The Criss Cross Applesauce Chair, and Why Everyone Wants One

The Criss Cross Applesauce Chair, and Why Everyone Wants One

A criss cross applesauce chair has a seat wide enough to sit cross-legged, and once you have tried one it is hard to go back. Here are the ones I like, plus swivel chairs and floor cushions for the same habit.

Nobody taught me to sit cross-legged on chairs. I just did it, in every classroom and every office, knees bumping the armrests, until a coworker pointed out that I had not put both feet on the floor in about four years. If you are reading this, I suspect you do it too.

That habit is the whole reason the criss cross applesauce chair exists. The name comes straight from the phrase every elementary school teacher uses for sitting on the carpet, and the design is simple: a seat much wider and deeper than a standard task chair, usually with low arms or none, so your legs can fold up under you without hitting anything. Some swivel, some roll, and most look softer than office furniture has any right to.

The first grid is the real thing, desk chairs built for it. Wade Logan's Criss Cross chair and Ebern Designs' Keyri are the ones I see most, with wide square seats and a back that supports you when you do eventually sit up straight. Ebern's Huba and Corrigan Studio's Taneha push the seat width even further. Latitude Run's Kiawna is the most upholstered, more armchair than office chair. For a bedroom desk, Mercer41's Teddy chair in velvet, or the beige velvet version with a footrest, look like furniture you chose rather than equipment you were issued.

Collage on an off-white background showing Criss Cross Chair, Banbury Swivel Chair, Ruthie Velvet Floor Pillow, Keyri Criss Cross Desk Chair, Rosie Striped Upholstered Swivel Vanity Chair, Tufted Cotton Floor Cushion, Garden Floral, Huba Wide Seat Cross-Legged Chair, Ramsey Fringe Swivel Chair and Holborn Square Pouf.
Wide seats, soft swivels and a floor pillow for people who never sit still.

Wide cross-legged desk chairs

When the desk chair is not the point

Not everyone who sits cross-legged wants to do it at a desk. Sometimes it is a reading chair by the window, or the chair you pull into a conversation, and that is where a wide swivel chair does the same job with more grace.

The test I use is simple. Sit in it with your knees up and turn a little. If the arms dig in or the seat tips you forward, it is a lovely chair for someone else. Lulu and Georgia's Trellis chair by Sarah Sherman Samuel passes easily, with a rounded back that wraps around you. McGee & Co.'s Banbury swivel is deep and tailored, and their Ramsey has a fringe skirt that hides the base, which I love in a bedroom. Anthropologie's Amoret and Maren are both roomy enough to tuck your feet under, and they turn toward the television or the window without scraping the floor.

Two smaller ones for tighter spaces. Urban Outfitters' Rosie is a striped vanity chair that swivels, so it can be a desk chair in a pinch, and their Lottie is compact and cushy. Lulu and Georgia's Toni has a slipcover you can take off and wash, which matters if you sit cross-legged with your shoes on. No judgment, we all do it.

Whichever you choose, look for a seat at least as deep as it is wide. That is the measurement that decides whether your knees fit.

It is also worth thinking about height. A swivel chair that sits a little lower than a dining chair makes it easier to pull your feet up without climbing into the seat, and it keeps the room feeling relaxed rather than formal. If the chair will sit next to a sofa, match the seat heights roughly, so conversation happens at eye level.

Wide swivel chairs you can fold into

Or skip the chair entirely

The other honest answer is the floor. A big floor cushion or a pouf lets you sit exactly the way your body wants, then disappears into a corner when guests come over. I keep one next to the bookshelf and I use it more than the armchair it sits beside.

Urban Outfitters' Ruthie velvet floor pillow and their round pintuck version are plump enough to sit on for a whole movie. The washed corduroy one is flatter and more relaxed, the kind you throw down by the coffee table for board games. Anthropologie's tufted cotton floor cushion comes in a garden floral that makes a plain room feel more personal. Lulu and Georgia's Camden floor pillow is the tailored option.

Poufs are firmer and double as a side table or a footrest, which is useful in a small apartment. McGee & Co.'s Cambria is woven and tactile. Lulu and Georgia's Holborn and Harstad are both square, so they line up neatly under a console and come out when you need an extra seat.

One practical note: look for removable covers on anything that lives on the floor. Floor cushions pick up dust and the occasional spilled drink faster than furniture that sits on legs, and a cover you can wash keeps them looking fresh for years instead of months.

What I would skip: anything very low and very soft if you have bad knees. A cushion you cannot get up from gracefully will sit in the corner looking pretty and never get used.

Floor cushions and poufs

Our honest take

I love this chair because it admits something true about how people actually sit. Most furniture is designed for a posture we abandon within ten minutes, and the cross-legged chair simply makes room for the one we fall into anyway. That said, if it lives at a desk you will be in it for hours, so comfort matters more than the photo.

If you take one thing away, let it be this: measure the seat, not the chair. A seat deep and wide enough for your folded knees is the whole design, and everything else, from velvet to wheels, is a matter of taste. If you mostly curl up to read rather than work, a wide swivel chair or a good floor cushion will make you just as happy. Try a pouf first if you are not sure. It will find a job in the room either way.