These days dining chairs are a piece of furniture which are rarely used in most homes. However, that does not mean that it is OK to go out and buy the cheapest ones you can find to match your dining room’s decor. You will only end up being sorry when you decide to entertain or start eating dinner with the family around the table again. Here are some tips on buying the right dining room chairs for your home.
Comfort is important
When it comes to dining room chairs most people go for looks alone, forgetting that comfort is just as (if not more) important than style. Naturally, you want the chairs around your dining room table to look good and fit in with the decor of the room, but they also need to be comfortable.
Your dining room chairs should have at least some padding on the seat, or at least have the ability to add some temporary padding in the form of a cushion. You need to be able to sit upright in a dining chair, so it is important to look for chairs that provide good back support. Most are designed so that the back of the chair reaches the middle part of the average adult’s back. Any lower and the person using the chair will not find it comfortable for long.
The importance of sturdiness
It is also important to look for sturdy dining room chairs. You never know who you are going to be entertaining and you want your chairs to be strong. They will be used for long periods if you entertain, and you can be sitting around the table for at least a couple of hours. If you choose well a set of dining chairs can last for decades and be bought up to date using paint and new upholstery, so they are an item of furniture that’s worth investing a little money in.
Think about the width
The most comfortable kind of dining chair is probably the armchair style. These chairs have armrests, which make them particularly attractive and relaxing to sit on. However, this also means that the chair takes up quite a bit of space. The best approach is to buy two armchair style chairs for use at each end of the table. That way you can buy traditional armless dining chairs for use along the leading edge of the table. Taking this approach will allow you to fit more people around the table. If all of your dining chairs have arms, you will reduce the number of people that can fit around the table. Typically, an eight place table becomes a six place table if all the chairs around it have armrests.
Consider buying a couple of extra chairs
This brings us to our last tip of buying a couple of spare dining chairs. These can be kept in the dining room against the wall. That way they will be to hand when you have extra people to dinner. This will stop you getting into the situation where you are using camping chairs when you have a lot of guests. Everyone can sit comfortably and can, therefore, enjoy their meal more.
