Rocking Chairs for Young and Old

Young and old alike can enjoy their rocking chairs on any occasion, or even for no reason at all, other than for the comfort of the rocking motion. Unless you have all year round good weather it is likely that you will need two rocking chairs, one for inside your home and the second one on the front porch.

Rocking chair motion

The gentle motion of the rocking chair is soothing to ones nerves and all that is needed is a starting push using both feet on the floor. The chair balances itself naturally (finding its center of gravity) once the occupant remains still. A child’s rocking chair, apart from being functional, can also be used as a plaything, not unlike a rocking horse.

Strength with wood

A solid wood rocking chair will be long lasting as well as beautiful looking. I favor a wooden chair (other materials are available) made of natural cedar (hard wood) which smells great, looks good, is comfortable and is low on maintenance because it wears so well. It is easy to forget that you are seated in a rocking chair, especially if you have the comfort of a couple of cushions, but beware, because a sudden movement will cause the chair to rock when you didn’t expect it to. It gives me a fright every time.

Other location for rocking chairs

Nursery rocker

The nursery is an ideal location place for a rocking chair which will help a new mother to relax while feeding the new arrival. Even before the birth an expectant mom might find hours of relaxation in a rocking chair and the gentle undulation will pacify the unborn baby.

Porch or yard rockers

Outdoors rocking chair

A patio, gazebo or other outdoor space (other than the porch) can be utilized for old rocking chairs. The outdoor chairs will require annual maintenance as does any wooden furniture but some manufacturers build chairs from materials such as plastic and aluminum that will be virtually maintenance free, unlike the chair pictured.

Double rocking chair

Occasionally your porch (if large enough) will benefit from a double rocking chair, especially if you are lucky enough to have a loved one to share it with. Be careful if young children are nearby when you are rocking because they can get too close and could hurt their feet. This is particularly so with the double rocker where you may not have full control of the motion.

Brief history

The history of rockers, also known as rocking chairs is unclear but they seem to have been in use over 300 years ago. Benjamin Franklin, (one of the Founding Fathers) who lived in the 1700s is believed to have invented the rocker but no historical evidence of this achievement exists.

Simple rockers

In its simplistic state the rocking chair is basically a regular chair but with the bottoms of the chair legs attached to a rocker assembly. This assembly is a bowed base which causes the chair to move to and fro in the direction one is sitting. The curvature of the bases (usually two, one on each side of the chair) must be precision made so that the swaying motion is not excessive. The rocker design is such that one can stop the motion and stand up as one would with a regular chair (without fear of tripping over the protruding curve of the front legs. The most crucial aspect is that the chair should not tip over, so the curvature and length of the rocking sections must be exact. In addition the chair must have a nice smooth rocking motion (going neither to far forward or too far back).

Converting chairs to rocking chairs

Provide you have the carpentry tools (and expertise) it is possible to convert a regular wooden chair to a rocking chair by simply adding two bow shaped pieces of hard wood to the left and right pairs of chair legs. The original legs will need to be cut shorter before fixing the runners, as otherwise the rocker seat will be too high when finished. A word of caution: Make sure you test the ‘new’ chair several times before letting anyone else try it out.

Rocking chair fashion

Rocking chairs are back in fashion and can be delivered direct to your home for self assembly (with detailed instructions).