Curly white oak, rived red oak slat and shaker tape. Shellac finish.

These are my own design for a one-slat post-and-rung chair, based heavily on those made by Jennie Alexander.

The curly white oak of the posts and rungs was a tricky wood to work with, but lends a real beauty to the finished piece. The rived red oak slats set off the white oak with their gorgeous ray fleck.

Comfort was the guiding design principle, right alongside durability. The slight lean of the chairs, coupled with the angle of the slat and the overall geometry make these chairs a delight to sit in.

As always, building one chair is only a proof of concept – building two is a proof of consistency. The two chairs are identical, made from the same board and equally rigid and comfortable.

The shaker tape seats are woven in a simple herringbone pattern, with a luxurious foam insert that makes the chairs easy to sit in.

These chairs explore the ability of kiln-dried wood to work well in concert with greenwoodworking techniques. The rung tenons were super-dried to create a lasting joint, and the rived slats were bent in place.