Dark Solid Oak Dining Chair 01

The frame is 100% solid oak throughout. No MDF, no chipboard in sight. Cut a leg in half and it is oak all the way through.

It is joined using traditional woodworking joints rather than screws and cam locks, which is what keeps a seat rigid after years of being dragged in and out. The oak is then sprayed with a clear lacquer that seals the grain and protects it from marks and moisture, while leaving the timber looking and feeling like timber.

Oak is a living material, so colour and grain vary from piece to piece. That variation is the point, and it is why no two are identical.

The seat sits 455mm from the floor.

That is standard dining height and suits a table with a top surface around 750mm from the floor, which is what our dining tables are.

The Spec tab lists the full dimensions, including the seat width and depth and the overall footprint, if you are working to a tight space.

Pushed in as far as it goes, it still sits about 22cm proud of the table edge. That is the number to use when you are working out whether you can still walk past a tucked-in chair, which is usually the real question in a narrow room.

Five fabrics, across three families. Oatmeal linen for a soft, natural look. Green and chocolate velvet for depth and colour. Tan and light vegan leather for something harder wearing and easier to wipe.

The upholstered fabrics are all treated for spill resistance, and every fabric is available on every oak finish, so you can pair a pale frame with a dark seat or keep the whole thing tonal.

Natural cord is different. It is a woven paper cord seat, not an upholstered pad, and it is not treated for spills. It is beautiful and it is the most traditional option we sell, but if a spill is likely, choose one of the upholstered fabrics instead.

If you are torn, order the free sample pack. It is easier to judge a fabric against your own floor and walls than on a screen.

The seat pad is treated so that everyday spills bead on the surface instead of soaking straight in. Blot it quickly with a clean cloth and most things, including red wine and coffee, lift without a mark.

Blot rather than rub. Rubbing works a spill into the weave and spreads it. For anything greasy, a little warm water and a mild detergent on a damp cloth is enough. Avoid solvent cleaners and bleach.

It is a treatment, not a force field. It buys you time to deal with a spill, which with a dining chair is usually all you need.

None of this applies to the natural cord seat. Woven paper cord is not treated and does not cope well with spills, so it is not the one to choose for a busy family table.

Chairs are sold in pairs. Two chairs travel in one carton, which is the single biggest thing we can do to keep the delivered cost down and the packaging out of landfill.

It also matches how people actually buy. A four-seater table takes two pairs, a six-seater takes three. If you need an odd number, order the next pair up and put the spare at a desk, which is where most of them end up anyway.

Three oak finishes, all on the same solid oak: natural, light and dark.

Natural keeps the timber close to its raw colour, warm and pale. It is the most forgiving of the three in a room whose light changes through the day, and the easiest to match to an existing floor.

Light is the palest and coolest, and it lifts a room that does not get much direct sun. It suits paler floors and a more contemporary scheme.

Dark is a deeper brown that brings the grain out most strongly. It holds its own against darker floors and heavier furniture.

Screens lie about wood colour, and oak keeps moving for a few months after it arrives as it settles into your light. If you are matching something you already own, order the free sample pack and hold the real thing against it.

Teflon glides are nailed into the underside of every leg as standard. They are fitted before the piece leaves the factory, so there is nothing to stick on and nothing to remember.

They let the piece slide rather than scrape, which matters more on a seat than on a table. A dining chair gets pushed in and pulled out several times a day, and bare timber on a hard floor is what leaves the marks.

They work on wood, tile, vinyl and laminate. On a soft floor such as vinyl it is still worth lifting rather than dragging when you move furniture any distance.

Every piece we sell carries a ten year structural guarantee. If a frame or a joint fails in normal domestic use within ten years, we will put it right.

It covers the structure rather than wear. Fabric marks, dents and the way oak changes colour in daylight are all normal use, not faults. There is a 30 day no-quibble returns window on top, and we collect free of charge.