Choosing the right chairs for a dining or kitchen table can change the entire atmosphere of a room.
I’ve had a chair fetish lately. I find chairs, paint and recover them, and love the result so much I want to keep them! Now I’m stuck with the dilemma of choosing which set of dining chairs to actually keep. Please help!
I’m supposed to be Simplifying Life & Home this month, but it seems the more projects I complete, the more mess I’m creating! Once I refinish a set a chairs, I bring them upstairs to my dining room to photograph in order to post them online for sale.
Big mistake! I now have three sets of dining chairs sitting around my house.
I end up loving them all and wanting to keep them. Please help me decide which ones to keep! Here are the choices…
The first are these Crate & Barrel Folio knock-offs from Target. I love the simple, straight lines, the smooth (faux) leather fabric, and the warm off-white color. The off-white seems to give my home that light, airy feel – a look I love.
The streamlined shape of these chairs allows them to fit nicely under the table. They sort of blend into the the room rather than create more chaos in it. These chairs have a major downfall though, they are ripping so if I want them to last, I’ll have to recover them.
Next up are the spindle-back wood chairs. These were basic maple chairs which I painted bright white with a lemon yellow ombre effect on the seat. You can see more photos of these ombre chairs in this post. They’re a happy, summertime option that say “casual kitchen”. Durable, easy-to-clean, and the paint effect makes them a fun conversation piece.
EntriWP.com
The rounded backs aren’t exactly my style and the angled legs take up more space than a straight-leg chair, but they are fun, aren’t they!
Finally, the shape of the chairs I refinished this week is almost identical to the Napoleon chairs from Pottery Barn. With that in mind, I opted to paint these in a low lustre black finish and recover the seats in a flax color fabric, just like you’d find at Pottery Barn.
EntriWP.com
These chairs say “Holiday”! As soon as I put out a Fall table runner and a few candlesticks, they just worked. They blend with the dark gray fireplace and tie in with the black appliances I have in the adjacent kitchen.
My dining room isn’t a separate space, my entire kitchen / dining area is all open to each other, so this is also my kitchen table. While I love them for the fall and they are the most comfortable of the three options, I’m just not sure if they are too formal for year-round and my simple, clean-line taste.
So you see my dilemma? What do you think?
I love bright, light, clean lines, and simplicity. I also want to create a comfortable space. Even though this table is five feet from my kitchen, we NEVER sit here. I would love to create a comfortable space we actually start using.
HELP!
Would love to hear which chairs you think I should keep:
- Off-white Crate & Barrel Folio knock-offs
- Bright white & lemon yellow ombre wood
- Black Pottery Barn Napoleon knock-offs
I like the dark chairs but you should add a little bit of dark stain antiquing to your table to make them match. The white chairs don’t look solid enough for your heavier looking table.
You may be right about the coloring. I’ve been living with the black chairs for about a week now and keep feeling like they’re too dark; but don’t think I want to add stain to the table.
I think the black chairs, although a lovely shape, are much too sombre for your room, especially with the black fireplace; they create a gloomy atmosphere. The pale chairs with the leather-look seat finish don’t seem to do anything for the room. However, the white and lemon ombre chairs dance. They make your room sing. These are the ones I would keep.
Good luck whatever you choose.