Why is solid wood used for dining chair frames, and what makes it better than other frame materials?

Solid wood is the correct material for a dining chair frame because of the forces a dining chair actually experiences in use. Every time a chair is pulled out from a table, angled slightly on the floor, leaned back against, or moved across a room, it is subject to racking — a lateral twisting force on the frame joints that, over time, is the most common cause of dining chair frame failure. Solid wood holds mortise-and-tenon and corner-block joinery under these racking forces far more reliably than particleboard, MDF or hollow metal tubing. The JL&C dining chair frame is kiln-dried solid wood — machined to precise tolerances, assembled by hand, and reinforced at every corner joint to resist racking through years of daily residential or commercial use. This is the structural foundation that everything else — the foam, the fabric, the finish — depends on.

What is HR foam and why does it matter more in a dining chair than in other upholstered furniture?

High-resilience foam, or HR foam, is a foam grade defined by its density and its ILD (Indentation Load Deflection) rating — the firmness of the foam under a standardised compression load. The property that makes HR foam the correct specification for a dining chair is its resilience rating: the speed and completeness with which it returns to its original shape after compression. A dining chair is sat on multiple times every day, often by different users of varying weights. Standard polyurethane foam progressively softens under this cycle of use, developing a permanent seated impression and losing its support profile within months. HR foam maintains its recovery rate across tens of thousands of compression cycles — meaning the chair feels and performs identically after two years of daily use as it did on the day it was delivered. For a dining chair in a residential dining room or a hotel restaurant, this is not a luxury specification. It is the correct one.

Can I choose my own fabric, and what is COM (Customer’s Own Material)?

Yes. In addition to JL&C’s in-house fabric palette of 30+ colours and textures, COM (Customer’s Own Material) fabric is accepted for projects where the chair upholstery must coordinate precisely with a defined interior specification — a specific curtain fabric, a sofa textile, a carpet tone or a custom weave supplied by the client or their interior designer. Client-supplied fabric is reviewed by our upholstery team before production is confirmed, to verify that the material’s weight, weave structure and dimensional stability are appropriate for a dining chair upholstery application. Physical fabric swatches from our in-house palette are dispatched on request at no charge for colour-critical projects where the client is selecting from our standard range.

What seat height options are available, and how do I match the chair to my dining table?

The standard dining chair seat height is 45–48 cm — ergonomically matched for use with dining tables at 75–78 cm height, providing a comfortable seated clearance of 27–30 cm between the seat surface and the table underside. For counter-height tables at approximately 90 cm, a counter-height chair version with a seat height of 63–68 cm is available. For bar-height tables at approximately 105 cm, a bar-height version with a seat height of 73–78 cm is produced to order. If your dining table is at a non-standard height, simply provide the table height when enquiring and our team will specify the correct seat height to match. All height variants use the same solid wood frame construction, HR foam specification and fabric upholstery process as the standard dining version.

Is the dining chair available with arms, and what do I need to check before specifying an armed version?

Yes. Arm configurations available include an upholstered arm, a timber arm cap and a full upholstered arm — each providing a different visual and tactile character to the overall chair. The key consideration when specifying an armed dining chair is the arm height relative to the dining table apron height. A standard arm height of 68–72 cm from the floor needs to clear beneath the underside of the table apron for the chair to slide fully under the table when not in use. Our team confirms this clearance dimension at the specification stage — provide the planned table specification and we will advise whether the arm height is compatible or whether a lower arm profile is required.