BH | Studio Saint-Germain Cross-Back Dining Armchairs, Set of 2

Adding arms to the café chair turned a quick perch into a seat for a long lunch. The cross-back bistro chair took shape in late nineteenth-century Europe, when steam-bent wood allowed backs and arms to curve while staying light and strong, and from the cafés of Saint-Germain in Paris to country kitchens across France, the armed version has long been the natural choice for the ends of a table.

These two armchairs are finished in chestnut brown with woven rattan seats. Crossed splats form the open back beneath a shaped crest rail, open curved arms give a comfortable place to rest your elbows, and arched hoops tie the tapered, splayed legs. The seat height suits a standard dining table, and both arrive fully assembled.

Set one at the head and one at the foot of a dining table, with matching side chairs between, or place the pair by a window in a study for reading the paper over morning coffee. In a cottage sitting room they make a pair of easy chairs either side of a small round table. Chestnut and curved bentwood look right with cream plaster walls, a striped runner and a bowl of oranges. This listing is for a set of two armchairs.