“I think chairs have so much personality, and a way of silently communicating a feeling,” says furniture designer Michael Gilling, of Xylo Woodcraft. “Like Van Gogh’s empty-chair paintings, holding the presence of a person who no longer sits there.”

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Gilling started Xylo eight years ago. He produces everything from custom furniture to bespoke fitouts – you might remember the kitchen he designed and built for the Heathcote Valley House by Pac Studio, which won the Colour, Craft and Detail category in last year’s Here Awards.

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Over the years, he’s made lots of one-off pieces of furniture, but never a product to his own design. “Each time, I’d craft an item, figuring it out as I went,” he says, “never setting in stone the best way to put something together. This chair is the culmination of that work, focussed into replication.”

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Enter the Ritual chair, a classic wooden lounge seat designed to become a favourite part of your daily ritual – a spot to return to each day. It’s comfortable, with wide arms big enough to hold a cup of coffee – “a balance of simple lines, small details and a fingerprint of craft”, says Gilling. Available in white oak or black walnut, it’s customisable in two fabric choices.

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The design started on a Post-it note, and went through several refinements and iterations. Initially, Gilling designed a solid-timber chair, with a cushion on a solid base, before he switched to a fully upholstered seat frame for comfort – combined with a hand-finished scallop in the backrest, which is “a way of leaving my fingerprint on it, and something imperfect and human”.

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It’s a thoughtful piece, with a very deliberate purpose. “I want people to feel at ease, and be invited to sit and engage with the chair,” he says. “The chair holds you to your ritual – hopefully reminding people to breathe and enjoy a quiet moment in their day.”

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Ritual chair

Xylo Woodcraft

xylowoodcraft.com

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