Desiderata—Craft Associates rocking chair by Adrian Pearsall.

One of my favorite DC shops—Millennium Decorative Arts, on U Street NW—has this rocking chair in their basement of mid-century delights right now. With its combination of soft edges at weird angles, it makes me slightly uncomfortable, like I should sit in it and listen to twelve-tone music or consider Russian philosophers. At nearly $800, it’s not cheap for what I hope wouldn’t be the most comfortable chair in any room, but it’s a lot better than what the same chair (refurbished) is going for at 1stdibs–an eye-popping $3200.