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The Adirondack chair is a simple rustic wooden chair for outdoor use.
In the original design it was made with 11 flat wooden boards, with a straight back and seat. It also features wide armrests. In English speaking Canada it is known as the Muskoka chair, from the eponymous Ontario district, and the Laurentian chair or chaise des Laurentides, in French speaking Canada.
The precursor to today's Adirondack chair was designed by Thomas Lee in 1903. He was on vacation in Westport, New York, in the Adirondack Mountains, and needed outdoor chairs for his summer home. He tested the first designs on his family. After arriving at a final design for the "Westport plank chair," Lee offered it to Harry Bunnell, a carpenter friend in Westport, who was in need of a winter income. Bunnell quickly realized the chair was the perfect item to sell to Westport's summer residents. Apparently without asking Lee's permission, Bunnell filed for and received patent 794,777 in 1905. Bunnell manufactured his plank chairs for the next twenty years. His "Westport chairs" were all signed and made of hemlock in green or medium dark brown.
Today's Adirondack chairs usually feature a rounded back and contoured seat. The founder of this style seems to be Irving Wolpin who designed his chair as early as 1938 and filed for and received patent. The style has also been translated to other pieces of furniture, from gliders to love seats and tête-à- tête's. Some cheaper modern Adirondack chairs are regretfully made out of plastic lumber or engineered wood instead of solid wood.
When made of wood a variety of types of wood are used. Each type reflects the longevity of the Adirondack chair.
Like many others I have taken the design a bit further. Usually I make chairs with a curved backrest with backangle options and thicker wood. Adirondack sunbed, ottoman and lifeguard chairs also available on request. All my Adirondacks are made to order and so far no two orders are the same.
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