Neoclassical Dining Chairs with Ribbon Backs in White, Sets of 2

Interlaced loops of carved beechwood make up the entire backs of these Neoclassical Dining Chairs, an open ribbon-work oval you can see straight through. Painted white, the piercing reads even more sharply, all shadow lines and negative space. Nothing is applied on top of the frame, so the chair comes down to the pattern of the ribbon and the pale finish over it.

The cream fabric seat keeps everything within a pale range, and saber legs give the neoclassical form its light, angled stance. At 21 inches wide and 19 inches deep with a 41 inch back, it is slim enough to use in multiples around a table or singly at a writing desk. The tall back gives the chair presence without adding bulk to a crowded dining room.

White ribbon backs belong in a room where the walls are pale and the table is the darker element, so set them around polished mahogany or a stained plank top for contrast. Against a papered wall the open back lets the pattern behind read straight through the chair. Two work at a hall table or either side of a fireplace, where the ribbon oval can be seen in full.