14 Best Safari Chairs: Your Ultimate List (2019)

If you’re most concerned about quality construction and fine finishing details, this gorgeous accent chair could be the perfect find. It features many of the high points of traditional safari style chairs, but with upgrades that make it worth the slightly higher price. The frame made of solid wood and features a hand varnished antiqued finish.

The seat and back are worthy of special note. Crafted from oiled bridle leather, they’re finished with fine seaming that will last for years of wear. Again, this is another one of those pieces that can transcend design styles. If you’re after a nautical look, it would be perfect at your beach cottage. Got a minimalist Danish design? It will fit there too. And it’s great as well in a mid mod home that’s furnished in that style. 

If you’re looking for a truly authentic leather safari chair, this beautiful handmade design is true to the historical chairs used at the end of the 19th  century by British military officers after the Boer War. This campaign chair is made from solid cherry and features a russet brown leather slingback and seat. Aged bronze hardware adds to the authentic appeal of this chair which can be broken down quickly and packed for your camping trip as the best fireside chair ever.

At just 12 pounds, this Roorkhee chair can collapse into an 8 x 8 x 24 inch space. Perfect for lounging around in the outdoors, its back is hinged in the middle so that it can recline while still providing excellent back support. It’s sturdy and sits solidly on any kind of terrain. Keep in mind, if you’re purchasing this chair as a gift, it takes between 21-30 days to create because it’s a handmade, one of a kind creation and definitely worth the wait. 

You can also order this cool safari chair in black. Do you want to know more about the interesting history of the Roorkhee chair? This article from The Designer’s Assistant breaks it down nicely.

Another clever reproduction, this safari chair features a genuine mahogany oil tanned leather seat and back along with classic leather arm straps. It will age beautifully with use and become an even richer color. A slightly simpler design than some others, it features minimal hardware accents and hardware reinforced dowel construction. The hand turned solid wood frame features a distressed French finish.

The under seat details are what gives this cool chair an edge for traditionalists. The leather sling seat fastens with a series of straps and buckles that hold it securely from side to side and front to back. The leather sling back slides onto the wood frame and buckles just above the seat in back. While you could consider this a portable camp chair, we think you’ll love it as an indoor accoutrement as well. 

 

 

If you’re on the hunt for a less fussy campaign chair, this white canvas and wood design is simple and elegant. The frame features turned legs, back and arm pieces that feature a honey distressed finish. A white heavy duty canvas seat and sling back make for a comfortable sitting experience, and the canvas armrests are conveniently located. 

This meticulous reproduction chair weighs in at just over 14 pounds and packs perfectly for your next safari or camping trip. Because of the high-quality construction, it would also be an ideal choice for wedding venues and restaurants which often need additional seating options. 

As you’re on the hunt for safari chairs, keep in mind that even this wooden director’s chair is not unlike the original folding design and other campaign furniture pieces.

 

A familiar design refreshed into a modern interpretation of a classic, this beautiful wooden armchair features some of those details that give safari chairs their distinctive look – a lower slung seat, slightly reclined back and, of course, those leather strap arms. This pretty side chair is made of beautiful cherry finished mahogany, with a clean, curved frame style that would fit perfectly with your mid century modern home or Danish modern décor.

The seat and back are made of woven leather straps, and the leather arm rests are finished with silver hardware at the turn. At just 16 pounds, this chair is sturdy yet delivers a light and airy style. This chair is also available in brown leather, but you’ll need to hurry because quantities are extremely limited.

While chairs of this design were originally used by British soldiers, thanks to their durability, comfort and ease of breakdown and storage later made them popular with Argentian gauchos. This careful reproduction features a soft black bridle leather seat and back with metallic rivets for added detail. The buttery soft leather has been hand selected from some of America’s finest tanneries. Comfortable yet sturdy, it can stand up to outdoor use as a fireside chair too.

The frame is hand turned solid wood with an antique French finish. Silver buckles and hardware complete the authentic look. If you’re planning to use this indoors as an accent chair, this campaign storage chest would be an ideal companion piece. 

While not a safari chair per se, this folding bamboo chaise lounge chair has many attributes that are similar to campaign furniture chair styles. Made of weather resistant bamboo, this chair folds for easy storage and is exceptionally lightweight. With a canvas sling seat similar to traditional safari chairs, this offers the added benefit of a back that adjusts to four different reclining positions. It comes with a padded neck pillow for added comfort.

If bamboo isn’t the look you’re after, this natural beechwood chaise lounge chair features a similar sling seat and is also lightweight and simple to fold and store or pack along for an outing. The modern look fits with a more minimalist décor style.

 

 

 

Reproduction furniture doesn’t often match up to the original, but this meticulously designed safari chair is nearly a perfect replica of a 19th century British officer’s campaign chair. The sturdy frame is made of hand turned pine, while the sling back and seat are made with natural canvas, trimmed out in oiled bridle leather. Leather staps also wrap the canvas back and are used to form the arm rests too. Solid brass buckle details add to the authentic appeal of this sturdy chair.

 

 

Perhaps your style transcends tradition and crosses over into multiple design aesthetics. When that’s the case, a chair that can cross boundaries with you might make the ideal accent piece for your home. While the Genoa chair features the sling seat and back in common to many safari chairs, it veers out west with its patterned natural cowhide sling. 

This chair has a solid wood frame with natural knots, cracks, splits, open wood grain, indentations, and uneven edges, all of which make it an even more interesting design piece. Because this chair is handmade, and each piece of wood and cowhide unique, yours will never be exactly like anyone else’s. If that cowhide is just too rustic for your tastes, you can also get the Genoa Sling Chair in mottled brown leather.

This simple seat features the clean lines and rustic materials for the back and seat that you expect in the best safari chairs. This chair has a natural ash finish frame, with a cream woven paper cord seat and back. With a comfortable canted back and seat, this chair design would look ideal in any home with Danish or hygge styling. It comes pre-assembled, so you can unbox it and build your room around it.  We love its unfussy yet modern look. 

Based upon an original design by world-renowned Danish furniture designer, Hans Wegner, this chair offers great textural interest, and would also fit perfectly in a mid century modern home with the matching décor.

Leather throw pillows would make superb accents for this simple side chair. If you’re looking for an armless side chair, the Tilden Accent Chair features a similar style with a woven tan jute seat and back.

This ultra-comfy version of the classic camp chair features a beautifully finished Brazilian eucalyptus frame, made from sustainably harvested wood. The pieced wood sling supports your back and behind, and has a slight rocking motion that makes getting up a whole lot easier. To keep you even more comfortable, the back features a neck pillow at the top for added support in tan canvas with black piping.

This outdoor chair would look equally amazing indoors, and comes conveniently fully assembled and ready to relax in. At just 20 pounds, it has a maximum weight capacity of 250 pounds. Another interesting and eco safe wooden design, the GloDea Natural Lounge Chair also has a space saving folding design and would work for indoors or outdoor use.

Or, this two pack of eucalyptus wooden folding chairs are also multi purpose and feature a safari style that would coordinate perfectly with the featured chair.

 

Are you looking for a classy folding chair that has the classic look of campaign furniture? This stylish option from Byer of Maine is solid and stylish. Made from renewable hardwood, it has been dipped in oil for an extra protective finish. The sling seat and back are made of heavy-duty dark green polyester canvas. Ideal for indoor and outdoor use, they weigh in at just 16 pounds, so they’re terrific for tailgate parties, camping or your patio or deck. 

A matching wood table would be an awesome accent with a pair of these chairs. This one is easy to fold and take along anywhere. It features the same durable finish as the chair and weighs just eight pounds. 

For those who are looking for a slightly smaller version of traditional safari chairs, this two pack of folding bamboo camp chairs offers a convenient solution to having lightweight yet sturdy seating. Handwoven from natural water hyacinth fiber, the chair seats and backs can comfortably support humans up to 250 pounds. They fold flat for easy storage in your RV or garage. Ultra-lightweight, this chair pair weighs in at just 10 pounds. 

For an even more rustic look, these bamboo folding camp chairs feature a curved bamboo back and comfy bamboo seat. The four pack is exceptionally well priced, although they’re not quite as lightweight as our featured chairs.

The classic safari chair was all about ease of use in the outdoors. It needed to fold and have a comfortable seat. Traditionally, it also sat fairly low to the ground versus being standard chair height. This folding wood and canvas camp chair fits that safari style quite nicely. The one piece white canvas sling seat is super comfortable, and capable of holding people up to 250 pounds.

The folding wood frame is constructed of renewable Keruing wood. It’s oil dipped to give it a rich luster and make it more resistant to weather and wood rot. When folded it weighs in at just 16 pounds. You can also get this modern camp chair with forest green canvas too.

An even more portable camp chair, the Pangean Lounger is a beach height version of our featured chair and features a forest green canvas back with a slatted wood seat.