For boarding schools, the dining hall is much more than a place to eat. It’s where students gather between classes, faculty connect with students outside the classroom, and traditions are passed from one generation to the next.
That was the vision behind “The Brick” Dining Hall Addition and Renovation at Deerfield Academy.
Founded in 1797, Deerfield Academy is one of the oldest independent boarding schools in the United States. Nestled in the historic village of Deerfield, Massachusetts, the Academy has spent more than two centuries balancing tradition with innovation. Every new building and renovation is designed to honor the character of the campus while supporting the needs of today’s students.
When Deerfield Academy partnered with ARC to renovate and expand The Brick dining hall, every design decision mattered—especially the furniture.
More Than a Dining Hall
At Deerfield Academy, the dining hall serves as one of the campus’s most important gathering spaces. Students, faculty, and visitors come together throughout the day, making the space central to campus life.
The renovation of The Brick was designed to modernize the dining experience while preserving the timeless character of Deerfield Academy’s historic campus. The new space needed furniture that felt like a natural extension of the architecture, not an afterthought. At the same time, the seating had to withstand the realities of everyday use. Hundreds of students would occupy the chairs each day, requiring exceptional durability, easy maintenance, and the flexibility to accommodate changing room layouts and campus events.
Those requirements called for more than a standard commercial chair.
A Custom Chair Inspired by a Proven Design
Rather than selecting an existing chair from the Eustis Chair collection, ARC and Deerfield Academy wanted seating that would feel as though it had always belonged in The Brick. The design needed to complement the building’s architecture while meeting the demands of a busy dining hall used every day by hundreds of students.
To achieve that balance, Eustis Chair began with one of its proven hardwood seating designs, the Millbrook Chair.
Instead of designing an entirely new chair from scratch, the Millbrook served as the foundation for a custom solution tailored specifically to Deerfield Academy. The design team shortened the chair’s top back by two inches, bringing the overall height to 36 inches, and widened the back slats to 1.25 inches. These subtle refinements gave the chair a distinctive appearance that complements the architecture and interior design of the renovated dining hall while preserving the comfort, strength, and proportions that made the Millbrook an ideal starting point. The result was the Deerfield Stacking Chair, a chair created exclusively for this project that blends classic craftsmanship with modern performance.
Built for a Lifetime
Beautiful design was only one part of the equation. Dining halls are among the busiest spaces on a school campus, with furniture being moved, stacked, cleaned, and used continuously throughout the academic year.
To meet those demands, Eustis Chair manufactured 924 Deerfield Stacking Chairs from solid cherry hardwood. Each chair features the company’s proprietary Eustis Joint®, an innovative joinery system engineered to eliminate one of the most common failure points in traditional hardwood chairs. Unlike conventional mortise-and-tenon construction, the Eustis Joint® provides exceptional strength and long-term durability, helping schools maximize the life of their furniture investment.
The custom chair also incorporates a stackable design, giving Deerfield Academy the flexibility to quickly reconfigure the dining hall for special events, gatherings, and maintenance without sacrificing the warmth and elegance of solid hardwood furniture.
Why Custom Furniture Matters in Historic Educational Spaces
One of the greatest challenges in designing furniture for historic schools is balancing tradition with modern performance.
Architects want furniture that respects the character of the campus. School administrators need seating that can withstand decades of daily use. Facility managers need furniture that is easy to move, maintain, and store.
Custom furniture makes it possible to accomplish all of those goals.
By adapting an existing Eustis Chair design instead of forcing the project to fit a standard product, the Deerfield Stacking Chair became an extension of ARC’s architectural vision rather than simply another furnishing. Every detail—from the revised back height and wider slats to the solid cherry construction and stackable design—was intentionally selected to create seating that feels authentic to Deerfield Academy while delivering commercial-grade performance.
A Partnership Built Around Custom Design
Projects like Deerfield Academy demonstrate the value of collaboration between architects and furniture manufacturers from the earliest stages of design.
Rather than asking designers to choose from a catalog of standard products, Eustis Chair works alongside architects to refine existing designs or develop entirely new seating solutions that meet the unique goals of each project. Building upon a proven platform like the Millbrook Chair allowed the team to preserve trusted engineering while creating a chair that is uniquely Deerfield.
The result is furniture that not only complements the architecture on opening day but continues performing beautifully for decades.
Looking Beyond the Project
Every school has its own history, architectural style, and vision for the future. Whether you’re renovating a boarding school dining hall, designing a university commons, furnishing a student center, or creating another high-traffic gathering space, the right furniture should reflect the character of the institution while standing up to everyday use.
At Eustis Chair, we partner with architects, designers, and educational institutions to create custom hardwood seating that combines timeless craftsmanship with innovative engineering. From subtle design modifications to fully custom seating collections, every chair is built in the USA using sustainably sourced hardwoods and engineered for exceptional durability.
If you’re planning a new dining hall or educational facility, contact Eustis Chair to discuss your project or request a sample chair to experience the craftsmanship, comfort, and performance that have made our seating a trusted choice for schools and universities across the country.
Photography Credit: Robert Benson Photography