Strap Back Dining Chair – Leather, Boucle or Velvet, Oak Dowel

The back of this chair is a strap rather than a panel, leather or oak spanning between the uprights and leaving the space behind it open. That changes the visual weight considerably: the chair reads as a frame with a seat rather than a solid mass. Straps come in Heirloom Oak or in leather matched to the seat, across twelve material combinations running from Charcoal Boucle to Heritage Plaid.

The dowel is the load-bearing element, turned in White Oak or Walnut, and the straps do real structural work by tying the back uprights together. A strap under tension resists the racking motion a dining chair takes every time someone leans back, which is the movement that eventually loosens a chair. Leather straps stretch slightly and settle in; oak straps stay rigid from the start.

Twelve upholstery and strap pairings mean a set can be uniform or deliberately mixed. It reads best around a table with a visible base, where the open back keeps sightlines through the room clear.

• Upholstery: Leather, boucle, velvet or Heritage Plaid
• Straps: Heirloom Oak, or black, saddle, maple brown, pearl or chestnut leather
• Dowel: White Oak or Walnut