Bags of comfort
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Bean bags are just what the doctor ordered for relaxation
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WONDERFUL CREATION: A bean bag is what the youth love
Believe us, this is a bag full of wonders, beamed the two young IT professionals staying in a rented flat at Basavanagudi in Bangalore. Bean bags were the only furniture that could be spotted in the drawing room. "We use them every which way," continued Asha Ravale and Shanthi Rangan, who had bought them from an exhibition. "Let alone throwing yourself on them, once you are on them, their shapeless comfort brings about a holidaying effect in you."
"There couldn't be better portable furniture," proclaims Raji Karanth in Jayanagar, who bought one from a store on R.V. Road. "My son treats it as a long-jump field, clomps on it and pulls it all over the house. Sitting pretty in the car dickey, our bean bag travelled to Nandi Hills with us," she giggles.
Bachelor Anand Mahadevan at Malleswaram, however, puts it to more serious use. "I comfortably use my laptop on it," he says.
It adds a `cool' look to the otherwise staid sofas and diwans, says interior decorator, Rama Bhargavi. "I have included it as a main seating in a space below the stairs in my creation at Indiranagar, in a garment boutique."
Enter the i-Bar at The Park on M.G. Road and colourful suede and leather bean bags beckon you to take a break! "I love sinking into it when I come here for my weekend unwinding," says Ajith. But is it comfy enough to go along for a few hours? "I don't really care, I simply love this low level soft recliners," says the chartered accountant, happy that such offbeat inclusions pepped up the ambience.
Value addition
Such are the responses for the modest bean bags, a nearly eight-year-old entrant to the market. "Bean bags may not be the answer to your drawing room needs, but they fall into the value-addition list," says Shaji K.K. of Caprius Bean Bag in Koramangala, Bangalore. "Seating preferences are highly subjective and need-based. Nothing can be condemned. Although preferred by the young, the middle aged too go in for the modish chic feel quite often," he says.
There are about 25 dealers in Bangalore alone, and with the IT Capital boasting of the largest young segment statistics, bean bag sales is proportionately higher compared to other cities, say market sources.
Caprius Bean Bags, manufacturers of the beans too, deals with three kinds of seating material that holds the beans — Parachute, Rexine and Italian leather in XL and XXL sizes. "The fill which we use is a high-density, petroleum by-product bean which is spongy, soft and weightless. Nearly five kg of beans go into a large bean bag weighing about six kg on the whole."
Cost factor
The cost of this `anywhere, anyplace sofa' ranges from Rs.1, 800 (parachute-XXL) to Rs.1, 900 (rexine -XXL) and Rs. 2,600 (Italian leather-XXL) says Shaji. Caprius sells about 20 pieces a day. Bean bags are cylindrical in shape, tapered at the top end for easy carry. They look like a sack that is half full. They were originally available only in Germany with polystyrene granules, an eco-clean and environmentally recycled fill resembling a bean. They are stitched with quality poly-cotton industrial grade thread for a 10-15 year run.
Rexine covering is known to be harmful as the cellulose nitrate coating could affect the skin in the long run. The granules shrink over the years, which have to be replaced at an extra cost.
"A bag used as a chair!" sceptics even now scoff, calling it a mismatch in the drawing room. The sheer unsteady seating makes it hell for weak backs and is ergonomics at its worst, they scream. But the young would vouch for the contemporary feel of the lazy-bag. "After all, it's the bean-age," they seem to say.
RANJANI GOVIND
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