One of my favorite ways to add interest to a client’s dining area is to mix and match the chairs. Furniture stores often sell dining sets that include a dining table and 4-6 matching chairs. However, purchasing sets can make your room look a little too matchy-matchy. Especially if you have a buffet or china cabinet that goes with the set. But sometimes it’s hard to get just the table or chairs and you end up buying the set because the thought of finding chairs that go with the table can be overwhelming – I’ve been guilty of this too!
The easiest thing to do is to purchase new host chairs, the chairs that go at the ends of the table. This breaks up all of the wood and makes the room feel less heavy.
Placing slipcovered host chairs breaks up the wood tones and gives the room a softer feel. Here is how I did this in a dining area:
Another option is to switch out all of the chairs for slipcovered chairs. In this dining area that I staged, placing all white slipcovered chairs dressed up this area and made it appear more upscale. Here are the before and afters:
In this client’s dining room, I combined very tall host chairs with some bamboo chairs that have a shorter back. This adds visual interest and the host chairs were neutral enough to work with the beautifully colored bamboo chairs. Pillows in the host chairs tie the color of the bamboo chairs together:
Here is another way I used different height chairs in the same dining room. This was a beautiful dining room to start with, but the black host chairs gave it a little extra pizazz! Again, pillows in the host chairs tied all the colors together:
I also love rattan or wicker dining chairs paired with more simple or white slipcovered chairs, that is a great way to add texture to a room. If you want to take your dining area up a notch, I encourage you to mix your chairs! Here are some chairs that I love and can easily be matched together:
And, if you need a little more nudging or would like for me to give you some ideas for your dining area, you can purchase an online consultation here!