Looking for some beautiful, coastal dining chairs or accent chairs for your home? These stylish chairs would look great in your coastal, beach house or casual farmhouse-styled rooms. Or they would serve well on a covered porch or sheltered outdoor living area.
We discovered these chairs as part of the collection at Serena & Lily. If you don’t know Serena & Lily, they are a California-based lifestyle brand headquartered in Sausalito who started in 2003 and are now expanding their direct retail presence, currently with just a few retail stores around the US. The company was co-founded by Lily Kanter, a former Microsoft executive-turned lifestyle designer and Serena, a textile designer and decorative painter.
Serena & Lily’s style is self-described as ‘..coastal and casual, relaxed yet refined..’ and we wholeheartedly agree. The lines are classic and proportional but updated with bold, contemporary coastal colors. All too often ‘beach house’ furniture is over-styled with heavy tropical or floral prints, or just a bit too casual with unwieldy, overflowing proportions.
The Shore Dining Chair features a compact yet gracefully-sweeping woven ratan frame and several cushion patterns. It’s featured here with a cushion in ‘Multistripe Marina.’ We love how this traditionally oversized style has been kept to dimensions that can work around a dining table or smaller seating area.
The striking Riviera line, available in several styles and colors, is very popular (according to the store attendant we spoke to) and is based on the timeless 1930’s French bistro chair. A hand-stretched rattan frame is wrapped with an ultra-durable synthetic (plastic) woven seating to create the Riviera. These are fine for protected outdoor use but beware of rain as the rattan is a natural material. If you want to leave these outdoors exposed to the element Serena & Lily now offers a version with a powder-aluminum frame.
The Carson chair design features a natural or painted wood frame with seating and back made from woven natural fibers and dyed-Abaca (a sort of Phillipino Hemp) fiber. The contrasting, thin woven stripes add just a touch of color and refined geometric interest. These are available in both arm chairs and side chairs.
The Islesboro chair looks super-chic in its basket-borrowed natural-weave frame in a smaller scale then traditionally found in woven furniture. The low back is perfect for a dining chair or around a smaller bistro table, and the dark strapping woven throughout adds interest and breaks up the otherwise monotone natural weave. Cushions are available in several patterns, featured here in ‘Cabana Stripe Indigo.’
Have a counter- or bar-height dining area? Fret not, Serena & Lily has you covered! The Riviera line also features most of the same styles in both a bar or counter height. If you don’t know what height you need, check out this resource before picking a style.
This Director’s Counter Stool design combines the backstage flair of a Director’s chair with the teak and brass hardware and striped fabrics of yacht living. These would absolutely pop against a dark stained wood counter or even the oh-so-trendy live-edge wood-top dining table or bar.
And for those with tighter dining space or the need to slide stools under the counter and out of the way when not in use, Serena & Lily even offers the Riviera in a backless bar (or counter-height) stool. These really do evoke the era of classic Parisian bistro bars and their basket weave ceramic tile flooring. Available in a more traditional checkered pattern or a more contemporary broad stripe in Fog (shown) or Navy.
We hope you enjoyed discovering some really beautiful chair designs from a brand who’s aesthetics we truly adore. Check out Serena & Lily and discover the many other home, clothing and lifestyle products they offer. If you’d like to take a peek into Lily Kanter’s own home, check out this tour by Coastal Living of her Mill Valley, California estate.
Let us know what you think of the brand and whether you have any favorite designs! Thanks for reading.
