A birch bar stool with no cushion:since late October, nearly half of those choosing wabi-sabi have placed it, from NT$41,400

2026.11.16by Vivian

FRAMA's Bar Chair 01 is the bar stool most often placed in wabi-sabi rooms since late October; among people choosing the wabi-sabi style, nearly half have put it in their home.

This chair went on sale in mid-August, and for the first month or so very few people placed it. From mid-October it started to climb, and by November one in every six people furnishing a space themselves had placed it, nearly three times the rate before October. Among people choosing wabi-sabi, that share went from about a quarter to nearly half. People choosing the Nordic style are placing it too, just less concentrated.

FRAMA 01 series low stool and round table in a dining room with wood floor and white walls, with a conical pendant lamp beside the table — FRAMA 01 series wooden stool in a dining room with white walls and wood floor. Image: FRAMA official lifestyle photo

In the bar-stool category, September's number one was the Dutchbone Rodin with a fabric seat cushion, NT$14,200, and as we wrote then, it stood alone at the top. Now this category has a second leader: Bar Chair 01, from NT$41,400, nearly three times the price of the Rodin. The two now appear about equally often in plans that include a bar stool.

A chair with only one gesture

Bar Chair 01 has no armrests, no cushion, and the backrest is just a low horizontal slat. The leg frame is solid birch, the seat is birch plywood, 39.5 cm wide and 39.7 cm deep, a very narrow chair. The maker says its outline comes from the seats in Nordic assembly halls and churches since the 1800s; it was designed by FRAMA Studio in 2018 and is made in Latvia.

There are three birch tones: light Natural, mid Warm Brown and dark Dark Brown, all the wood's own grain, not painted another colour. For something softer, a camel seat cushion is sold separately at NT$6,200, though the chair is complete without it.

FRAMA 01 series light wooden high stool against a beige wall, with a ceramic plate of fruit on the seat and an old plank floor — A high stool from the same series, used as a small surface. Image: FRAMA official lifestyle photo

The people who place it usually have lime walls

Looking at the plans that included Bar Chair 01, more than half also included Audo's Hashira floor lamp, nearly forty percent included Kalklitir lime wall paint, and about a quarter included FRAMA's own Bench 01. These were already regulars in wabi-sabi plans: a rougher wall, plain wood, one lamp of very simple shape. Placed in this group, the bar stool upstages none of them.

In early September we wrote Wabi-sabi isn't emptying your home; it's accepting that things age, about how to choose walls and small wooden pieces for these rooms. In late October we also saw that fewer people were choosing wabi-sabi overall, so the situation now is that somewhat fewer people choose this style, yet those who stay are increasingly uniform in the bar-stool category.

Item	Material	Seat	Price
FRAMA Bar Chair 01 H65	Solid birch	Birch plywood	NT$41,400
FRAMA Bar Chair 01 H76	Solid birch	Birch plywood	NT$43,800
Bar Chair 01 seat cushion	Camel	Sold separately	NT$6,200
Dutchbone Rodin bar stool	Wooden shell with iron-tube legs	Fabric seat cushion	NT$14,200

Why now

I have no definite answer, only two observations. One is that Rodin, the long-time leader in this category, is fabric-seated, while Bar Chair 01 is plain wood throughout, so those who already wanted a lime-wall-and-raw-wood room finally have a choice with no compromise. The other is that when it turns cold, people sit longer at the dining table and kitchen island, and a narrow hard chair actually looks best because you only perch on it briefly. The second point is only a guess; the numbers cannot prove it.

If you are already measuring your kitchen island, seat height has to match counter height, which we covered once in How to choose a bar stool, so I won't repeat it here.

What to know before buying

This one is a pre-order. The whole FRAMA range is made to order at the Danish factory, with an expected arrival in Taiwan of 6 to 8 months, and the next expected delivery is currently the end of March 2027. It also ships on a pallet, with shipping charged separately; it is not a small parcel. To learn about the brand's background, start with Getting to know FRAMA.

FAQ

What heights and colours does the FRAMA Bar Chair 01 come in?

It comes in two heights, H65 and H76, each in three birch tones: Natural, Warm Brown and Dark Brown. H65 is NT$41,400 and H76 is NT$43,800. To choose a height, first measure the counter height of your kitchen island or bar.

What is the Bar Chair 01 made of, and where is it made?

The frame is solid birch and the seat is birch plywood, with the wood sourced from the Baltic region. It was designed by FRAMA Studio in 2018 and is made in Latvia, its shape inspired by the seats in Nordic assembly halls and churches.

Does the Bar Chair 01 have a seat cushion?

The chair itself comes without a cushion; the seat is bare wood. A dedicated Bar Chair 01 seat cushion in camel is sold separately at NT$6,200.

How long is the wait if I order now?

The whole FRAMA range is made to order at the Danish factory, with an expected arrival in Taiwan of 6 to 8 months, and the next expected delivery is currently the end of March 2027; the NOSA product page prevails. This chair ships on a pallet, with shipping charged separately.