Explore the Contrast Between Matt Black and Paper Rope

A matt black finish behaves very differently from a gloss one. It absorbs light instead of bouncing it, so the acacia frame reads as a clean silhouette against a wall rather than a series of highlights, and fingerprints and dust show far less than they would on a lacquered surface. Set against that darkness, the undyed paper rope seat looks brighter than it really is, a simple optical effect that gives the chair its graphic quality. In a room of pale walls and timber floors, one of these acts as punctuation.

Handwoven paper rope is a genuinely old seating material, twisted from long paper fibres into a cord that is then wrapped around the seat rails by hand. Twisting is what gives it strength; the fibres lock against one another under tension, and the finished cord is surprisingly firm to sit on whilst retaining a little give. It develops a soft sheen where hands and clothing pass over it, and the colour deepens slightly with age. Keep it dry, and hoover the weave occasionally with a brush attachment rather than scrubbing it.

Discover a Chair Built for Stacking and Sheltered Terraces

The chair is stackable despite having armrests, which takes some designing: the arms have to clear the seat below and the frame has to nest without scratching. For anyone who seats eight twice a year and four the rest of the time, that solves a real storage problem. The piece is made using natural materials and artisanal processes, so the weave tension and the grain beneath the black vary between chairs; a set will match in form without being identical in detail.

It is specified for interiors and covered outdoor spaces, which means a veranda, a loggia or a sheltered courtyard rather than an exposed garden. Paper rope is the reason for that limit: it tolerates humidity but not persistent soaking, and repeated wetting will slacken the weave. Bring the chairs in before autumn sets in properly and they will keep their tension for years. The solid acacia frame carries 100% FSC chain-of-custody certification from a responsible forest management model, so the timber's route to the workshop is documented.