New Chesterfields in the Newton room
One thing our association is well known for, are the beautiful chesterfield couches in the Newton room. The couches perfectly compliment the decadent and old school atmosphere in the Newton room, and their colour could ofcourse not be any other than our signature green. For the members, the couches hold many memories. From long conversations during the lunch break to quick power naps, they always provide them with their daily cushioned needs.
The chesterfield couch
It may surprise you to learn that the Chesterfield sofa was invented back in the mid-1700s, when Lord Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, commissioned a piece of furniture for his guests to sit on. More specifically, he required a striking piece of furniture with a low seat and high back to allow his gentlemen to sit comfortably, but without creasing their suits. Stanhope employed a local craftsman to design a suitable piece of furniture, thus, the very first Chesterfield sofa was created.
Original Chesterfield sofas were filled with horsehair, had tough leather buttoning and did not utilize a suspension system, presumably making them rather uncomfortable to sit on. It’s thought that Lord Stanhope designed them this way to discourage guests from outstaying their welcome. However, it was during the Victorian era that some of the luxurious features were added to the Chesterfield design. In around 1828, the deep-set buttoning and coiled spring suspension were incorporated to improve comfort.
This comfort that they have nowadays is exactly why these couches in the Newton room are so popular. You might argue whether this is for better or worse, as this might encourage study procrastinating behaviour even more.
Replacing the couches
Unfortunately, the constant beating of these couches by our members bottoms caused them to deteriorate a lot over time. Many of the couches already had tears and dents, and this is ofcourse not acceptable for our members delicate buttocks. This led the new board to buy some new couches, and to give away the old. After a text message was sent in our group chat, some members were quick to claim a couch. As you can’t just put a chesterfield couch in your backpack, they had to be moved through Enschede with our Newton van. We loaded up the back of the van and put some couches in a trailer, and went on our way. Hopefully they are now happy in their new home and treated as they should be.
Response from the members
The first people in the Newton room were quick to notice the change. Initial reactions were mixed, some were sad that their beloved couches were gone, but the new uniform look also has some worth. The biggest problem with the new couches however, was that they were simply not as soft as they used to be. There should be a simple solution to this, by having as many members sit on the couches at all times. Hopefully this will quickly soften them over time, and give our members the tender experience that the old couches always provided.
So come by the Newton room, make our couches soft, and create some new memories!
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