Tub Chair in Carved Teak - Gold Frame with Fluted Curved Back

Fluting is buttoning's opposite. Buttoning pulls a surface in at points; fluting pushes it out in lines - and the two are built in completely different ways.

A fluted back is made from the inside out. The upholsterer marks the lines of the flutes onto the frame's base cloth, stitches along each line to create channels, and then fills each channel individually - working the stuffing down its whole length with a long tool until it is evenly firm from the seat to the top edge.

Even is the difficult word. A channel filled generously at the bottom and thinly at the top gives a flute that swells and dies, and once the cover is on there is no way to correct it. So each flute is filled, felt along its length, emptied and refilled until it is right - and only when all of them match is the outer cover pulled over.

On a curved back it is harder again, because the flutes have to converge slightly as the back narrows toward the top, and the amount of that convergence has to be identical on both sides of the centre.

The reward is a back that is soft to lean against but structured, and that catches light down every rib - which is why fluting has stayed in use for tub chairs for two hundred years while other treatments have come and gone.

Frame: Solid teak throughout - continuous curved back frame, seat rails and legs. No veneer over engineered board.

Construction: Wrap-around back frame with a gilded carved edge running its full length, carved and gilded seat rail following the oval, cabriole legs with carved shoulders and scrolled toes.

Upholstery: Hand-fluted back with individually filled channels, deeply filled oval seat and a bolster cushion. Fabrics of your choice; we can source on your behalf.

Finish: Hand-applied gold leaf, burnished. Silver or champagne leaf, painted tones or natural teak can be specified.

Dimensions: Custom sizes made to order - seat height, width, depth and back height set by you, confirmed in writing before production.

Available: Singly or in pairs.

Made: Handcrafted Indian luxury, produced to order by master Indian artisans.

The gilded carved edge runs the entire length of the wrap-around back and is the most exposed element on the chair - it stands proud of the upholstery all the way round. Foam is shaped to follow that edge continuously, bearing on the frame body rather than on the burnished surface, since gilding marks under pressure long before timber does.

The fluted back is covered in a breathable protective layer applied without compression, so the flutes are not flattened in transit and do not need reviving on arrival.

The seat is protected the same way, and the bolster travels wrapped separately.

Each cabriole leg is sleeved along its sweep with a rigid guard over the scrolled toe, and the carved gilded seat rail is bridged so nothing presses into the carving.

The chair then goes into a rigid outer carton braced internally so it cannot shift. Ordered as a pair, each is crated separately. Dent-free arrival is guaranteed.

Free delivery is included anywhere in India, with no distance surcharge and nothing added at the end. Metros, tier-two cities and smaller towns are served on the same terms, and a pair ships on the same free terms as a single chair.

Production begins once your dimensions, fabrics, flute width, carving depth and finish are confirmed in writing. Fluting is slow hand work - each channel is filled, checked and refilled until it matches its neighbours - and it follows the frame being carved, gilded and cured. We give you an honest timeline and keep you updated as the chair progresses.

We dispatch through carriers experienced with gilded, carved and upholstered furniture, and send tracking details as soon as the chair leaves us.

On arrival our team brings the chair in, positions it, sets the bolster, checks it sits firm and level and removes all packaging. Dent-free arrival is guaranteed - if anything is not right, tell us and we will resolve it.

The solid teak frame and joinery carry a 20-year warranty - the curved back frame, the seat rails and every leg joint.

A wrap-around back is a demanding frame to build. It has no vertical corner posts to stiffen it, so its rigidity comes entirely from how the curved sections are jointed to each other and to the seat rails. Ours are cut from solid teak with the grain following each arc and jointed rather than bent and glued, which is what keeps a tub back from flexing when someone leans into one shoulder.

That matters in daily use, because people lean sideways in a tub chair far more than they do in a straight-backed one.

The teak carries a lifetime warranty against termite damage for as long as you own the chair, from the oils in the timber rather than the leaf over them.

If anything covered needs attention, send us your order details and photographs and our artisans will handle the repair or replacement.