How to bring Pierre Jeanneret style into your home

Looking for a way to bring mid-century modern style into your home? The furniture of Pierre Jeanneret is one of the most sought-after references today. Designed for the city of Chandigarh in India, his wooden and cane chairs combine raw materials, graphic lines and remarkable comfort. With the lasting revival of mid-century design and natural materials, Pierre Jeanneret chairs have become true icons of contemporary interiors. In this article, Diiiz explains where this style comes from and how to use it at home.

Who was Pierre Jeanneret?

Pierre Jeanneret (1896–1967) was a Swiss architect and designer, born in Geneva. He is best known as the cousin and long-time partner of Le Corbusier, with whom he ran an architecture studio in Paris from the 1920s.

In the early 1950s, Le Corbusier was commissioned to design Chandigarh, the new capital of the Punjab in India. Pierre Jeanneret moved there to supervise the project on site and stayed for around fifteen years. Besides buildings, he designed hundreds of pieces of furniture for the city’s administrations, universities and homes. This body of work is now known as the Chandigarh style.

One of its defining features is the use of cane. Light, flexible and durable, cane was available locally and perfect for the Indian climate. Jeanneret used it for chairs, armchairs, benches and sofas, combined with solid teak or local hardwoods.

The Chandigarh chair collection

Most of Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture was designed in the 1950s and 1960s. The most famous pieces are the office chair with its V-shaped legs, the easy chair (a low lounge chair with a reclined back) and the committee chair. They share the same principles: solid wood frames, visible structures, woven cane seats and backs, and proportions designed for long hours of sitting.

For decades these chairs were used every day in Chandigarh’s offices before being rediscovered by collectors in the 2000s. Today, originals sell at auction for very high prices, and Jeanneret-inspired designs have become a favourite of interior designers looking for warmth and character. The Jeanne chair with armrests and the Jeanne Easy lounge chair by Diiiz are inspired by these iconic models.

How to use Jeanneret-style cane furniture in your interior

Cane and solid wood create an airy, light feel while adding warmth and texture. A few ideas:

• In a home office: a Jeanneret-style office chair at a solid wood desk is both elegant and comfortable.
• Around the dining table: mix two cane chairs with simpler wooden chairs for a relaxed, collected look.
• In the living room: an easy chair with a linen or bouclé cushion creates an instant reading corner.
• With the right palette: cane loves warm whites, terracotta, olive green and dark wood. Plants and natural rugs complete the look.

Choose a wood tone that matches your floor or table, and avoid overloading the room: one or two strong cane pieces are enough. Whether you choose one chair or a set of four, Jeanneret-inspired furniture adds an instant air of sophistication and timeless character to any room.