Did you know that Thomas Jefferson, one of our founding fathers, was a collector of chairs? Yes, it’s true. Just this past week I came across this tidbit of information while researching chair styles. I remember a few years ago hearing Nate Berkus confess that he was a chair hoarder. “So, I’m not the only one,” I thought. And now it turns out that Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon had an obsession with chairs, too.
Between the years of 1784-1789, Jefferson served as the American minister to France. While in France, Jefferson did quite a bit of shopping in Paris. In fact, he brought back 86 crates of items, including chaises, fauteuils, bergères, and settees!  Jefferson was actually a trendsetter at that time. Instead of going for the curved legged chairs, he favored chairs with straight modern legs. This style was just being introduced in Paris back then. Jefferson had these chairs covered in matching fabric for his homes in the U.S. After his death, there was an auction held at his estate so that his debts could be paid off. There’s no doubt that many of these precious heirlooms were sold to pay his debts.  He had one similar to this with arms which was recently found and returned to Monticello.  (FYI, this one is about to get a huge makeover! Stay tuned.)

Just to put all of this into historical context, one of Jefferson’s contemporaries was Napoleon. At the time that Jefferson was elected the third president of the United States, Napoleon’s France owned a large stake of land just west of the Mississippi River.  It turned out that Napoleon needed money to pay for his conquests in Europe. So, he offered to sell the land known as Louisiana.  Jefferson said yes and brokered the largest land deal in U.S. history—827,000 square miles for $15 million. We know this business deal as the Louisiana Purchase. And, it turns out that Napoleon had a chair fetish too. Here’s one from his collection.

While I was in Paris this past summer, I visited the Louvre. I took some time and went through Napoleon’s apartments. Boy oh boy, the chairs! Here are some of my favorites.





Don’t even get me started talking about the checkered floor. Major lust going on here!


Isn’t this chaise the perfect thing for lounging and reading with your partner?  I could see myself doing just that!


And the settees were amazing, too. I love the gilt paired with the bright fabrics. 


So, the moral to this story is that if you love chairs, you are not alone. Rest in the comfort that many well-known people loved and treasured them too. Which of Napoleon’s is your favorite?