Sink into a Beanbag

As I write today’s post I am very well settled on my beanbag or should I say IN my beanbag;)

For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, A bean bag is a piece of furniture made up of fabric/ faux suede /faux leather and filled with loads of PVC pellets that need to be refilled after every one or two years depending on your usage. These were very popular in the late 1960s and 1970s (Source: Wikipedia). They made their comeback in 1990s and I think they are here to stay ;) They are essentially cylindrical-shaped, tapered at the top end for easy carry. They look like a sack that is half full. Today we have them in many more shapes: cubes, sofas, chairs et al.

I feel beanbags work very well in contemporary as well as conventional set ups especially since mixing styles is hot these days. They are very functional and trendy. With them you can add color & texture to your room very easily. Get multi-colored ones to create drama in your room or a get neutral one to an already colorful room. These days they come in various textures/ patterns too. So take your pick!! Now there are people who have total disregard for them, “they are shapeless & bad for the back”. But I am a total Beanbag enthusiast and in the last three years we have not had any back problems. As for the beanbag being shapeless, I call that its personality ;) Just be sure they are of good quality (Not rexine) and sink in. So, why should you get one??

• You can just throw yourself on it and watch a movie or curl up and read a book
• They are perfect to sink in and have your coffee after a hard day at work
• They fill up a lot of space in the room without causing a huge dent in your pocket ( Priced between Rs.900 to Rs.4000)
• They are a lot easy to move around and serve you well when you have lots of guests and few chairs
• Someone at our home even sleeps on them, by putting two of them in line !!

Where can you pick it from?

• Chains like Lifestyle and The Home store & online from ebay india
• For people in Delhi, cheaper variants can be picked from roadside shops like the ones on the MG Road, Delhi.

There is another variant of the same that I came across, the Buddha Bag. This contains something called memory foam in contrast to the PVC pellets in the Bean Bags. It is like an oversized beanbag that takes the shape of your body and supposedly much more comfortable and easy to get out than a Bean Bag. I haven’t had a chance to sit on one, so people who have please do let me know.

Leaving you with some absolutely amazing products and art pieces by some great designers who have used the humble beanbag for creating the same. Check them out!!!

From the left ( Clockwise)

Dream bag: Designed by Ulrika Enberg & Kasper Medin. This resembles a flower that can be closed into a bud when you want to take it along and blossoms in any place you want to sit. Its modelled on the lotus, seat of divinities.In Hinduism,Vishnu and Ganesh, Lakshmi and Saraswati are all depicted on lotus blossoms.Brahma sits on a super-lotus, its stem growing from Vishnu’s navel.

Beenie Ashtay: The base of the ashtray is made from a bean bag.You can sit the ashtray on your table, knee or sofa armrest without having to worry about the ashtray slipping off.

Beanbag Cell Phone Chair: A perfect accessory for any workstation. A chair for your cell phone! Can even be used to plant you i-pod and blackberry

"Two Bean Bag Chairs": Sculpture Steel, 2006 by Cheryl Ekstrom in the series titled Stable Inhabitants of a Changing World.