“Ode to America’s National Parks” Chair
designed and constructed by Nancy & Dave Keimig in behalf of Sponsor: Morton Public Library

The Brown Luggage Chair was created by husband and wife team, David and Nancy Keimig; Nancy the design side, David the carpenter side. The theme is “Ode to America’s National Parks.” Reminiscent of a time when families; loaded up the kids in the station wagon, set the luggage on top, and headed out to view our Nation’s beauty. 

While looking for inspiration, Nancy spotted the piece of luggage in an antique store. She thought, “If that old piece of luggage could talk, what stories it could tell?”  That’s when the concept for “Ode to America’s National Parks” was born. 

The chair follows today’s trends of repurpose and buy local. After the luggage was gutted, a solid wood frame was build on the inside of the luggage with new foam and batting to create a comfortable seat. Nancy chose the 100 percent wool fabric-purchased from the Quilt Corner in the Field Shopping Center-because it reminded her of an old picnic blanket. The front legs are repurposed and the rear legs are custom made by Dave. The original plan was to decorate the back of the luggage with travel stickers from America’s National Parks. Instead, Nancy decided it would be much more special, for the person who purchases the chair, to add their own decals from the parks they’ve visited. Included with the chair are 62 National Park luggage stickers. The final touch is an accent pillow with the words, “Home Sweet Home.” Which of course, after every long trip, it’s always nice to be home…to start planning the next big trip!

The Morton Public Library is a wonderful resource for travel books and information about our nation’s National Park System. Stop by and check out what we’ve got.