LIBERATE YOUR SPACE WITH STATELY ETHAN ALLEN DINING CHAIRS
Ethan Allen dining chairs are the epitome of elegance. Although perhaps most renowned for their take on early American designs, Ethan Allen dining chairs run the stylistic gamut. Whether your parameters are broad: upholstered dining chairs, or uber-specific: ladder back Queen Anne dining chairs, Ethan Allen more than likely has made a model to satisfy your search.
Ethan Allen was originally known as Baumritter Co. It took its original moniker from its co-founders Theodore Baumritter, who along with his business partner, Nathan Ancell, established Baumritter Co. as a homewares brand in 1932. When the onset of the Great Depression compromised consumer spending on non-essentials, the duo pivoted to furniture. From the get-go, Ancell and Baumritter were proponents of the early American revival style. This was in contrast to other major furniture brands of the day like Stickley, who focused on the more contemporary Arts and Crafts style. When the duo unveiled the first Ethan Allen collection in 1939, they christened it “Ethan Allen” after the Revolutionary war hero of the same name, believing that the name effectively harked to the same era as their furniture.
The duo’s play for nostalgia paid off big. As it turned out, even cash-strapped Americans appeared willing to shell out for furniture that hailed to simpler times. Among their earliest collections was the Circa 1776 collection, an epic mix-and-match collection of colonial Ethan Allen dining chairs, tables, dressers, benches, bureaus, and more. Those who are on the hunt for Ethan Allen maple dining chairs should especially take note of the Circa collection, as each piece is crafted of solid maple wood.
Given the brand’s runaway success with Early American styles, Baumritter and Ancell weren’t inclined to expand into new territory right away. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1970s that Ethan Allen began to introduce pieces in alternative styles. Despite their late arrival, Ethan Allen’s expanded offerings hit an immediate chord with consumers. From Queen Anne dining chairs to French country armoires, virtually everything Ethan Allen produced was met with the utmost exuberance.
ETHAN ALLEN DINING CHAIRS, 3 STYLES TO KNOW
Hitting the online auction block for Ethan Allen dining chairs is an overwhelming proposition, to say the least. With almost a hundred years of archived designs, it can be difficult to know where to start, let alone what designs are actually available. If you feel daunted by all of the options, we’ve broken down vintage Ethan Allen dining chairs into three main categories. Most Ethan Allen dining chairs will fall into one of the sections below.
18th and 19th Century Ethan Allen Dining Chairs
The 18th and 19th centuries were known for stately styles like Chippendale, Queen Anne, and Georgian. While a set of authentic dining chairs from the era will cost you a pretty penny, reproduction Ethan Allen dining chairs are readily accessible and do an impressive job of mirroring the original thing. Georgian and Queen Anne Ethan Allen dining chairs are generally crafted of rich woods like mahogany, although warmer-tone woods like cherry were used on occasion. Detail-wise, streamlined cabriole legs as well as splat backs are common traits. Reproductions from this era are also among the most common Ethan Allen upholstered chairs on the market.
French Style Ethan Allen Dining Chairs
Ethan Allen’s love affair with Provincial living began in the 1970s and has remained a signature style of the brand ever since. Unlike those brands that have opted to take a more shabby chic approach to French style, Ethan Allen has adopted a provenance-based approach. French country Ethan Allen dining chairs, for instance, are usually sturdy, relatively unadorned, and crafted of basic woods like maple. Most feature slat backs, but there are some specimens that can be found with more ornate, classic designs like wheat backs. If you crave something a bit more sophisticated, but still in the French style, expand your search to include French Louis-style Ethan Allen dining chairs. Ethan Allen has made forays into the style, including iconic circle back and rectangular-back Louis-inspired dining chairs.
Colonial Ethan Allen Dining Chairs
There aren’t many brands with more credibility than Ethan Allen when it comes to early American dining chairs. Whether you’re on the hunt for Windsor, ladder back, or colonial spindle-style seats, Ethan Allen more than likely has tackled the style to outstanding effect. Ethan Allen’s Circa 1776 collection contains Windsor chairs with decorative slat backs, as did their later Royal Charter Oak collection. The brand has also done numerous rifts on the captain’s style dining chair, worth noting if you’re harboring notions of a nautical dining nook.
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