Bachelor on the verge of a nervous breakdown, shopping for a new chair

These past couple weeks have not been good.  I’ve had trouble sleeping, bouts of anxiety, some real depression.  All over this 36” x 36” spot in my living room, where a chair used to be.

If you follow my blog, I recently bought and returned a $1,000 leather chair from Wayfair, to replace an old brown chair from Target that was in my living room 4 years too long.

The new leather chair was stylish & well made, but didn’t have enough back support and was too orange.  For a thousand dollars, I expected (and deserved) a lot more from that chair.

My friend Danielle suggested I visit La-Z-Boy’s online site and shop there for something more traditional—plus they’d send me free swatches.

They have a wide selection of fabrics, but YOU CAN ONLY REQUEST 3 SWATCHES TOTAL and must allow 3 weeks for them to be mailed to you.  To be honest, I didn’t like their chairs anyway.  Either too feminine with their long chair legs, or too stuffy.  I wanted something a little more minimal, a little more modern.

I have it down to three chairs that range in price from $227.00 to $1200.00.  I’m pretty partial to one, but I’d be interested in a second opinion.

1.  Marin Chair from West Elm – $999.00 (plus 200.00 more for taxes & shipping)

PROS:  At 32” high, 31” wide & 38” deep it’s just the right size for that space.  I like it’s boxy style, no “flourishes”.  West Elm sent me a generous supply of swatches (16 total) and I selected two, “Camel Twill” & “Camel Performance Twill”.

CONS:  It’s very… conventional, like it belongs to a 3 piece set.  It’s also very high priced.  And since it’s made to order, I was told it’d be 8 weeks minimum. 

Also, you’re warned before placing the order: “Are you absolutely sure?  This custom order cannot be canceled, and the item may not be returned.”  And finally… my place already has a lot of tans & browns.  Do I want to add more?

2.  Deeann Chair from Wayfair – $229.99 (plus free shipping)

PROS:  It’s the cheapest of the three, it has a ‘guy look’ I’m drawn to and looks easy enough to take care of.  It will fill in that empty space in here.

CONS:  It’s very “bachelory” and it feels bachelor enough in here already.  Also, I have a black leather ottoman in storage I’m planning to use as a coffee table, and I don’t want more than one leather piece in here (even if this is faux leather).  

3.  McRae Chair from Joss & Main – $720.00 (plus free shipping)

PROS:  These pillow-top chairs have been VERY popular for a couple years now.  This has 80 reviews, each one praising it’s comfort and style.  I like the minimalist black iron frame that suspends the cushion; it has a relaxed, artsy look. 

The ‘washed white’ canvas would allow me to add colors to it I wanted.  Here’s 2 lumbar pillows I’d purchase with it to “earthify” or jazz it up some.

CONS:  It’s so white (ivory)!  Would it work in here?  Would it be masculine enough?  Would it be too much a contrast to everything else? 

My couch is dark blue, but has an ivory throw on it.  There’s a lot of ivory trim in the apartment as well.

Well, that’s it.  I’m partial to the last one, it’s different and I like that.  But I’m at the point where I’d settle for this.