"Next Door Café" Chair

This experimental chair by Geoffrey Bawa shares design similarities with two of his other creations—the Saddle Chair and the dining chair designed for the Bentota Beach Hotel. It also echoes the classic Safari Chair, originally adapted by Danish architect Kaare Klint from the Roorkee Chair, a traditional British army “campaign chair”. The chair was designed for a café next door to the Edwards, Reid & Begg office (the architectural firm Bawa was a partner in), thus earning it its name. It later appeared in the all-day dining coffee shop at the Bentota Beach Hotel in 1969.

The original chair was likely tailored to Bawa’s own stature, as he stood well over six feet tall. The re-edition by Phantom Hands has been adjusted for greater comfort across a range of body types. The locally sourced tan coloured leather of the original has been replaced with high-quality Indian buffalo leather of a similar colour, sourced from J & R Guram, the renowned campaign furniture makers based in Delhi. The frame is crafted from North American red oak, chosen for its strength, environmental credentials, and ability to take color. The wood is lightly brushed for a tactile feel, painted red in a RAL 3002 shade to match the original and sealed with an eco-friendly, water-based finish.