19 Outdoors — the 19 Chairs lockdown project reimagined into an outdoor collection by Butterfield Brothers.

There weren’t many good things to come out of 2020, but 19 Chairs was perhaps one of them. Reacting to the damage of COVID-19, the project was a celebration: 19 unique chairs, designed and handmade over 19 days of lockdown, reworked by 19 of the creative industry’s finest and auctioned for charity.

As two fidgety creatives (and brothers), it didn’t take us long to ditch the banana bread and transform our south London garden into the 19 Chair workshop. Crafted using simple timber and wood screws, the one-off chairs were shipped worldwide to the quarantines of leading makers and artists including Tom Dixon, Es Devlin and Joe Lycett. The reimagined designs hit the headlines and were exhibited under this very roof two years ago.

Now, back as the Butterfield Brothers (what other name would fill the bill), we’re celebrating the humble seat once again with our first collection of outdoor furniture, 19 Outdoors. The thirteen-piece range draws on the sleek, no-fuss designs that came to be 19 Chairs’ signature but has been extended to comprise dining and lounge chairs, benches, a stool, an ottoman and three sizes of dining tables. Made from recyclable aluminium and powder-coated in three elegant colours, the collection is produced by NINE, a new contemporary furniture brand based in London.

Although each piece is unique, the range is unified by material, colour and proportions, allowing the option of mixing and/or matching the cohesive designs and their complementary colours. We hope to inspire playfulness and reimagining, a nod to 19 Outdoors’ beginnings in 2020.