“I’m very much attracted to chairs; I find each and every single chair amusing due to the high standards according to which they are built, but that does not limit the creativity in building them,” he said.

“Collecting chairs is like a hobby for me, something that annoys my wife because I have so many of them. She currently lives in London and I live here in Jeddah. She once told me: Do anything you want, just don’t buy any more chairs,” he added.

Ashour is willing to pay a fortune for a good chair. He currently has 18 chairs at his apartment, which he purchased after careful selection. “Call me crazy, but I’ve spent around $5,000 per chair. My most expensive one was a black leather chair by Versace Home, which cost me almost $5,000 and I don’t regret it at all. It’s a master piece that gives a beautiful vibe to my house,” he said. “My favorite chair is an Original Charles & Ray Eames LCW piece which is a lounge chair made with ash oak. It is considered the best design of the 20th century. The story behind this chair is what interests me because it was introduced in the mid-40s, and back then shaping wood was not really popular so Charles & Ray Eames was the first to come up with this technology,” he said.

Chairs are, said Ashour, unique by all means; you can choose the color, style and model according to your style. “You can sit on a chair in more than one position and there are several categories of chairs like dining chairs, stools, desk chairs, lounge seating and Arabian seating. They all have different styles and shapes and even textures,” he said.

“Chairs respect the human body … The seat has two tips -- you have a lower end and a higher end, and they are made for the comfort of your back and lower body,” he added.

“I tend to like lounge chairs more because of the low seating and the comfort I feel when I’m sitting on them … the creativity and originality in them makes me more interested in them and I tend to collect those kinds of chairs,” he said. “I have a chair in my house that intimidates my guests because it looks delicate and they always think that they might break it, but after they try it out they discover the secret behind how it looks and realize how comfortable it is,” he added.

Ashour feels tables have limited usage and so finds them boring and uninteresting. “Regardless of what type of table it is, whether it’s a coffee table, dining table or an end table… the function is one and the use is one and they are pretty limited to that. A table is just an even and horizontal surface used to put things on, nothing more and nothing less,” he said. “But chairs can be used as tables and for sitting on. They can also be a piece of art for your home and for decoration due to the different elements they have,” he added.

Ashour likes to explore different elements of designs relating to the tools that he was taught as an architect, something that encouraged him to expand his horizons and not limit himself to buildings. “I started my affair with chairs when I was in college and that’s when I bought my first chair ... I learned that as a designer, you couldn’t limit yourself. You have research and you have to explore. At the end, this gives you an edge to your personality,” he said.

Ashour wishes to design his own collection of chairs but says he is unable to at the moment due to a lack of tools. “I can’t find any skilled companies that have the capacity to construct extraordinary chairs. Because the science behind chairs is very different than other furniture, almost anyone can design a table or a sofa but chairs are different … You need a chair that is comfortable for the human body especially the back because the back of the chair will support some of the occupant’s weight, reducing the weight from other parts of the body,” he said. “Up until I find a qualified team that can help me master these techniques, only then will I start designing and manufacturing chairs,” he added.