Few pieces of furniture have achieved the perfect marriage of art, engineering, and comfort quite like the BKF butterfly chair. Whether you know it as the butterfly chair, the Hardoy chair, or simply "that sling chair," this iconic piece has been gracing homes, studios, and galleries for nearly nine decades.
In this complete guide, we cover the BKF butterfly chair's fascinating history, explain what makes full-grain leather the best sling material, and help you choose the right leather butterfly chair for your home.
What Is a BKF Butterfly Chair?
The BKF butterfly chair consists of a powder-coated steel rod frame shaped like an X when viewed from above, supporting a removable leather (or fabric) sling seat. The sling drapes over four curved rod tips, creating the butterfly-wing silhouette that gives the chair its popular name.
Its official designation — BKF — comes from the initials of its three Argentine designers: Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan, and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy.
The History of the BKF Butterfly Chair
Origins in 1938 Buenos Aires
The BKF chair was born in 1938 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bonet, Kurchan, and Ferrari-Hardoy were young architects who had trained under Le Corbusier in Paris and were deeply influenced by the modernist movement sweeping Europe.
Looking for furniture that embodied modernist principles — honest materials, structural efficiency, minimal form — they designed a chair that could be manufactured with simple bent steel rods and a single piece of sling material. The designers were inspired in part by a 19th-century British campaign chair called the Tripolina, a folding leather sling chair used by military officers in the field.
Knoll and the Modernist Boom (1947–1960s)
In 1947, Hans and Florence Knoll licensed the BKF design and began manufacturing it in the United States. The timing was perfect: post-war America was hungry for modern design, and the butterfly chair became a symbol of the era. By the 1950s and 1960s, it had appeared in nearly every modernist interior, from mid-century homes to beatnik coffee houses.
The chair's ubiquity created legal problems. Because Knoll had not properly protected the design patent, manufacturers around the world began copying it freely. By the 1950s, hundreds of manufacturers were producing near-identical chairs.
The BKF Chair Today
Today the BKF butterfly chair is experiencing a major revival. A new generation of homeowners and interior designers have rediscovered its timeless appeal. The original steel-and-leather formula still works perfectly for contemporary interiors — from minimalist apartments to bohemian studios to mid-century modern living rooms.
Why Leather Is the Superior Sling Material
While butterfly chairs are available with canvas, suede, and faux leather slings, genuine full-grain leather remains the premium choice.
Durability
Full-grain leather is cut from the outermost layer of the hide, where the fibres are densest and most tightly interlocked. A quality leather sling on a butterfly chair can outlast 10 or 20 canvas replacements. The leather develops a patina over years of use rather than fraying, fading, or tearing.
Comfort
Leather breathes. It softens and conforms to your body over time, becoming uniquely comfortable. Unlike synthetic materials, genuine leather regulates temperature — cool in summer, warm in winter.
Aesthetics
There is simply no substitute for the rich, warm appearance of aged leather. As the sling breaks in, it develops character — a story written in creases, sheen, and colour variations that no factory can replicate.
Grades of Leather for Butterfly Chair Slings
Full-Grain Leather: The best choice. Uses the entire grain surface, retains the hide's natural markings, and develops a beautiful patina. Strongest and most durable.
Top-Grain Leather: The grain surface is lightly sanded to remove imperfections. Slightly less durable than full-grain but still excellent quality.
Genuine Leather: Made from lower layers of the hide, often with a painted surface. Cheaper but significantly less durable — not recommended for a statement piece.
Bonded Leather: Leather scraps bonded together. Avoid entirely for furniture slings.
At Parrys Leather World, our butterfly chair slings are crafted from full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, sourced and handcrafted in our Jodhpur workshop.
Choosing the Right Leather Butterfly Chair
Frame Quality
Look for heavy-gauge steel (at least 10mm diameter rods) with a durable powder-coat finish. Thin rods flex and can deform under regular use. The welds at the X-junction should be clean and fully penetrated.
Sling Attachment
The best butterfly chair slings use reinforced corner pockets that wrap securely around the rod tips. Poorly made slings pull loose at the corners — the most common failure point.
Sling Thickness
For leather butterfly chair slings, look for hides of at least 2.5mm thickness. Thinner leather will stretch and sag quickly.
The Parrys Leather World Butterfly Chair
Our butterfly chairs are handcrafted in Jodhpur, Rajasthan — India's leather craft capital. Every chair combines a heavy-gauge powder-coated steel frame, a hand-cut full-grain vegetable-tanned leather sling, reinforced corner pockets with hand-stitched saddle stitch, and a natural wax finish for water resistance.
Each sling is cut from a single piece of leather — no joins, no patches. The vegetable tanning process (using natural tree bark tannins, not chemicals) produces leather that is firm when new and becomes increasingly supple and characterful with age. Our leather butterfly chairs are available in natural tan, dark chocolate brown, cognac, and black.
How to Care for Your Leather Butterfly Chair Sling
Conditioning: Apply a quality leather conditioner every 6–12 months to keep the leather supple. Cleaning: Wipe spills immediately with a dry cloth. For deeper cleaning, use a damp cloth with a small amount of mild saddle soap. Sunlight: Avoid prolonged direct sunlight, which can dry and fade leather over time.
The BKF Chair and Its Place in Design History
The BKF butterfly chair holds a permanent place in the canon of modern design. It is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. It has been featured in the homes of artists, intellectuals, and designers from Buenos Aires to Paris to Tokyo.
What makes it enduringly relevant is that it never really tried to be fashionable. It was designed to solve a problem — how to make a beautiful, comfortable, structurally honest chair from the simplest possible materials — and it solved it so completely that no subsequent revision has been necessary.
A leather butterfly chair from Parrys Leather World is not a trend piece. It is a piece you will keep, pass down, and tell stories about. Explore our leather butterfly chair collection to see our full range of frames, leather grades, and colour options. All chairs are available for worldwide shipping.
