Description

LOCATION- being sold under consignment by a private seller in St Peters, SYDNEY but can be transported Australia-wide by a specialist furniture carrier. Delivery to Melbourne, for example, would be ABOUT $300 for all 8 chairs. I travelled to this location to personally inspect the chairs and take these photos.

Due to the rarity of this set, we’ve opted for an OFFERS OVER situation. Offers over $425 PER CHAIR. We’d like to sell these as a set of 8. Eight chairs provides a stronger investment for our buyer. If you ever need to sell them in the future, there are some buyers who only want 8 chairs- buying all 8 ensures a bigger pool of buyers if you ever need to sell them.

This is easily one of the best sets of dining chairs we’ve had (after 26 years of trading). This suite is from the early-1980’s so they’re over 40 years old. They’re superior in quality and for chairs of this vintage, they’re all in great condition overall. It’s so hard to get a matching set of 8 and I reckon the colours are the best I’ve seen these chairs in. The terracotta / cognac colour is so easy to work in with many homes. The designer look is minimalist and elegant but the colour is warm and earthy. Designer furniture often has a sterile, clinical look- the contrasts at play here give them an intriguing appearance but the look is not over-the-top. I could imagine these just as much in a cottage up in the Mountains, as a penthouse apartment. The earthy colours would allow these chairs to even work in with a timber dining table.

Provenance and Background Info

(Written in 2026)

A stunning set of 8 saddle-leather chairs made in Italy by Arrben / Arben (c. late-1970’s to early-1980’s). (Price is PER chair.) Arrben chairs are highly-esteemed and sought-after because of their practicality, comfort and the exceptional quality. I’m pretty sure this model is called the “Canasta”. All 8 chairs have “Arrben Italy” branded into the leather underneath. There are only a few sets of these chairs for sale WORLDWIDE at the moment (all on international websites such as 1stdibs). I could find no sets of Arrben Canasta dining chairs for sale in Australia at the time of writing. In Australia, these chairs were stocked by ARTES Studios back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Artes Studios later evolved to become SPACE Furniture so this is a SPACE Furniture equivalent of the 1970’s. When these chairs come up on big international sales platforms such as 1stdibs they tend to be priced at over AU $1,000 PER chair. I actually prefer this design over Cassina Cab chairs from the same era. Cassina Cab chairs are now selling new for around AU $3,000 PER chair. This set is in great vintage condition too! A very strong investment.

The saddle-leather on Arrben chairs is THICK and top-quality. The stitching is meticulous. These chairs are about 45 years old and just look at them! Ready for another lifetime of use and enjoyment. The metal is also the best quality- solid and very sturdy. Arrben Canasta chairs have a nice minimalist look- very lean, stylish and modernist. It’s hard to believe this design is about 50 years old- that’s timelessness for you! Many designer pieces are brash and hit you in the face- these are more restrained which means they’ll be easy to put in any space (even a small apartment). It’s hard to get dining chairs that are noticed but won’t completely dominate or crowd your dining area.

Durability. Timeless, stylish design. Enduring quality. Solid INVESTMENT appeal. Which leaves us with practicality and comfort. Pigmented saddle-leather is a great choice for dining chairs- spills are easy to wipe off and the inherent durability of saddle-leather needs little upkeep- a clean with a good leather cleaner particularly in Summer and a quick wipe over with leather conditioner every now and then will keep these looking like this for another generation. These are also EXCEPTONALLY COMFORTABLE to sit in. The angles are perfect and the seat cradles your back very nicely. This Arrben chair design is probably the best of this era- you’d be very happy to spend hours in these chairs- the comfort is extremely well considered.

After most modern “designer” chairs have ended up as landfill, this exceptional set of 50-year-old Arrben dining chairs will be passed onto another owner and very likely future generations. There’s no better way to help protect our environment and reduce your carbon footprint but to top it off, it’s also the smartest furniture investment I can think of from a financial standpoint. If they’re looked after, this vintage set should at least hold their value in the future. Buying quality vintage furniture is arguably the best way to buy furniture (I doubt there could be any argument on that- after over 25 years in this business I believe it’s fact).

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