BH | Studio Biscay Cane-Back Dining Chairs, Set of 2

Cane, split from the rattan palm and woven into an open mesh, reached Europe from Asia with the Dutch and English trading companies in the seventeenth century, their ships crossing the Bay of Biscay on the last leg home. Cane-backed chairs were soon the height of fashion in Restoration England, and the airy weave has stayed a favourite of cafés and sunny dining rooms ever since.

These chairs have a rounded oval back of woven cane in a soft natural tone, on a frame of solid hardwood with a pale finish. A shaped wooden seat sits on splayed, tapering legs, and the open cane lets air and light through, so even a full set around a small table never looks heavy. The frame is strong, each chair is rated to hold 330 lbs, and non-marking caps on the feet protect the floor.

Put the two at a little round table by a kitchen window for breakfast with fresh bread and coffee, or around a dining table in a beach house. They also work apart as accent chairs: one at a writing desk, one in an entryway beside a console, or in a reading corner of the living room. Pale wood and cane look sunny with blue and white stripes and a big jug of lavender. This listing is for a set of two chairs.