Bentota Dining Chair

The Bentota Dining Chair was designed by Geoffrey Bawa for the Bentota Beach Hotel’s dining area as its main dining chair. The chair was finished in high-gloss black and had a cushioned seat covered in cotton from Barefoot, the textile atelier founded by Bawa’s longtime collaborator Barbara Sansoni. The original chairs remained in use for over two decades until renovations in the 1990s. While most of Bawa’s furniture was designed for specific architectural projects, a version of these chairs was also used in the dining room of the Triton Hotel (now Heritance Ahungalla) in 1984, where they were painted Chinese red, and had small, brass, corner cleats on the arms. Subsequently they were repainted in green. Most of these strikingly colourful chairs, however, were lost in the 2004 tsunami.

This re-edition is based on Bawa’s design for the Bentota Beach Hotel. To improve comfort and better accommodate the handloom fabric used for the upholstery, the seat angle has been adjusted by a few degrees. The curvature and shape of the backrest have also been adjusted for better ergonomics. The fabric cushion features the signature deep orange-and-black striped fabric, Jack & Ebony, designed by Barbara Sansoni, and named after the species of wood historically used in Sri Lanka for furniture. The seat cushion has been quilted along the stripes for better seating comfort and to reduce fabric movement.

Phantom Hands collaborated with Barefoot to soften the brighter tones of their standard Jack & Ebony fabric, recreating the weathered patina of the original piece at No. 11. The result is both a faithful homage and a refined evolution of Bawa’s design. The frame is crafted from North American red oak, chosen for its strength, environmental credentials, and ability to take colour. The wood is lightly brushed for a tactile feel and sealed with an eco-friendly, waterborne finish.