Cheeky Chic

Beautiful as they are, the 300 Dakota Jackson–designed chairs in the Schwab Residential Center’s Vidalakis Dining Room are—how to put it—a tad tough on the tush. What the coolly elegant dining room and conference area needed was something to come between a diner’s derriere and 19 unrelenting layers of tupelo wood topped by a hard maple veneer.

Schwab Center manager Bernadette deRafael set out in pursuit of the perfect pad: one that’s easy to remove, easy to clean, and as easy on the eyes as on the rest of the body. And it needed to be top quality to do justice to both the chairs and the dining area. Eventually she found a manufacturer who made custom leather cushions of a deep red that complements the terra cotta walls of the room.

DeRafael introduced the cushions at the Business School’s holiday lunch in December and was rewarded with a rousing sitting ovation.

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Spreadsheet: What's Up

• Ginger Soup, Prawns and Tofu for the Soul
• New Institute for Future Google Guys
• Cases by the Case
• On the Pure Rocks
• Self-Publishing Spreads to Prominent Authors
• Sloans Hit the Road
• Story Behind the Book in Arjay's Portrait
• Cheeky Chic
• Adams Honored with 2006 Arbuckle Award
• Alums Respond to Pakistani Earthquake
• Video on Demand from Business School
• Quotables
• For the Record: Class Reunions Foster Record Giving