Designing a Chair for Stout Lads & Lasses

Charles looked at me, looked at the chair and then looked a little worried.

“How much weight is the chair supposed to hold?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve never had a chair break under someone’s weight.”

Charles sat down in my oak Gibson chair, wiggled his way back on the seat a bit and then reclined on the chair’s wide backrest.

I held my breath. I think Charles held his as well.

At the time, Charles weighed about 360 lbs. (he weighs less now). The chair didn’t move or creak or complain a bit.

“Does it feel springy?” I asked?

“Nope,” he replied.

And that was the moment I knew I could – and should – design a larger-scale chair. For the last nine months I’ve been toying with a few designs, and now I have the time and materials to make a prototype.

I’m frequently asked what I would do to build a chair for larger human beings. So this entry explains my thought process with this new design. Future entries will let you know if I was right or not.

Where to Begin

My goal is to make a chair…