It’s been a while since we had any amusing office furniture news to report. Thankfully, our friends down in Australia are giving us a juicy bit of gossip to share this week. In the Land Down Under, people in high places are making changes that are raising a ruckus. Apparently, the furnishings for the Prime Minister’s office have been a bit of a contentious point for the last decade. The first thing to go after Howards left office were the green chesterfield sofas he brought in when he was elected. The original furnishings were hauled out of storage and returned to their rightful place immediately. These burnt orange fabric chairs had been carefully designed to complement the wood paneling in the office (paneling that was crafted from the remains of a single, ancient Huon pine).

Now, a new batch of chairs covered with bespoke orange and grey leather have been created to grace parliament house after two years of back and forth getting approvals for the new furnishings. Installation is still pending. If the current PM resigns (or gets tossed out) before that installation date arrives, the chairs may not make it into the PM’s office after all. One thing’s for certain, the furniture will last longer than any prime minister ever will.