BH | Studio Deerfield Curved-Back Dining Chair

The curved top rail that holds a sitter's back has deep roots in New England, where Windsor chairmakers of the late eighteenth century bent a single length of wood into a bow above the seat. Danish designers of the 1950s, who studied early American and Shaker chairs closely, carried the idea forward with a rail that curved round the sitter and swept forward at each end, a shape some called the horn back. It made a small chair comfortable to lean into, and it still looks fresh.

This chair has a wooden frame in a warm, mid-brown finish with that curved, forward-sweeping top rail, which supports the back and gives a natural place to rest a hand, carried on slim, rounded legs. The seat is padded with foam for everyday comfort and covered in black faux leather, a smooth surface that wipes clean after breakfast crumbs or a spilled drink, in crisp contrast with the warm wood.

Use it at a kitchen table for daily meals, a pot of tea and the crossword, or as an everyday desk chair. Mixed with other wooden chairs at a long dining table it adds an easy mid-century note. Black and chestnut suit a teak sideboard, a sputnik pendant and a bold geometric rug. This listing is for one chair.