The dining chair is not a passive piece of furniture. It is where people sit for hours, lean back after a long meal, and return to day after day. A chair made poorly shows its age quickly. One made well becomes something you stop noticing because it never gives you a reason to think about it.
At DeMejico, we have been building Spanish and Mexican dining chairs for over 33 years. Every chair in our collection is made by hand, from solid wood, using the same construction methods that defined Colonial-era furniture. That means mortise and tenon joints instead of screws and staples. Solid alder or solid mesquite instead of engineered wood. Hand-tooled leather instead of bonded vinyl. Hand-forged iron clavos instead of machine-stamped hardware.
This guide covers the main styles we make, how they are constructed, and what to look for when choosing a dining chair that will last.
How DeMejico Dining Chairs Are Built
Every chair frame starts with solid wood. We work primarily in solid knotty alder and solid mesquite. Neither of these is a light, fast-growing wood. Alder has a tight, even grain that takes carving well. Mesquite is dense and heavy, with dramatic color variation and natural figure that makes each board visually distinct.
The joints are cut by hand and assembled using traditional mortise and tenon construction. Dowelling is added for additional stability. We do not use metal brackets, corner blocks, or staple guns to hold chair frames together. That kind of construction works until it does not, and when it goes, the whole piece goes with it.
The legs and back posts are hand-turned on a lathe. Carved details on backs and rails are done by hand, not routed by machine. The difference is visible up close: machine routing produces uniform, sharp-edged cuts. Hand carving produces something with more variation, slightly imperfect in a way that adds life to the piece.
Leather seating is made from full-grain leather, hand-tooled and hand-tacked to the frame using iron clavos. These are small, hand-forged nails placed in patterns along the seat edges and back rails. On our chairs, they serve a structural function as well as an aesthetic one.
The Main Styles in the DeMejico Chair Collection
Our dining chair styles trace back to distinct periods and regions of Spanish Colonial craft. Some are more formal, with carved high backs and upholstered seats. Others are simpler, built for everyday use with clean lines and natural wood finishes. A few fall somewhere between the two.
Here is how the main styles break down.
Silla Santa Paula
The Santa Paula is one of our most recognized chairs. It is built from solid knotty alder with a hand-carved high back, leather seat, and iron clavo trim along the seat edge. The back panel is carved with a repeating motif that varies slightly from chair to chair. No two are exactly the same.
It comes in an armless version and a version with arms. Both use the same frame construction and the same leather and iron detailing. The armed version adds a few inches to the overall width and pairs better with chairs at the head of the table.
Silla Chapital
The Chapital is named for a traditional Spanish tower form. The back is taller than the Santa Paula, with a more pronounced carved detail at the top rail and a slightly wider seat. The leather on the Chapital wraps further down the seat rails, and the iron clavos pattern runs along both the seat and the back cushion.
It is a formal chair. It belongs at a long dining table in a room with height, whether that means exposed beams, high ceilings, or both. It was designed for a space that can hold it.
Silla Armida
The Armida is a carved Spanish dining chair with a slightly lower profile than the Chapital. It carries a full carved back panel with a traditional floral motif and a hand-tooled leather seat. The construction is identical to the rest of the line: solid alder, mortise and tenon joints, iron clavos.
Its scale makes it versatile. It works in formal dining rooms but also fits in transitional spaces where the detail reads well without the chair dominating the room.
Silla Circa Ladder Chair and Silla Circa Doble Respaldo
The Circa chairs are ladder-back designs. Simpler than the carved styles, but built to the same standard. The Circa Ladder has three horizontal rails across the back, each turned by hand. The Doble Respaldo adds a second back panel for a wider visual footprint.
These are everyday chairs. They pair well with heavy wood dining tables and work particularly well in rustic or hacienda-style spaces where the clean geometry of a ladder back reads better than a carved panel.
Silla Hacienda and Silla Escondido
The Hacienda and Escondido chairs have a more utilitarian character. Both are solid wood with minimal ornamentation, built for durability and comfort over formal presentation. The Escondido Cafe version comes finished in a warm brown that pulls out the natural grain of the wood.
These are the chairs you put around a table that gets used every day. They have no fragile carved elements that can chip. The construction is the same as the rest of the line.
What to Look for When Choosing a Dining Chair
There are a few things worth knowing before you commit to a set of dining chairs, especially if you are pairing them with a table that will be in your home for decades.
Seat height. Standard dining table height runs between 28 and 30 inches. Our chairs are built to that range, with seat heights between 17 and 19 inches. If you are purchasing a DeMejico table alongside the chairs, the proportions are already matched. If you are pairing with an existing table, measure before ordering.
Arm height matters for upholstered tables. If your dining table has an apron, armed chairs need to fit under it comfortably. The Silla Santa Paula with Arms and the Silla Casa Mexicana with Arms both have arm heights designed to clear a standard apron. Measure your table apron clearance if this is a concern.
Wood species and finish. Our dining chairs are available in several finish options, from natural alder with a clear finish to darker stained or hand-distressed variations. We hand-apply stains and finishes, so there is some natural variation between pieces in a set. That variation is intentional. It is what you get with hand-finished solid wood, and it is part of what makes the set feel like it was built rather than manufactured.
Leather. The leather on our seating ages. Full-grain leather develops a patina over time. It does not stay looking new. That is not a defect. It is what happens when you use a material that is actually leather and not a coated substitute. Conditioning the leather once or twice a year will keep it from drying out and extend its life significantly.
Pairing Dining Chairs with DeMejico Tables
Most of our dining chairs were designed alongside specific tables in the collection. The Santa Paula and Chapital chairs pair naturally with our heavier Colonial dining tables, where the carved detail and iron hardware create a coherent set. The Circa Ladder and Hacienda chairs work well with our more rustic old wood tables, where the simpler line of the chair back lets the table’s character lead.
We have chairs in stock at our showroom in Valencia, CA. The showroom is 30,000 square feet, and most of what you see on this site is available to sit in before you buy. That matters with dining chairs. Dimensions on a screen cannot tell you how a chair feels under you after an hour at the table.
If you are designing a full dining room, we can help you think through proportions, finish matching, and which chair styles work with which tables. That kind of conversation is part of what we do.
