Deck Chairs

Deck chairs are a unique style of furniture. The term now applies to a wide range of chair styles, but its origins were in a specific style and for a specific use. We'll cover some of the other chairs now broadly known as deck chairs on subsequent pages, but first let's give a little history and description of deck chairs as they were originally known... on ships.

Large recreational vessels and cruise ships began their popularity in the early 1900's, when ocean travel opened up to tourism and leisure as much as to transportation and trade. With oceangoing vacations came the need for unique furniture on cruise ships, furniture that needed to meet a few criteria. Ocean cruises are scenic, and people wanted to lounge around on the open decks and watch the view for hours. Normal chairs would not do the trick; chairs for ship decks needed to be sturdy, yes, but also quite light, so they could be carried in at night easily for storage off-deck, and brought out again for the day. They needed to be light enough for passengers to be able to move them around at will. They needed to be able to withstand elements, to a certain extent, as cruise ships on any given tour would encounter sea spray, storms, hot sun, rain and wind.

Deck chairs were born out of this necessity. Deck chairs were made of a light but sturdy wood frame. For ease of moving around, and carrying in and out daily, they were made collapsible, as folding deck chairs were much easier to grasp and maneuver in the folded position than are any non-folding chairs. When folded, they could be stacked compactly together into a smaller area than when unfolded, and could be stacked horizontally in piles, or vertically against a wall.
     Below: deck chairs (based on the traditional styles) as we see them today. The folding, light versions are most common on beaches; longer, reclining deck chairs, both folding and 'fixed', are the pool chairs of choice for resorts around the world.

Sturdiness was important, especially with rolling decks and, perhaps, some rather portly passengers, many being of the rich and idle type. Deck chairs, since their frames are not fixed into place by nails and screws holding together immovable parts, needed to lock securely into place upon being unfolded, and remain sturdy and safe during all kinds of use and movement; this was accomplished by giving the chairs a very low center of gravity, usually a foot off the ground rather than the foot-and-a-half of most chairs; and the sturdiness was also created by clever use of the movable joints all working together to lock the unfolded chair into a solid frame with integrity in any direction during use. And the user actually plays an integral part in this; the more weight that sits on a deck chair (within the frame's safety limits, of course), the more solidly those joints are locked together towards the ground. It's simple, yet ingenious; the hallmark of most of humankind's greatest and most useful inventions.

Materials are important also. Since open ship decks were obviously too corrosive for regular furniture fabrics, materials that could withstand the sea were needed. Traditionally, ship furniture and finishings were made of wood, and 'soft' items like sails and seats were made of canvas. Both materials, treated well, could withstand the ocean elements for long periods. So wood provides the frame for most deck chairs even today, though you'll also find models made with metal or plastic frames. And canvas provides strong support for seating, while being comfortably form-fitting, and folds well, over and over, without wearing and tearing, so is the fabric of choice for folding chairs.

A few different styles of deck chairs were created even back then; longer versions with built-on footrests were for those who wanted to recline rather than sit while watching the view. Regular-size deck chairs with matching separate footrests are also common. Deck chairs with and without armrests would suit anyone's needs. The adjustable back is a later invention; fixed back deck chairs were the norm for many years, but almost all models now come with a bar-in-groove system of backrest support, so you can lower the backrest in stages. Most deck chairs have back rest angles ranging from 60 degrees to 45 degrees. The longer reclining deck chairs have backrests that can be put down flat inline with the seat, so you can lie down and stretch right out to nap or suntan.

Although many other kinds of chairs are called collectively deck chairs, this folding-frame, all-wood or canvas-and-wood, lightweight chair meant for cruise ship decks is technically what the term refers to. You'll still see them in some form or other all over cruise ships, from plastic recliners to luxury wooden deck chairs to portable lightweight folding deck chairs being carried around by view-worshipping passengers. And deck chairs migrated to landlubbers too; you'll see them all over beaches, back yards, and being lifted out of car trunks, unfolded and handy for picnics, get-togethers and any special events where quick, light, casual, fun, portable seating is needed.