comfortable-looking (I couldn’t find anywhere to actually sit on one IRL) and charmingly old-school option — the kind of furniture design that feels like it could assimilate into all but the most stringently minimal-modern settings. At some point in my search, I realized I was gravitating toward something closer to this silhouette, something truly classic, something that said, “I’ve lived in a terrace house in Bloomsbury for 65 years and had more encounters with tea and claret than I could count.” In other words: something likethe signature armchair from the British brand George Sherlock. Aside from being averygenerous 50 inches wide and 40 inches deep, the Genevieve can also be upgraded to be fully “organic.” The company’s trademarked Inside Green treatment involves making the piece in the United States using FSC woods, organic latex, jute, hemp, wool, organic feathers and down, and organic cotton or linen upholstery. In this regard, I believe it’s actually walking the talk, but for something made by a brand called “Cisco” — a name I associate with technology conglomerates and institutional dining services — it feels like it should not be pushing $6,000.
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Finally,finally, I found Medley. Specifically, itsKaydan Chair(which is currently priced at $2,515). It has a traditional silhouette that doesn’t lean fuddy-duddy — essential given that it needed to blend in with the rest of our MCM and contemporary furniture. It’s large (34 inches wide by 37 inches deep) without being giant — our daughter’s room is pretty small. But, best of all, the Kaydan allows customization to be fully nontoxic, using only natural, eco-certified, and high-quality materials including natural latex cushions, domestically sourced solid wood, wool, down, and 100 percent natural-fiber upholstery options. I chose a buttery soft “tarragon” linen-cotton fabric to go with my daughter’s pink-and-green jungle-themed drapes and checkered green-and-pink woolAfi rug from In Residence— a beautiful lived-in green color that instantly felt like it belonged. I feel compelled to note that upon its arrival there was zero off-gassing. I’m not sure I’ve ever had that experience with furniture of any type. Since the Kaydan has entered our home, I’ve found myself muttering to myself or my husband “I love this chair” at least once a day. My daughter — who calls it “My chair” — loves crawling up into it and making a bed for herself and her dolls. It already looks and feels like it’s been in our family forever. The memory of that cursed glider-recliner has been all but forgotten.
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