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Why the Right Dining Chairs Matter More Than the Table

Your dining table might be the star of the room, but it’s your dining chairs that set the tone for everything else going on in there, say the experts at Serena & Lily

The chairs in your dining room determine what your dinner guests do after the plates have been cleared, how comfortable family breakfasts actually are, and even what your space looks like from every angle. If you’re wondering how to find your dining chairs, forget everything you thought you knew about sets and consider how these work with your lifestyle instead.

Choose your chairs based on how people actually eat

Rather than shopping for dining chairs by colour or fabric alone, take a second to think about what dining looks like around your table on any given week. After all, a family that sits down for a quick weekday breakfast likely has different needs than a home that hosts nightly dinner parties.

If you’re all about lingering over dinner, opt for comfort instead of the “it” chair. Fully upholstered styles in fabrics that can stand up to stains provide maximum rumpus-room comfort, as do padded seats and backs. If anyone in your home uses the dining room table as a home office, look for handsome side chairs that’ll look right at home at the table but not so much so for your unofficial real estate office.

Figuring out how to find dining chairs can be as easy as matching the people in your life to the chairs in your home.

Add visual interest without everything being a match-y match

Yes, perfectly matching dining room tables and chairs are sometimes picture-perfect. On the other hand, you probably don’t want to play it so safe that your neighbours can guess exactly where you ordered your dining furniture from.

Don’t think too hard about mixing dining chairs:

● Wood chairs and two upholstered ones at either end.
● Two slightly different types of chairs in the same material or finish.
● Two chairs with the same shape but in different colourways.
● A couple of seats with woven textures mixed in with ones that are painted wood (or other materials).

When done with some restraint, your dining area will seem both curated and comfortable, and definitely not too much like somewhere you would eat off trays with juice glasses every night.

Think about more than just what’s directly in front of you

With the exception of many beds, bedside tables, and entertainment armoires, most seating in a home that is not in use is still visible to people walking around the house. They can see its shape, the footprint it leaves in a room, and the way it reflects light.

Very minimal shapes look great in small spaces because they don’t visually commandeer extra room. Along the same lines, oval or soft-edge dining chairs work great to humanise rooms with lots of square footage.

When you spot dining chairs you love, think about how they’ll look tucked into the table as much as when they’re pulled up.

It’s those little things that all add up

A finish, a stitch, a leg shape, a seat cover; all inconsequential, right? But all together, they have a definite effect on the vibe of a space. Performance fabrics make clean-up a breeze. Wood gets more beautiful with age. The sound a seat makes on the floor has a noticeable impact on the usability and pleasure of daily life.

Rather than trying to keep pace with “now” colours and styles, pick dining chairs that fit your life, work with your home’s look, and that you’ll feel relaxed and proud of for years to come. A well-considered purchase will settle into your space and work together with other design elements. You’ll be psyched about those chairs long after the seasonal trends have shifted. (And dinner will always taste better!)