If the cabriolet is the chair you find at every French antique market, the Voltaire is the one you find in every French grandmother’s living room. It’s the armchair that defined bourgeois comfort in 19th century France, deeply associated with the Louis-Philippe period, and it’s still one of the most common chairs people bring to the workshop today. Heavy, generous, upholstered from top to bottom, and always with that distinctive high back: once you know what a Voltaire looks like, you see them everywhere.

Every French family has one somewhere. Usually in a corner, usually in need of new fabric, and usually worth every bit of effort it takes to bring it back.

What is a Voltaire chair?

The Voltaire is a fully upholstered French armchair that became popular during the Louis-Philippe period, roughly the 1830s to 1850s. It’s defined by its high, straight back, deep seat, padded armrests, and exposed wooden frame, typically turned legs and visible wood details along the arms and back. A skirt around the base is common, often hiding the legs entirely. Everything else is upholstered: the back, the seat, the armrests, and the front panels of the arms.

Despite being fully upholstered, the Voltaire always has exposed wood. That’s one of the details that distinguishes it from later, fully-enclosed armchairs. The wood is part of the chair’s character, and the upholstery work has to respect that: your cuts and finishes are visible against the frame, so precision matters.

The main styles of Voltaire chair

The Voltaire’s silhouette is consistent, but the back shape varies and it changes the feel of the chair considerably. These are the three versions you’ll encounter.

The straight back

The most common version. The back is tall, slightly reclined, and has a clean rectangular or gently tapered shape. It’s the most sober of the three, with a solid, dependable presence. This is the version most people picture when they think of a Voltaire, and the one you’ll find most often at markets and in family homes.

The violin back

The top of the back is rounded, giving the chair a softer, more feminine silhouette. It’s still a tall back, still clearly a Voltaire, but the curved top adds a certain elegance that the straight version doesn’t have. When you get a large-scale motif centered on a violin back, the rounded top frames it beautifully.

The wing back

The rarest of the three. The wings extend from the top of the back on either side, originally designed to shield the sitter from draughts. It’s a more imposing chair, with a lot of upholstered surface to work with. When you find one in good structural condition, it’s worth taking on.

The looks you can give a Voltaire chair

The Voltaire’s high back is its greatest asset when it comes to fabric choices. You have a large, clearly defined surface to work with, and that changes everything. Patterns that would feel overwhelming on a smaller chair become exactly right here. The scale of the chair demands fabric with presence.

A word on fabric: Please no boucle here

Just like the cabriolet, the Voltaire doesn’t suit chunky or overly textured fabrics. The exposed wood frame calls for something with more refinement. Boucle in particular fights with the chair’s structure and period character. What works here is velvet, jacquard, or a well-chosen woven fabric with enough body to hold its shape over the generous proportions.

XXL motifs: the Voltaire’s secret weapon

This is where the Voltaire really pulls ahead. Because the back is tall and wide, a large-scale motif, whether a bold floral, an oversized geometric, or a dramatic jacquard pattern, has room to fully express itself. You can center a single large flower on the back panel and it reads exactly as intended. On a smaller chair, the same fabric would feel chaotic. Here, it feels considered and deliberate. If you’ve been holding onto a fabric that felt too big for anything, the Voltaire might be exactly the chair it was waiting for.

Velvet, always a safe bet

A plain velvet in a rich, saturated color is one of the most reliable choices for a Voltaire. Bottle green, deep burgundy, midnight blue, burnt orange: the chair has the scale to carry these colors without being overwhelmed. Pair it with the natural wood tone of the frame and you don’t need anything else.

Jacquard and woven patterns

A jacquard with a large repeat, a damask, or a woven geometric pattern suits the Voltaire’s period character perfectly. These fabrics have a formality to them that matches the chair’s posture. They also tend to be hardwearing, which matters on a chair that actually gets used.

The updated grandmother’s chair

The most interesting version of this chair right now is the one that takes the classic silhouette and does something unexpected with it. A graphic oversized geometric in black and cream. A large-scale botanical in unexpected colors. The wood painted rather than left natural. The chair is traditional enough that a bold fabric choice reads as intentional rather than jarring, and that contrast is exactly what makes it work in a contemporary interior.

Is the Voltaire a good project for beginners?

Yes, in the same way the cabriolet is. The structure is logical, the sequence of work follows a clear order, and there are no particularly tricky angles or mechanisms to navigate. The fact that it’s fully upholstered means there’s more surface to cover, but each section is straightforward. If you’ve been thinking about taking on a first proper upholstery project, the Voltaire is a genuinely good place to start.

That said, the exposed wood means your finishing work is always visible. Neat cuts, good tension, and clean trim are non-negotiable. The chair is forgiving in terms of complexity, but it will show sloppy work. Which, honestly, is the best kind of project to learn on.

Not sure whether to start with a Voltaire or a cabriolet? Read the cabriolet page and see which one you have sitting in your hallway.

Ready to reupholster yours?

The full process is documented step by step, with tutorials for each stage. Whether you’re working through it at home or want to tackle it in person at the workshop in Annecy, everything you need is below.

Prefer to learn from home, at your own pace? All the tutorials are available in the online membership area.