Mission Find a Rocking Chair

I've been thinking about what kind of chair I want for the nursery. I wasn't super keen on the idea of a rocking chair but I started thinking about it and I actually really like the feel and relaxation of a rocking chair. I've never owned one but I remember one my parents had when I was growing up and there's something very comforting about rocking gently (I'm on to you babies!). So, I went on a mission to find a rocking chair that wasn't completely hideous.

I wanted something modern and unique. I really like the Empire Rocker but it's WAY out of our price range. There are some beautiful mid-century wood rockers available on Craigslist and at vintage and antique stores. I started to get my heart set on something like a Plycraft or Eames lounge rocker. I'd seen several of them on Craigslist going anywhere from $250 (for a knock-off a Plycraft, which was the original knock-off of an Eames) to a real Plycraft for $600 to a real Eames for $2000+. Obviously, our price range was closest to the knock-off of the knock-off.

Portland, Oregon has some great vintage furniture stores. I'd seen inventory from several stores on Craigslist and I was impressed with the variety and prices. So we decided to head down to PDX for the weekend. It was also the perfect excuse to surprise Jess & Scott with the news of my pregnancy.

To make a long story short, we ended up sitting in several Plycraft chairs and found them uncomfortable and incredibly large. The wood rockers we saw were only in fair condition and we wanted to buy something that would last. While we were in PDX, I continued to check Craigslist from my iPhone. Wouldn't you know, Saturday morning I found the perfect rocker for sale...in Seattle! I emailed and let the seller know how much I loved her chair but wouldn't be able to come look at it until Sunday afternoon. She said Sunday worked for her and I crossed my fingers that it didn't sell before we made it home.

A couple hours ago, we brought home our new Dutailier rocker/glider with custom-made, removable/washable cushion covers. We absolutely LOVE it. It's exactly what we were hoping for and yet nothing like the other chairs we'd been looking at. See for yourself:

The best part is that it was below what we'd budgeted! Oh, and the seller ended up holding the chair for us! She had 4 other people interested but was waiting until we were able to see it. What a sweetheart!! And we can't wait to rock our sweetheart in this beautiful chair!