What is a “Moon Chair”?

21 October 2014

The Short Answer (TSA)

            Even if you don’t recognize the name, “Moon Chair,” you’ve seen more than one.  I suppose the “proper” name for this chair is the “Papasan Chair.”  The same chair is sometimes called by a downright dull name – “bowl chair.”

The Moon Chair or Papasan Chair

            Even though I like the name “Moon Chair,” “bowl” gives you a good idea of what the moon chair looks like and “how it works.”   A bowl shaped frame of wicker, metal or wood rests on another upright frame.  The bowl part of the frame is tilted slightly and fitted with a large round (moon-shaped) cushion – to accommodate the sitter.

Moon Chair

            The “traditional” moon chair is three to five feet wide, but only a about “a foot and a quarter” (15 inches) deep.   The round cushion is usually made out of a velveteen material with thick cotton filling.  The round frame that holds the cushion is made of rattan or wicker wood.

Moon Chair Frames

            But where does the “traditional” moon chair come from?

            Indonesia was the original home of what, there, is called the Papasan Chair.  And this chair might still be almost unknown to the rest of the world were it not for its popularity with American service men and women stationed in the Philippines in the 1950’s.  The moon chair was such a hit that many Americans sent chairs home to relatives in the U.S. and brought chairs back with them when they returned to the United States.

As the story goes, Americans first coined the name moon chair to describe this uniquely round, though comfortable, chair.  Although individual moon chairs made their way to the United States, the first related imports for sale weren’t actually moon chairs.  Instead, the Mamasan Chair, a sort of double-seated version of the moon chair, was imported and became quite popular in the U.S. in the 1950’s.

The Mamasan Chair

Pier I Imports claims credit for “rediscovering” the moon chair in the Philippines in the early 1960’s.  The first imports went on sale in California and spread quickly throughout the United States and, then, beyond. 

The Moon Chair Sixties Style

The moon chair is a perfect example of “the comfortable chair.”  Surely, it was advertised in the 1960’s as an ideal chair in which to relax, read or watch TV.  Today, this chair is still advertised as an ideal chair for all those same pastimes, but a few new things, like “video gaming,” have been added to the list.   

In terms of style and design, Pier I Imports advertises the moon chair as less formal than living room furniture, but more formal than “outdoorsy” lawn furniture. 

One of their suggestions? 

Your sun room might be a perfect place for your moon chair.  How can anyone disagree?  The sun room and moon chair do seem like a match made in the heavens.

             (I couldn’t resist.)

M Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri & Belleville, Illinois

About the Author