What is a Papasan Chair?

What people often refer to as a bowl chair is actually a papasan. Papasan Chairs are bowl shaped chairs made with a simple cushiony round pillow shaped to conform to the bowl. The base is a circular stand made of wood. Adjusting the bowl atop of the stand allows you to adjust the angle that the chair is perched at so you can change it depending on the person whom is sitting in it.

Papasan chairs also go by the name "dish chair", "moon chair", and "mamasan chair". Mamasan chairs often refer to the double seat version.

What kind of cushion goes onto a papasan chair?

Papasan chairs come with special cushions that you tend not to see on other furniture applications.

The cushions (depending on maker) are often over 5 inches thick and contain a filler that is squishy, yet maintains it's shape over a long period of time. If you need a new one, they are not easy to make, but there is good news however. You can buy a papasan chair cover from many retailers starting at around 60 dollars. It's a lot cheaper to replace the cushion than the whole chair.

I want to make a papasan chair, is it difficult?

For the amateur woodworker, a papasan chair would be extremely difficult to make, requiring specialized equipment and tools to manufacture. These papasan chair are either made of rattan or wicker, both of which are not common building elements, Furthermore, the base material needs to be bent to a very small radius, which involves steaming and setting the material until it achieves the intended diameter. Cracking and snapping the rattan or other material occurs very easily under the stresses necessary to bend the wood.

Where did Papasan Chairs come from?

Papasan Chairs and furniture are native to the Eastern world, namely Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Natives of the area constructed papasan furniture out of their native rattan.

Rattan is a type of palm tree native to the region that is prized for it's flexibility and resistance to splintering. Papasans were first introduced to the America's by Asian immigrants whom came to the country to join the work force during the Industrial revolution that ensued.