Short answer
Honest, natural materials, simple lines without decoration, and comfort built into the shape; the style is about a few good pieces made to last.
A Scandinavian chair shows its construction instead of hiding it. The joints, the grain of the wood and the line of the frame are the decoration.
Function comes first. The seat height suits the table, the chair is light enough to move, and it is made to be used every day for many years, not to be replaced when fashions change.
Solid wood, above all oak and ash, and in modern Nordic design slim steel, paired with wool, bouclé or vegan leather.
Oak is the classic: hard-wearing, warm in tone and beautiful as it ages. Steel arrived with modernism and fits the same idea, a thin, honest line that does one job well.
Our Karin and Erik are made from solid A-grade FSC-certified oak in Oak, Dark Oak and Black Oak, and our Bella, Isabell and Sella are made from welded Swedish steel, powder-coated black. Our seats come in bouclé, velvet and vegan leather.
Natural wood, black and warm neutrals such as ivory, sand and greige; colour comes from textiles, art and plants rather than the furniture.
A calm base lets the room change with the seasons. Chairs in wood or black work with any tablecloth, any rug and any wall colour you choose later.
Keep the wood tones consistent, or contrast them clearly, and let one warm neutral run through the seats. Our guide to chairs for an oak table shows the combinations that work with each oak finish.
Good ones are, because the comfort is in the shape: a sculpted seat, a back that meets the lower back, and a seat at the right height for the table.
A minimal chair can look hard. The test is to sit in it for an hour, not to look at it.
Karin and Erik have a seat sculpted from two pieces of oak, inclined gently towards the centre to follow how you sit, and a curved oak back. For those who want softness too, both come with a bouclé seat. Our guide to comfortable dining chairs explains what to look for.
Japandi takes the Scandinavian focus on natural wood and function and adds the lower, darker and even more minimal palette of Japanese design; dark oak and black frames suit both.
A Scandinavian room tends to be lighter and softer, a Japandi room calmer and darker, with more contrast between wood and black.
Our chairs in Dark Oak and Black Oak, and our black steel frames with a black bouclé seat, sit comfortably in a Japandi room; the natural Oak finish and ivory bouclé lean Scandinavian. The same thinking applies to stools: see our guide to Scandinavian bar stools.
Erik Dining ChairBlack oak · black bouclé · from €499View Erik
In Sweden: designed by Alexandra Pettersson and made in our own factory in Malmö, where we weld the steel, cut and lacquer the oak, upholster the seats and assemble every chair.
Making everything under one roof is itself part of the Scandinavian tradition: fewer hands, more care, and a maker who can repair what it builds.
Every chair is inspected by hand before it ships, delivered fully assembled and covered by a 10-year warranty. Our guide to how our bar stools are made shows the process, and our dining chairs collection has the full range.
Karin Dining ChairFrom €489Oak · Scandinavian classic
Erik Dining ChairFrom €519Dark oak · armrests
Bella Dining ChairFrom €409Slim black steel · velvet
Isabell Dining ChairFrom €409Black steel · bouclé
