The floor length drape is the whole idea. Everything else follows from it.

The removable linen cover encases the frame completely, falling past the seat and down to the floor rather than stopping at the rail the way conventional upholstery does. With no legs on display and no hard structural edges, the chair reads as a soft vertical shape instead of a piece of engineering. Set six around a table and the room feels calmer immediately, which is precisely the effect that photographs so well in French farmhouse and Scandinavian interiors.

There is comfort underneath the tailoring. A foam padded seat and a gently curved backrest sit beneath the slipcover, so the chair supports a long Sunday lunch as capably as it dresses a room. The 100% linen is genuinely neutral in tone, which means it settles happily against oak, painted, reclaimed pine, walnut and mixed material dining tables without anyone having to think too hard about matching.

We look at a great many dining chairs. Most are variations on the same silhouette, and the differences come down to leg shape and fabric colour. This one is a different proposition entirely, and that is why it earned a place in the collection.

A slipcovered chair solves a problem upholstered dining chairs have always had. Dining rooms are where life gets messy, and fixed upholstery makes that a worry. Here the cover lifts away from the frame, so the chair is far more practical to live with than its elegance suggests. It is a design used in French country houses for generations for exactly that reason, and it has outlasted every trend since.

We also chose it for its restraint. No stud detail, no button back, no contrast piping. The interest comes from the fall of the fabric alone, which is why it will still look right in ten years when sharper, more decorated chairs have started to date.

• Removable cover, so the chair is far easier to live with than fixed upholstery
• Floor length drape gives a softness that upholstered chairs cannot achieve
• 100% linen in a genuinely neutral tone that pairs with any table finish
• Foam padded seat and curved back built for long meals, not short ones
• Arrives fully assembled, ready to use the moment it is unwrapped
• Moves between dining room, bedroom and study without looking out of place
• A quiet silhouette that will not date the way decorated chairs do
• Buy in pairs, fours or sixes as a scheme develops

Measure the apron, not the tabletop. At 73cm to the top of the back, the chair tucks under most dining tables, but the point of contact that matters is the underside of your table apron. Browse dining tables if you are buying both together.

Slipcovered chairs want a little air around them. If your dining space allows, pull the table 90cm clear of the walls so the linen skirts can be seen in full when the chairs are pushed in. In a smaller room, use them on the long sides only and place a bench or two carvers at the ends to keep the arrangement from feeling crowded.

Natural linen sits most beautifully against warm off whites, soft putty, oatmeal, mushroom and stone. For more depth, olive, sage and muted clay all work without competing. Avoid a cool brilliant white on the walls, which tends to make natural linen read slightly grey rather than warm.

Light this chair from above and from the side. A pendant light hung 75 to 85cm above the tabletop catches the texture of the weave, while a table lamp on a nearby sideboard picks out the fall of the fabric in the evening. Warm bulbs of 2400K to 2700K are essential, as cooler light flattens linen completely.

Linen is soft, so give it something to lean against. A reclaimed timber tabletop, an aged brass pendant, a stoneware vase and a jute or wool rug underfoot all provide the contrast that stops a neutral room feeling flat. One rough texture, one polished, one matt is the rule of thumb we use.

Keep it low and keep it simple. Washed linen napkins, a run of small ceramics, a shallow bowl of seasonal foliage and a pair of candles will do more than an elaborate centrepiece. The chairs are the styling here, so the table can afford to be quiet.

Very few dining chairs work anywhere other than the dining room. This one does, because the floor length silhouette and neutral linen give it the presence of an accent chair rather than a dining set component.

In a bedroom it becomes a dressing table chair, or a single chair in the corner with a folded throw over the back. In a study it softens a hard-working room and sits at the right height for most desks. On a landing it works alongside a console table as a considered pause rather than a piece of furniture waiting to be sat on.

At 8.5kg it is light enough to move between rooms on a whim, which is more than can be said for most dining chairs. Buying two for the table and one for elsewhere is a perfectly sensible way to start.

The cover is 100% linen, which is the reason the chair behaves the way it does. Linen has weight and a slight irregularity in the weave, so it falls into soft vertical folds rather than hanging flat the way a synthetic blend would. It is also breathable, which matters more than people expect on a chair you sit in for two hours at a time.

Beneath it, a foam padded seat gives the cushioning and an engineered plywood frame provides the structure. Plywood is the standard for upholstered seating for good reason. It is dimensionally stable, it does not shrink, warp or split with changes in household humidity the way solid timber can, and it holds a fixing securely over years of use. On a chair that is fully covered, strength matters considerably more than the appearance of the frame.

Natural linen behaves like a natural fibre, which is the reason it looks the way it does. Here is what to expect rather than what sounds best.

The cover is dry clean only. Please do not machine wash it, however tempting the removability makes that sound. Natural linen shrinks when laundered at home and will not go back onto the frame with the same tailored fall, and the drape is the whole point of this chair. Small differences in tone and weave between covers are a characteristic of natural fibre rather than a fault.

Your chair is packed carefully and travels with our specialist furniture courier, who will call ahead to arrange a time that works for you. Allow 10 to 14 days, often sooner, and the chair arrives fully assembled, so there is nothing to build once it is through the door. Full details on our delivery page.

If it is not right once it is in the room, our 30 day returns process is straightforward and we will arrange the collection. Everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

Interest-free finance is available at checkout if you would rather spread the cost, and our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere.

Want to check suitability first? Our team will happily talk through measurements and pairings via live chat or email. Furnishing a restaurant or a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.