Mysterious Furniture: The Cursed Chair of the Busby Stoop Inn

Settle in, dear readers. This week’s blog leaves behind the here and now, transcending far into the realms of the unknown and unexplained.

But wait — isn’t this a blog about furniture?

Indeed, it is! But who says furniture can’t be adventurous? Like most everything in this world, sometimes there is more to furniture than meets the eye…

And thus begins a new installment at the Official EDF Blog: Mysterious Furniture.

From time to time, we’ll regale you with creepy, unnerving tales of phantom futons, cursed credenzas, and possessed pedestals. So sit back and grab a flashlight if you must, as we delve into this week’s tale: The cursed chair of the Busby Stoop Inn.

Inside the Thirsk Museum, in North Yorkshire, England, is the infamous chair of Thomas Busby. The chair hangs on a wall, about five to six feet up, in order to prevent anyone from sitting on it. Legend holds that the chair is cursed, and anyone who dares sit in it will meet an untimely end soon after.

The story behind the chair dates back to the 18th century. In the summer of 1702, coin-forger Daniel Awety moved to the rural area of Kirby Wiske, where he bought a farm and renamed it ”Danotty Hall” (a play on the name Dan Awety). From there, he would continue his illicit coin-forging business.

Soon after, Awety partnered with his son-in-law, Thomas Busby. Busby, a reputed thief as well as a drunk and a bully, owned an inn just three miles from Danotty Hall.

One day, Busby returned to his inn and found Awety had sat in his favorite chair. A heated argument ensued and Busby kicked Awety out. Before leaving, Awety threatened to take his daughter back to Danotty Hall with him.

Later that night, Busby snuck into Danotty Hall, murdered Daniel Awety, and hid his body in a nearby wood. Awety’s sudden disappearance aroused suspicion and police organized a search. They eventually found Awety’s body and Thomas Busby was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging.

On the day of his execution, a drunken Busby had to be pulled and dragged from his favorite chair inside his inn. As he was being led to the gallows (located at a crossroads near the inn), he cursed the chair, vowing that anyone who dared sit in it would die a sudden and violent death, just like the one he was about to face. After Busby’s death, the inn was renamed the Busby Stoop Inn.

More than 300 years later, the Busby Stoop Inn still stands and the tale of Busby’s cursed chair continues to dare the foolhardy and fill men’s hearts with fear. When the inn was taken over, the new owners kept Busby’s chair out on display. Stories about the curse, as well as alleged sightings of Busby’s ghost wandering the second floor, drew many curious customers to the inn. Friends stopping by for a drink would dare one another to sit on the chair, though very few did.

But according to several reports and eyewitnesses, those who were brave enough to sit in Busby’s chair all met an untimely demise.

Consider the following:

• Across the road from the inn lies an old airfield. It was home to four squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWII. Their crews would regularly drink at the Busby Stoop Inn. It is said that those airmen who sat in the Busby chair never returned home after bombing sorties over Germany.

• The inn’s previous owner recalls two airmen daring each other to sit in the chair. Both airmen sat in Busby’s Chair. Later that day, their car hit a tree and both men died.

• A group of builders having lunch at the inn dared a young worker to sit in the chair. The brave young man obliged. After returning to their building site, the young man fell through a roof and died. After the young worker’s death, the inn’s landlord locked the chair away in the cellar.

• In 1978, a delivery man sat in the Busby chair in the cellar. He told the landlord how comfortable the chair was and suggested such a fine piece of furniture should be in the bar and not locked away in a damp cellar. Hours later, the delivery man’s vehicle inexplicably veered off the road and crashed, killing him.

There are countless other stories about the chair’s victims, including a Royal Air Force pilot who was killed a day after sitting in the chair, a motorcyclist who died on his bike shortly after leaving the inn, a hitchhiker who was knocked down and killed two days after visiting the inn, and a local man in his late thirties who died of a massive heart attack the night after sitting in the chair.

Busby’s chair has since been moved out of harm’s way, at the innkeeper’s request. It is still one of the most popular pieces on display at the Thirsk Museum. Though it hangs on a wall several feet above the ground, many patrons still ask to sit in it, but it has never been taken down.

But the question still remains: Is there really a curse on Thomas Busby’s chair, or are people letting their imaginations get the best of them? More importantly, if you had the chance, would you sit in his chair?

Narratives are for entertainment purposes only and frequently employ literary point of view; the narratives do not necessarily reflect the opinions of El Dorado Furniture, its officers, or employees.

Simplicity at its Simplest: Black and White Design

This week, we're venturing into the sleek, stylish world of black and white interior design. The idea of designing a space primarily around two contrasting colors can intimidate some people. However, this surprisingly versatile color scheme can be used in a number of ways, from adding a touch of elegance to your existing decor, to making a bold design statement that adds spark and drama to a room.

Before you commit to any major changes, start small. If you're just looking to enhance a particular living space, consider adding touches of black. Black adds a focal point of color that grounds, anchors, and adds sophistication to a room. Black in accessories, light fixtures, trims, paintings, or in one bold piece of furniture will catch the eye and sharpen any decorating scheme. It will serve as an outline that sets off specific areas or objects.

If you're feeling a little more daring, pair black with white. The use of black and white in decorating gives a clean and unquestionably elegant look to any room. If you're afraid of using just black and white, add variety by incorporating areas of yellow, pink, camel, red, or purple for a striking look. Keeping black and white prominent, however, preserves the effect of elegance.

Here are some ways to use black and white in your home:

• Walls painted stark white or a soft, ivory white serve as the perfect background for framed photographs, prints, and other artwork. Choose dark wood or painted black frames. Select stark black and white matting for your artwork or add a punch of color with red, gold, or black mats.

• A small room is a great place to use black and white as the main color scheme. A powder room or small bathroom looks elegant with a black marble countertop, white sink, and shiny gold accessories and fixtures. You can also trim lush terry towels with some black ribbon or braids for a custom look without much work.

• Crisp white bed linens are perfect for the bedroom. Add a black and white striped bed skirt, pillows, and a comfortable black chair. For seasonal changes, have a variety of pillows in different colors on hand. Pink, yellow, or soft green works great for summer, while red, hunter green, or even shimmering gold or silver looks great during winter.

• Use dark, charcoal rugs or carpeting. Don't feel obligated to paint all the walls the same. Choose vibrant accent colors for a focal point. Add colorful artwork, shiny or matte finish metal accents, and modern designed fabrics.

• Black iron accent pieces are very popular. For the dining room, try using a black metal table base with a glass top, and black iron candlesticks and light fixtures. For the family room or home office, try black iron bookends.

• To create a striking table setting, look for black and white china. All white or all black works well. Choose plain white china for greatest versatility. Add table linens and accessory pieces in black or any accent color

Whether you're just sprucing up a room or starting from scratch, black and white is easy to implement. If you're ready to incorporate black and white design into your home decor, check out El Dorado's huge selection of black and white furniture and accessories at our website or any of our stores.

Narratives are for entertainment purposes only and frequently employ literary point of view; the narratives do not necessarily reflect the opinions of El Dorado Furniture, its officers, or employees.

EDF Blog: Special Green Edition

Earth Day is almost here and nowadays, it's more significant than ever. From power companies to car manufacturers, it seems like everyone is jumping on the "green" bandwagon, doing their part to help preserve our planet. But how is the furniture industry contributing to a more eco-friendly future?

Furniture manufacturers as a whole have long been criticized for delaying their transition to more eco-friendly production standards. But many manufacturers have recently made huge strides in the way they run their production plants and make furniture, significantly reducing their carbon footprint in the process.

In fact, a number of furniture manufacturing plants have received an E-1 rating -- the highest (and best) rating in a system established by the European Union in Brussels to measure the environmental friendliness of furniture. The system rates furniture according to the amount of chemicals used in the manufacturing process, the degree to which formaldehyde and other toxic gasses are released into the atmosphere, and the source of base materials used. Each product is then assigned a rating; E-1 being the highest and E-5 the worst. This is the most stringent rating system for furniture in the world.

Some furniture makers have gone one step further by manufacturing furniture made from natural and recycled materials. These pieces offer the same quality, comfort, and style as traditional furniture with the added benefit of being environmentally friendly.

El Dorado proudly offers a wide selection of eco-friendly furniture pieces ranging from sofas to dining sets. Want to find out more about how El Dorado Furniture is taking steps to help the environment? Be sure to visit out our homepage on Earth Day (Thursday, April 22) for a special surprise. In the meantime, take a look at our eco-friendly furniture selection on the site or at one of our stores.

Narratives are for entertainment purposes only and frequently employ literary point of view; the narratives do not necessarily reflect the opinions of El Dorado Furniture, its officers, or employees.

Color Me Meaningful: The Psychology of Color and Interior Design

This week we’re looking at the impact color can have on your living space. Certain colors can affect your mood in different ways. For years, companies have hired industrial psychologists to use the psychology of color to elicit certain unconscious reactions from consumers. You may not realize it, but every time you walk into a store, restaurant, or even a doctor’s office, the colors in the room — particularly the paint on the walls — affects your mood. Most of the time, you can bet a lot of thought and research went into these colors, and the mood you’re feeling is exactly what the proprietor intended for you to feel.

When it comes to decorating your home, it’s important to know how colors will affect you in order to get the most out of each room. Let’s take a look at the most basic colors and what affect they can have on you.

Red

Red packs a punch, physiologically speaking, increasing blood pressure, heartbeat, and energy in most people. It instills feelings of intimacy and passion. Red also increases the appetite, which explains why it is used so often in restaurants and why it can be a good choice for a formal dining room.

Orange

Like red, orange tends to warm a room, but in a more friendly and welcoming way. As a result, paints in various shades and tints of orange work well in living rooms and family rooms.

Yellow

Yellow is warm and welcoming, but it’s more attention grabbing than either red or orange. For this reason, it’s a good paint color to use in poorly lit foyers or dark hallways.

Blue

Blue is part of the cool color palette. It makes us feel calm and tranquil, so it is ideal for use in bedrooms. But since blue works as an appetite suppressant (perhaps because there are few blue foods) it’s not the best option for a dining room… unless you’re on a diet.

Green

Green is another relaxing color that is much more versatile than blue. Light greens are ideal for bedrooms and living rooms; midtones are good for kitchens and dining rooms (many foods are green). Also, because green is calming, it is often used in hospitals, workplaces, and schools.

Violet

Violet is a tricky color, psychologically speaking. Many adults dislike purples, but are fond of the rose family, which can work in many rooms, including dining rooms, bedrooms, and libraries. Young children, on the other hand, respond favorably to violet, so this color can be used successfully in children’s bedrooms and play areas.

Keep in mind that these are just general color descriptions and they can affect everyone differently. In the end, choosing a color is a matter of personal taste. What really matters is that you’re happy with whatever colors you choose and that your home looks great!

Narratives are for entertainment purposes only and frequently employ literary point of view; the narratives do not necessarily reflect the opinions of El Dorado Furniture, its officers, or employees.