Interiors By Design: Consider The Garden Stool

The hordes descended upon Pier 94 for the annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show. Last week, a mishmosh stew of appliance dealers, carpet hawkers, builder suppliers, gimmicky artists, hipster Brooklyn furniture makers, glass blowers and fuzzy craftspeople plunked their wares down in an un-unified, unedited jambalaya. Added to the confusion was a noisy stream of “celebrity” chefs, designers and architects, and self-proclaimed style makers spicing up this tilt-a-wheel carnival with cheesy proclamations booming over crackling cheap loudspeakers. I couldn’t escape soon enough.

Albeit, not without observing that every other furniture booth displayed some iteration of the ancient Chinese garden stool—a ubiquitous furniture accessory appearing in every catalogue, shelter magazine, blog, sitcom and home décor store. The garden stool has wormed its way into the hearts of “decoristas” by way of its flexibility, practicality and sculptural potential. Besides its versatility, it is relatively inexpensive, easy to clean and works outdoors as well as indoors.

Garden stools appeared as early as 960 A.D. in Chinese gardens formalizing the Buddhist act of sitting on a tree stump and contemplating “oneness” in the garden. Originally developed for use in the typical Chinese ancestral home, which was built around a courtyard, the garden stool was first conceived in a barrel shape with rounded nails pounded into metal rings that held the wooden staves. These barrels stored herbs, seeds, bulbs and flower cultivars as well, but fabricated in wood, these lidded barrels rotted outdoors and soon lost their essential purpose—that of a strong seat on which to rest one’s weary back after planting. Chinese artisans began creating garden stools in sculpted rock, glazed stoneware and porcelain. Even now, the barrel shape with rings or nail head detailing (evoking the drum as well) is still extant on the porcelain garden stools one finds available today.

Still to be found in specialty Chinese antique shops are the wonderful elmwood or calamander wooden garden stools, carved with fretwork, dragons, lotus blossoms, and painted in polychrome, red and often gilded. But because these had to be brought indoors during weather fluctuations, they were abandoned for the more durable stone and porcelain varieties.

By the early 17th century (Ming Dynasty), garden stools were popular across China and, as is the Chinese wont, the stools were elaborately decorated with images of peacocks, dragons, phoenix, lotus blossoms and peonies as well as scenes of domestic life. These garden stools were exported to the West for almost 300 years, though their popularity has risen only since the mid-20th century, and of course, they have been enjoying a raucous revival in the last few years.

With the current delight in outdoor living, garden stools fit the niche as a decorative, solid side table that won’t blow away in the wind or rot in the rain. The porcelain stools act as a shimmery counterpoint to the dry matte surfaces of teak furniture. But they also add weight and grounding to a furniture grouping consisting of primarily spindly iron furniture. Do not, however, expect your porcelain or earthenware stools to survive the winter outside or you will find, as I did, a heap of cracked shards awaiting you after the snowdrifts melt.

Due to their popularity, the garden seats have run the gamut from the more traditional barrel drum shapes to rectangular cubes, to modified hourglasses and simple cylinders. Sculpted in undulating waves or sharp zig-zags, there exists a garden seat design for every design proclivity, be it modern or traditional. Colorful or subdued, black or white, lushly glazed or roughly textured, they can fit into nearly any setting.

Typically featured as a side table or a drinks table, the garden stool can also lend weight indoors to spindly 18th-century or ‘50s Sputnik furniture. Pulled up as a pair under a parsons-style console, it adds a chic touch to an entry hall and also provides slide-out seating. Though relatively hard to sit on, these stools function well in a pinch when an overflow of guests need a place to sit.

Because garden stools are solid and sturdy, I find them perfect for side tables edging into the high traffic areas, where a child or eager Labrador can easily knock over a leggy cigarette table. As cocktail tables next to my outdoor chaise lounges, I find them irreplaceably functional, holding up to wind, rain, over-served guests, spilled cocktails and greasy suntan lotions. And as the weather-beaten garden can benefit from the finish, finesse, shine and apparent luxury of porcelain, garden stools can zest up the terrace with decorative thunder.

Getting back to the AD Design Show, where the garden stool was interpreted in glass, copper, gilded wood, enamelware, wool and upholstery, I found this simple object catapulted to the foreground of home design. Carried to the level of abstract painting, RS Ceramics of Long Island City, in particular, showcased a dynamic explosive rendering of garden stools worthy of placement at LongHouse, Madoo or trailing alongside our marvelous Parrish Art Museum. Brought indoors, they could hold their own in the sleekest of contemporary lofts.

Though short in stature, the garden stool has found its place in the sun and designers, artists, homemakers and style setters are reveling in its versatile practical charm.