Nice to see how affordable these are for people too.
No option even under $500?
C'mon guys...
I'm an Architect who gets a trade discount and I can't even afford these.
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Rockers are often used on porches. Weird there are no outdoor options here.
Here's another rocking chair recommendation. The modern rocker from J. Rusten Furniture.
http://jrusten.com/modern-rocking-chair
I stole my rocking chair out of the basement of my friend's rental house in college. You know the type. They are found in every dorm room in America. The landlord had obviously bought a bunch of furniture second hand from the university salvage. My friend said go for it. With all the furniture stacked up in the basement, I guess the landlord never noticed a missing chair. I wish I had stolen one with armrests but this one was close and convenient.
Surprisingly I can't think of a single piece of furniture I've owned longer. Possibly my college trunk if you consider that furniture. I guess I do. Somehow though this incredibly ordinary rocker has survived every move and transition I've ever had while casting off the remnants of my youth.
Comfortable, sturdy, familiar, unassuming, easy to store, easy to move. I can't think why anyone needs a three thousand dollar leather and oak rocking chair. Does it really tie the room together or something? My chair provides a talking piece. See what I did there?
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I'm tired of these unrealistic standards of chair mobility. I've only ever sat on sturdy four legged stools and I don't plan on plopping my bum anywhere else. Down with big rocker!
We have several rocking chairs in different rooms and on our back deck that are very comfortable. We have had our New Gloucester Rocker for about 8 years and love it. I highly recommend Tom Moser's hand made (in Maine) furniture.
We also have two Presidential Rockers and also recommend them Their wide arms are great when you are writing. I was able to order a new seat to repair our oldest (25+ years) PR.
We have passed some of our rocking chairs down to our children and expect our grandkids will also enjoy them.
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No arms on most of the chairs? $1,000 price tags? Ha!
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I sure agree with you on both points. Also if you buy a rocking chair with vertical spines you need to sit in it to make sure the center spine does not run directly up your spine, particularly in a Windsor style rocker or chair. Very uncomfortable.
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How could you have missed the Vermont Folk Rocker, the most comfortable rocker the Shakers ever inspired? There is one in almost every Vermont state welcome center. Really unique. See www.vermontfolkrocker.com
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Is NYTimes only read by the rich? Why are the suggestions here all in the thousands? Someone please explain. This article is not helpful at all.
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Do any of these chairs come in a non-rocking version?
The chairs in this article are fine for those people with personal design consultants, but for me nothing makes me happier than my rocking recliner. I rarely recline but rock constantly. And I don’t feel like I have to dress up just to sit down. Ahhhhhh!
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No Boston rocker?
Love all these rocking chair comments. This is the best commentary in all of the NYT. Thanks everyone!
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The prices on all these make me think some people are off their rockers.
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@Tom You buy one and then you bequeath it to your grandchild
Another vote for the Kennedy rocker. I have two (each with cushions), and I swear by them for my back problems. After two surgeries (so far), they're the only chairs I can sit comfortably in for any length of time.
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I’ll take the handmade caned-seat rocker my mom and I found in the Ozarks about 20 years ago fo a couple hundred dollars. And yes, where is the Kennedy rocker?
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Where do you rest your arm when rocking a sleepy baby?
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The prices on these chairs have made me anxious
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What a sorry bunch of rocking chairs!
Some are so low to the ground you’d have to roll sideways onto the floor to get out of the chair.
Most have no arms, so YOUR arms are uncomfortably hanging by your side, or unnaturally nestled in your lap. Good luck trying to hold and soothe a crying baby in one of those rockers.
Could you even lean back in most of these rockers and relax?
Expensive art installations by the fire place, that’s what these rocking chairs are.
Suddenly, Marty Crane’s hideous (but comfortable!) heap of an armchair in “Frasier” is looking pretty good!
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The Moser chair — unquestionably an exquisitely crafted, although pricey piece of furniture — comes off as a bargain in the company of the other overpriced, impractical and likely uncomfortable mass production choices shown here.
The Times recently published an article by same author, recommending a ludicrous selection of impractical, obscenely expensive and mostly unattractive glass tumblers for everyday use. I suggest you return him to Elle Decor or wherever it is his taste belongs - it surely is not in the Times.
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This is a great article but these prices are ridiculous.
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Rockers for mothers and babies need comfortable arms at the right level, to support your arm holding the baby while you're nursing.
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How can buying a rocker you need to make payments on be an antidote to anxiety?
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Oh yes ! Great stress reducer. Loosened up my lower back and hips and I lost some weight. Great for depression too.
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I have a rocking chair in my bedroom next to the window where I sit, rock, and look at the world go by. I didn’t pay $1000 like the examples provided, all beautiful, but not every NYT reader has the discretionary income to purchase one like that, which seems to have escaped the writer and editor, who clearly have upper incomes in mind, lol. Only rich people should rock?
I took mine from my apartment building’s trash, where it sat discarded early one Saturday morning when I brought my recyclables down. Checked for bedbugs, found none. It’s old but perfect, and it was free!
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Wow! Not exactly a diverse selection of rockers or price points. Where is the Kennedy rocking chair? It is still being produced.
I have a MCM armless Danish rocker and it is okay but worth more as an authentic vintage piece. But for real comfort I prefer my classic hickory Amish rocker that perfectly hugs my back, is built in several sizes and will last for generations.
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Maybe 13 or 14 years ago we got a Poang rocking chair from Ikea. We had to replace the cushion for a whopping $50 last year, but otherwise it still looks good and is comfortable. They go for as little as $79. I wonder if these chairs are really that much better for more than ten times the cost.
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They are indeed. Everything about a more expensive, well-built and well-designed piece of furniture is different, from the aesthetics and quality of materials used to the ergonomics and comfort, not to mention durability, is different when compared with a less expensive mass-produced option. I suppose the good news here is not everyone needs to purchase something of this caliber.
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@kem046 I bought a Poang children's armchair a couple of years ago so that I could actually put my feed down on the floor. One problem with being undertall is that most chairs don't work. I see that by just looking at the rockers.
It's absurd that there isn't a single rocking chair in your story for under $1,000!Why not just take a short drive out of the city to the nearest Cracker Barrel Restaurant and buy an extremely comfortable rock for about $150.
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@R.F.My thought exactly!
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Beautiful designs (mostly) but for most Americans best viewed in design museums.
The Times continues to remind readers of the economic divide.
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OK, so "form" no longer "follows function"? Getting out of an armless chair is at best graceless and at worst an exercise in embarrassment (Barcelona chairs that litter corporate lobbies...van der Rohe's contribution to the sometimes humiliating first introduction to a client or prospective employer!) But a rocking chair! What are you supposed to do with your arms while gently rocking, ruminating and relaxing? Designers do well to better consider the end use of their elegant little experiments...
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And, (...getting out of an armless rocking chair) would also be painful with a sore back!
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$3,000 for a rocking chair ?
Why not some choices that are affordable on a columnist’s salary ??
Now ,that would be useful indeed.
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@Frank Accardi: You can find, at most New England auction houses, genuine New Lebanon Shaker antique rockers for $2-400 these days. Solid, stylish and comfortable. They have become much more affordable, as well as plentiful.
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Take a look at Craig’s list for some good bargains. Near me, for expecting parents a crib, upholstered gliding chair, and changing table for $250.
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How about some that are a bit more expensive and suitable for the common man?
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Rocking chairs are nice, but I view them as furniture for idle softies. My favorite is a deep leather club armchair with a little stand on the side for reading materials and a cigar ashtray.
5
Picked up a great little pressed wood rocker in a make-shift shop in Maine for five bucks. Suits me fine. Good patina, a bit worn. I've owned cars that cost less than some of these rockers you have here. Too precious by half.
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@GaylembHanson I'd say too precious by at least four-fifths.
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A little short on details in regards to comfort. Would have been nice to include a glider. And absolutely nothing under a thousand bucks? And retail is wondering why folks are now shopping online looking for better deals......because they are finding them.
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The best rocking chair in the world by far is made by David Haig in Cable Bay outside of Nelson New Zealand.
I have tried many different rockers over the 20+ years I have owned one, and find his is perfectly balanced and has an elegant presence in any room. It is very expensive but will be passed down from generation to generation and appreciated by those who have the opportunity to sit in one. Furniture should not be wasteful throwaway items to land in the rubbish dump after a few years but quality items that last for generations.
10
All rockers should come with a rating on how they rock - long and slow or quick and short. Quick rockers are not very relaxing.
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Six rocking chairs and only one with armrests? Good luck relaxing in those. When will the faddish tyranny of armless furniture end?
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@JohnJx
The only thing worse would be a legless rocker. Funny thing is, when you google these designers, they are almost invariably depicted in a commanding pose, as if they had invented Warp Drive, instead of just another lousy chair.
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Thousand dollar rockers! Cripes here in the south you can get an excellent rocker for $200. Armless rockers are called nursing rockers or sewing rockers as they allow your arms to be unemcumbered by the arms. Now let me tell you a secret. You must fit in your rocker comfortably. Not to far off the floor, I like to be able to place my feet flat on the floor, better rocking. And seat depth and width. Again this has to do with you being able to put your feet on the floor. And you don't want a 20 inch wide seat, what a pain. Smaler is better, always. These rockers are BIG, hard to get into and out of. Pretty yes, but not a good chair to rock in. I personally again like a older childs rocker. Smaller all the way around. And a good seat to rock away in.
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The Vermont Folk Rocker.
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You can go to garage sales, antique stores, second-hand stores, etc., and find attractive and comfortable rockers at reasonable prices. Focusing on chairs that cost more than $1000 isn't very inclusive.
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@Margaret
I got a really comfortable wooden rocker at a second-hand store years ago. It needs some repairs now, but that will cost a lot less than the super-expensive chairs in the article.
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Thank you for this - our son and daughter in alwbare expecting a baby and a rocker is essential to maintaining sanity. This offers some modern options- very helpful.
W
I recently bought a great resin rocking chair for my deck - goole Adams Manufacturing Big Easy Rocking Chair. I got this baby on sale for $10 at Home Depot.
It's comfortable, it rocks, our recent D.C. storm has not damaged it. For $10, a thing of beauty.
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