Furniture · Carl Hansen & Søn
Carl Hansen & Søn CH24 Wishbone Chair
Wegner’s 1949 Y-back for Carl Hansen — continuous since 1950, still the wood dining-chair default when the brief is Danish craft you can live with for decades.
- Designer
- Hans J. Wegner
- Price
- ~$860–$2,305 (US DWR list, paper cord by wood/finish); oak configs commonly ~$885–$1,400
- Published
- 2026-09-11
House Score
Rare
Rare. One or two per major lane, sitewide.
5/5
- Design
- 5
- Craft
- 5
- Usability
- 5
- Durability
- 5
- Value
- 4
Editorial score — not a blind average of the axes. How House Score works.
Best for
- dining rooms that need the Danish wood-chair default beside a serious table (incl. Saarinen)
- clients who want steam-bent solid wood + handwoven paper cord, not upholstered contract chairs
- specs that require authorized Carl Hansen production — not Wishbone lookalikes
What it is
CH24 Wishbone Chair (also called the Y-Chair) is Hans J. Wegner’s steam-bent solid-wood dining chair for Carl Hansen & Søn — designed 1949, in continuous production since 1950, and the first model Wegner designed exclusively for the firm. Signature move: a single steam-bent top rail that combines backrest and armrest, stiffened by the characteristic Y-shaped splat that gives the chair its name. Brand and authorized dealers: more than 100 manufacturing steps per chair (most by hand); the handwoven seat alone takes a skilled craftsperson about an hour and roughly 120 m / ~395 ft of paper cord.
US authorized retail (Design Within Reach): 29¼” H × 21¾” W × 19¾” D, seat height 17¾”, weight capacity 300 lb; comes fully assembled; made in Denmark. Metric dealer sheets commonly list 55 × 51 × 76 cm, seat 45 cm. Frame woods on the Carl Hansen matrix include FSC™ Mix-certified beech, ash, oak, and walnut in soap, oil, white oil, smoked oil, lacquer, and painted finishes; seats in natural or black paper cord. DWR also carries a leather-seat exclusive (Loke embossed ox hide) at higher list. US DWR list for standard paper-cord configs runs roughly $860–$2,305 by wood/finish (promos cut that); oak soap/oil configs often sit near the lower–mid band (~$885+ before sale). Confirm live finish, cord color, lead time, and quote with Carl Hansen or an authorized partner — lookalikes are everywhere.
Who it’s for
Homeowners, architects, and designers who need a light, sculptural wood dining chair that still looks right in ten years — especially beside mid-century or organic tables (our Saarinen dining table is the natural pairing on this list). Strong when the brief already wants Danish modern grammar: solid wood, visible joinery logic, paper cord under you rather than foam and fabric.
Skip it if you want fully upholstered dining (padded seats for long formal dinners without a cushion), a stackable contract side chair, or sub-$300 “Wishbone style” imports. Skip replicas entirely — Carl Hansen is the authorized producer of the CH24. Also skip if paper cord maintenance (vacuum, occasional care; reweave on a decades-long cycle) is a non-starter for the household.
Standout details
- Specs that matter (US DWR): 29¼ H × 21¾ W × 19¾ D in · seat 17¾ in · 300 lb capacity · steam-bent solid wood · handwoven paper cord (~395 ft / ~120 m)
- Craft signal: 100+ steps, mostly hand; Y-splat stabilizes the bent rail; Made in Denmark; FSC™ Mix woods on the brand matrix
- Finish breadth: beech / ash / oak / walnut + painted Soft colors; natural or black cord; leather seat as a DWR exclusive path
- Pedigree: continuous production since 1950; Ming-chair inspiration Wegner pursued from the mid-1940s (portraits of Danish merchants in Chinese chairs) — brand and DWR copy; Maine Home+Design notes authentic examples in the Met and Vitra Design Museum collections
- Tradeoffs: paper cord is durable but not forever (dealer guides often cite decades before reweave); arm height is low by design so the chair tucks under tables — great for dining, less of a lounge throne; set-of-six money adds up fast even when per-chair value is fair; counterfeit risk is real
Who’s specifying
Architects and interior designers specifying Danish modern dining; Carl Hansen showrooms and authorized partners (incl. DWR in the US). Cultural / museum context from reputable design press and brand history — not invented celebrity dining rooms: Maine Home+Design’s design lesson on the Wishbone cites permanent-collection examples at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vitra Design Museum. Broader Wegner furniture sits in major museum collections (brand / dealer literature names MoMA among institutions holding his work) — treat that as designer pedigree, not a claim that every museum labels this exact CH24 SKU on the wall. Residential use is the same chair at domestic scale: dining first, also living-room and home-office side seating per authorized retail copy.
Honest verdict
Catalog gap fill: we already cover lounge (Eames), modular sofa (Camaleonda), dining table (Saarinen), and storage (USM) — no dining chair. CH24 Wishbone is the furniture-lane 5 for that job: not because every serious house needs six Y-backs, but because nothing else is still the primary option when someone wants that Danish wood-chair default. House Score 5 with value at 4 — the money is real in sets; the justification is craft, continuity, and authenticity vs the replica flood. Draft until Press hosts official Carl Hansen WebPs and greenlights. Start with oak soap or oil + natural cord if you want the classic read; paint only when the scheme needs it.
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