The Story Behind the Director’s Chair, Hollywood’s Favorite Seat

Photo: William Waldron.

Step onto a film set—or someone’s front porch—and you’re likely to see one: that workaday collapsible, wood-framed perch we all call the director’s chair, with its signature scissor-kick legs and removable canvas seat and back.

This no-frills folding form hearkens back to ancient Egyptian stools and the classic Roman curule, reserved for dignitaries, but its modern origin story starts with what came to be known as Gold Medal Camp Furniture, a Wisconsin-based company that introduced the design in 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair. “It was part of a larger inventory that had to do with camping, related to the back-to-nature movement of the 19th century,” explains Emily Orr, associate curator at then Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. “Steadily, it moved into domestic settings—backyards, patios, even parlors.”

Not long after, the chair showed up on sets in Hollywood during the silent film era, providing portable seats of honor for directors and actors alike. A photograph shows screen star Gloria Swanson reading in hers, circa 1920.

All the while, they continued to serve as useful additions to interiors, from preppy to postmodern. Eight surrounded the dining table in the shiny ’70s dining room of hairstylist Ara Gallant. That same decade, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg used one at her bedroom vanity. More recently, when AD100 designer Charles de Lisle was hired to redo The Sea Ranch Lodge in Northern California, he placed director’s chairs in the solarium, similar to the marine blue ones he spotted there in an old photo. “They were a perfect nod to the history of the space but also created the right vibe for an ocean-view lounge,” he explains. Designer Peter Staples sums up the appeal of the director’s chair, explaining, “It’s the lack of preciousness that gives it an enduring quality.” He has used that classic Gold Medal model (from $150) in his own home and is working on a lounge-y riff for his brand, Blue Green Works. “There is a purity in its ubiquity.”

Shop the look:

Gold Medal 1892 Counter Height Director’s Chair

$150.00, Gold Medal 1892

Telami Director's Chair

$210.00, Artemest

Serena & Lily Indoor/Outdoor Teak Director Stools (Set of 2)

$550.00, Chairish

Mast Leather Director's Chair by Leanne Ford

$499.00, Crate & Barrel

Casual Home Counter Height Director's Chair

$63.00, Amazon

Joss & Main Sambac Upholstered Arm Chair

$179.00, Joss & Main

American Trails Extra-Wide Premium Director's Chair

$94.00, Amazon

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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