Fresh Design Guide: How to choose dining chairs

Whether you’ve got a kitchen diner, lounge-diner or have the luxury of a separate dining room, eating together as a family or sharing a meal with friends can be a sociable and enjoyable experience. It’s made more so if you’re sitting on comfortable chairs!

If your current dining chairs have had their day and you’re in need of an update, we’ve put together the Fresh Design Guide to choosing the right dining chairs for your needs.

Dining chair size

If you already have a table and are buying chairs separately, then it’s important to ensure you check the measurements of your table first. Get out your tape measure and check the height of the table and how much space there is for chairs to go around it.

If you’re getting rid of old chairs, then you’ll already have an idea of how many chairs can typically fit around your table, but this will vary depending on their size, shape and style.

Think about how many chairs you’d ideally like to have and how they’d fit under the table – for example, does the table have several legs or does it have a single pedestal base? Would chairs with arms fit under the table, or would armless chairs be better?

Ideally you’ll want to sit comfortably without being squashed up close to other people, so do take that into consideration too when taking your measurements.

Dining chair design

Although it might be tempting to opt for dining chairs that contrast with the style of your dining table, in the long run, they might stick out for the wrong reasons.

Before you go shopping, have a look at your dining table and use the design of it as a starting point for the design of chairs you might look at. For example, if you have a square dining table, look out for chairs that have square elements to them, such as square seats or backs, as these could complement the table, or if you’ve got a Danish style teak table look for similarly designed Danish chairs.

Look at the design of the table legs too – for example, if your table has  dainty, elegant legs then buy chairs with a similar design, as a chunky chair would look out of place.

Dining chair colour

Choose chairs that match or complement the colour of your dining table, or make a statement with contrasting colours.

For a contemporary dining room with a round white table, a mix of pastel chair colours can look very attractive. Or, if bright colours are more your style, use lively chair colours to create a big pop of colour.

Dining chair comfort

Don’t just pick your new chairs in terms of their aesthetics – the comfort factor is crucial too. There’s no point having chairs that look super stylish if they’re going to be really uncomfortable to sit on, or give you backache after a while. This is one good reason why it’s useful to try chairs out in a shop first, even if you go home after and buy them online.

A top quality moulded plastic chair may provide support for your posture, whilst chairs with padded seat upholstery might allow for longer sitting comfort. Try out a few different styles and designs and see which works best for you.

Dining chair material

When it comes to the materials that dining chairs are made of, it’s also useful to use the design of your dining table as a guide. If you have a wooden dining table, then metal dining chairs might look out of place. Likewise, modern plastic chairs might not be the ideal choice for a rustic dining table.

If you’re choosing chairs made from upholstered material, then do make sure that they’re going to be easy to clean. After all, they’ll be used around food and drink and accidental spillages do happen.

Dining chair weight

Finally, do take into consideration the weight of the chairs too. Some can be big and heavy, making them awkward to move in and out from under the table. If you’ve got children, or floors that you don’t want scraped, then look for lighter, easy to move chairs.

Image credits: Pixabay

(Disclosure: This post is a partnership with Nakturnal)

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