How many chairs came in a standard set?

Dining sets commonly ranged from four to twelve chairs depending on the size of the household and the dining room. Larger houses frequently ordered sets of eight or ten to accommodate formal dinner parties.

Were carver chairs always included?

Larger suites usually incorporated a pair of carvers alongside six or eight single chairs without arms. Smaller sets of four typically consisted entirely of single chairs to save space around compact tables.

How do I identify a revival style?

Revival pieces incorporate eighteenth-century motifs such as carved ribbon backs or ball-and-claw feet onto nineteenth-century chair frames. Cabinet makers in the later Victorian decades deliberately copied Chippendale and Hepplewhite proportions to satisfy demand for historic designs.

What wood was used besides mahogany?

Walnut occasionally appears in balloon back dining chairs alongside the dominant mahogany stock. Secondary timbers such as beech or ash were sometimes utilised for internal framing and seat rails.