I am now midway through a project to build a mission dining set. It will include 6 side chairs and two end chairs. I started with the chair construction using quartersawn white Oregon oak that I kiln dried myself. The chair design is a modern version of the arts and crafts style that is also very comfortable. The style was inspired by Kevin Rodel, Gustav Stickley, and Elbert Hubbard. I had fun designing them on Google Sketchup.
It is surprising how many hours it takes to build and sand chairs. Compared to tables it is a much greater time investment. Then again each chair has 40 mortises and 16 walnut pegs. The pictures don’t show it well, but the front and rear aprons are arched, while the side aprons are straight with spindles.