Choosing the Perfect Chairs for Your Dining Room

From leisurely weekend breakfasts with the family to twinkling candlelit dinner parties with friends, the dining room is a space to spend quality time with the people we love. Enhance this room with beautifully crafted chairs to keep guests comfortable when the conversation flows around a food-laden table.

It takes a little time and consideration to select the best chairs for your dining room, so follow our practical guide to ensure you’re soon pulling up the perfect dining chairs to the table.

Take Your Measurements  

One of the first things to do when browsing for new chairs is to measure your dining table, noting down all the dimensions. This will allow you to work out how many chairs you could fit around the table, making sure you leave a six-inch gap between each chair. 

Measuring the height of your table will allow you to buy chairs that leave a comfort gap of at least 12 inches between the chair’s seat and the tabletop. Remember to consider the depth of your table to ensure you can neatly tuck your new chairs away.

Practical Considerations 

Upholstered chairs are usually the most comfortable, with cushioned seats and padded sides in armed models. Choose this snug option if you’re known for your dinner parties that last late into the evening.

If you’re feeding a young family around your table, easy-to-clean materials such as reliably durable leather, metal, chrome, or painted wood will make your life easier when it comes to keeping your dining room looking spotless.

Extending dining tables can be tricky to seat because you won’t always need your full complement of chairs in the dining room. Lightweight materials such as chrome allow you to easily stow away additional seating.

Whether you want chairs with arms depends on personal preference and space around the table. Though they offer decadently cosy seating, they do take up additional room.

Fitting the Aesthetic

Your new dining chairs should not only fit your interior styling but also accentuate it. Whether your dining room is formal and extravagant, relaxed and fresh, or a pared-back, trendy minimalist space, there are chairs to fit the design brief.

If your chairs are to sit beneath a glittering chandelier, opt for ornate backrests and rich fabrics to enhance the opulent look. If you're keeping things bright and breezy, turn to the clean lines of simple wooden dining chairs. 

Leather chairs bring a timeless elegance that works well in decadent, modern, and homely schemes. They’re a superb choice if you’d like to mix and match chair colours at the dining table, or you could take a far bolder approach, mixing materials and styles for the popular bohemian mismatched aesthetic.

With measurements, material choices, and comfort in mind, you’ll be ready to shop for new dining chairs with focus, putting the finishing touches to one of your home's most socially important rooms.