Notes on the Arm Chairs

We believe arms on dining chairs should:

• comfortably support the elbows and forearms of most people when sitting at the table or out in the room.
• allow the chair to tuck under tables when not in use.
• be integral to the architecture of the chair.
• be strongly anchored and attached.

We have designed and constructed the arms on our dining chairs to fulfill the above requirements.

We determined the location of the arms by testing, asking many people to sit and comment on various heights and shapes.  The resulting height supports the forearms of most people when they have their hands in their laps, a common position when sitting in an arm chair.  Compromise was necessary.  Some taller people and people with longer torsos will find the chair arms below their elbows.  Very short people may find them slightly high.  But neither of these small groups at the edges of the bell curve is uncomfortable. The tops of the arms are 27" above the floor.

Many tables have an apron which limits clearance above the floor to about 26".  Chair arms at a comfortable and useful height will therefore contact table aprons.  We do not extend the arms to the front of the seat for this reason.

When our arm chairs are not in use, they may be tucked well under tables with aprons — not necessarily all the way until the chair back touches the tabletop, but far enough to be out of the way and part of a compact setting.

The arms and arm supports are fixed to the seat and back leg, and to each other, by exposed, clearly robust, joinery.  The tops of the chair arm are shaped to fit human arms.  The assembly is sculpted to a balance of elements.