It is a necessary evil that with the breadth of knowledge which accompanies scientific advancement, many of our favourite habits have been classed as 'unhealthy' and cast to the wayside.
From standing desks to breakfast bars, the world of interior design has long accepted the popular maxim that sitting all day is bad for your health (who knew?) and adjusted accordingly. Treadmill work stations have become increasingly popular in the last five-or-so years and lunch breaks seem to be no longer for eating, but for yoga, running and the like.
But no longer. For interior designer Rose Uniacke (www.roseuniacke.com) has produced a chair that longs to be sunk into and never escaped; from the woman dubbed 'The Queen of Serene', we'd expect nothing less.
Designed for those who enjoy the comfort of a traditionally upholstered, grand-scale armchair, the Drawing Room armchair (£4,560) has a simple, elegant outline that makes it suited to both classic and contemporary settings. The arms, described as 'swept out', long to welcome one lucky person into their embrace as all thoughts of 'walking meetings' and taking the stairs flee from their mind.
In the middle of the room or tucked under a window, this chair is sure to compliment any period of interior design, drawing both the eye and, more likely, the body, into its large frame.
For those familiar with the phrase 'depth of seat' this sedentary sultan has it in spades, and thus is quite a bit larger than your traditional armchair in order to maintain graceful proportions. Upholstered in 12 m of velvet in the appropriately-named shade 'Cotton Velvet Moss', (£75 a metre), the Drawing Room armchair whispers of long evenings by the fire and curling up with a good book.
After all, if we do truly spend more than eight hours a day sitting, why not do it in style?
Credit: Cathpole & Rye
The joys of a shower which offers a touch of luxury and theatre on a daily basis
A beautiful bathtub is a splendid feature for any bathroom, but given how often you use the shower it makes
Credit: Plain English
What modern kitchens can learn from early-Georgian simplicity
The latest news in bathrooms: from designer tiles to Japanese saunas
Amelia Thorpe brings us the latest news in designer bathrooms.
-
Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
-
The Airlander wants to save our skiesA new hybrid aircraft promises eco-friendly aviation. Designed and built in the UK, can it be the future of air travel?
-
Injecting colour, pattern and character into a once-plain sitting roomBooks, art and textiles transformed a once-characterless space into a warm, inviting sitting room.
-
Say no to boring walls: Six choices of paint and paper which will get people talkingAmelia Thorpe picks out some glorious alternatives to just painting everything white.
-
'Not cheap... but cheaper than a divorce lawyer': Why it pays to hire a consultant to choose the perfect paint colourDriven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue, says Giles Kime.
-
Room with a cru — how an 'enduring legacy of lockdown' is the latest must have in interior designLong gone are the dusty cellars of the past. Now is the time to make the place you store your wine as pleasurable as drinking it.
-
The secret to transforming an awkwardly shaped roomCave Interiors turned the awkwardly shaped sitting room of an Edwardian house into a warm and welcoming space.
-
A gloomy kitchen entirely re-created as a cosy living spaceWhen Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham were asked to redecorate a country house in Berkshire, the first task was to turn a dark space into a colourful sitting room.
-
A living room that's a lesson in how to restore lost character in a historic spaceNicola Harding used rich colours and textures to enhance the historic character of a Jacobean house in Berkshire.
-
The slipper chair: How one of America's great designers produced a classic of armless funThe slipper chair might have its roots in the 18th century, but it owes its compact, convivial appeal to Billy Baldwin, a giant of 20th-century American interior design.
