BEAN BAG CHAIR

The bean bag chair was first invented in 1969 by Zanotta, an Italian manufacturer. First discovered by accident, the chair became a hit of the 1970's. When Zanotta had leftover Styrofoam pieces, they gathered them up and put them in giant bags. One day a weary factory worker sat down on the bag of debris, and this was the birth of the now popular chair. The first intentional bean bag chairs were called “Soccos” and shaped like a pear. Manufacturers thought the furniture would be a hit. Unfortunately, the “Socco” bean bag chair didn't do as well as anticipated. The Zanotta company sold the design to another manufacturer, which produced the well known cushy chair of today.

A bean bag chair is a fun accent piece for just about every home decor. The chair usually comes in three sizes: children's, regular adult, and love seat. A children's bean bag chair is no different than the adult size, except that it's smaller. It may be a better investment to just get an adult chair for a kid, as a huge squishy seat can be quite fun for a child. Regular adult bean bags are usually about 30 inches in diameter. Love seats are so called because they comfortably, yet cozily seat two people. These are the most fun of all bean bags, at over 50 inches in diameter!

How exactly does a bean bag chair work? Well, it's quite simple. The chair itself comes in a hypo-allergenic wrapper. What this means is that Styrofoam or plastic beads are stuffed into a vinyl, leather, or rubbery-plastic case. This liner is then inserted into a specially cut cover for the chair.

Covers come in denim, faux fur, sequined, cloth, leather, vinyl and various themed fabrics, such as sports or cartoon motifs. For every decor there is a bean bag chair. College boys' dorms aren't famous for their decorating acumen, so a sports themed chair can certainly be a start. Sports themed chairs can be found for many State teams. The Raiders and Redskins are represented in bean bag selections.

If you're out of college and living the bachelor's life, then a faux fur bean bag chair could be the seating for you! Furry prints can impress ladies, especially when they come in patterns like zebra and leopard. If you're a girl, the sequined fabrics and floral prints can be as fun as furry ones.

Remember to take good care of your chair by washing the cover regularly. If you have feline friends, then you must train them not to jump up on the chair! Cats, for some reason, are attracted to bean bags in lieu of litter boxes. Whatever your personality, situation or decor may be, there's a bean bag chair to match!