Deceptive detail
Our Artist’s chair… always the prized perch at 19 St George’s Square. Other chairs come and go but this one's always here to stay.
It’s the casual clotheshorse for towels in the guest room, an elegant counterpoint to the straight lines of the stair landing, the sturdy leg-up we use to reach the recipe-book shelf, and (with its plump feather cushion) a place to settle in at a desk, or better, a lazy lunch.
So is it a dining chair? Is it a side chair? Where’s it from? Is it comfortable?
Yes, yes, everywhere, yes.
We might be better known for our tables, but we have opinions about chairs too.
We like chairs that are simple yet, to a sensitive eye, reveal joyful attention to detail. In fact, they are deceptively detailed.
Pinching in, you'll see all four legs are curved. The arms and backrest are curved. But the legs and backrest use relatively small components, which means that the chairs are incredibly efficient in their use of timber – which is usually a single log or prime oak but may also be a doughty douglas fir.
The curves offer an immediately pleasing contrast to a rectangular table, but equally, around a round table, the shape is echoed in petal-like geometry.
The simplicity of the design means it has many guises, it can be terribly smart all the way to rustic depending on the finish and the look and feel of the cloth. It nods to Japan, Art Deco Paris but it’s happily at home all over.
It’s highly practical, as the height enables it to be pushed fully under a tabletop. The seat is generous, yet the overall width is fairly narrow, allowing for a number of chairs around a table.
Our Artist’s chairs have also sprouted into bar/counter chairs with elongated legs. Ideal for slouching at a bar or counter long into the evening.
The handmade cushions in down, feather, and supportive foam core have been tested by an assortment of bottoms until consensus was reached. We upholster the cushions in bespoke fabrics, or in our range of beautiful, removable Romo Linara covers, which we love.
Most importantly, these chairs are constructed by our team of makers to not only stand the test of time but become even more beautiful with the gentle wear of generations of hands, feet, and elbows!
Oh, and why is it called the Artist’s chair? Because Matthew fell in love with a pair of chairs he found in an artist's studio and thought everyone else should be able to have them too! So if you like them, we'll make them for you! In the penultimate shot, you can see our Artist's chair expert, Tom in action.
PS the final photograph was shot by Kalina Krawczyk for Atelier Ellis, whose serene Stony Plaster paint, we used in our reading room.
