In Love With Our New Dining Room Chairs

I have been casually looking at dining room chairs for months. And months. But not getting serious -- just gathering ideas of what is available and to my taste. And prices. I knew I wanted more stylish, less used-by-children, and more comfortable chairs so diners didn't feel like they were sitting on a block of granite for the meal. 

I was DONE putting it off, once I decided to repaint the walls, I added new chairs to the plan. So I sat myself down (on the hard dining room chairs, ugh) and made some hard decisions. 

First,  I decided to stop worrying about the chairs matching the dining room table. It's an 8 ft warm/greyish wood tone table -- as was the popular style 10ish years ago -- we bought at Restoration Outlet for a steal. To try to match the wood stain, even new Restoration chairs, would never work. It's aged. It's seen lots of sunlight on it. I'm sure it's a different color. 

And who cares?! I looked through Pinterest and thought the matchy-matchy set-ups looked really traditional, where I'm going for a more modern vibe. 

Second, I gave up on the upholstered chair idea. Even though the goal is to have a soft seat, I just couldn't get comfortable with the idea of upholstered. They'll get dirty. They'll fade. They'll deflate (in some cases). The body shapes are ugly. I won't find a neutral color I liked that will last. etc. And they're generally expensive. 

And I kept being drawn to caning. And Bentwood chairs frames. That look is Parisian and vintage but modern and classic. 

Lastly, prices are crazy. But I decided $100/chair is the best I'll be able to do. Any less and the quality isn't worth it.   

With those thoughts in mind, I got serious and started shopping. I hit all the usual places; Targets, Crate & Barrel, Magnolia, and Wayfair. And I added things that made me go "OH" to the cart. I pondered, removed items from cart, did simple math and these came out the winners: Lauryn Sold Wood Chair in black with caning. 

(left: NEW chair | Right: OLD chair)

Seriously good price -- CLOSE OUT for 71% off! Guys, the chairs were $100 per chair (regularly $350). They're quality. And the caning and bent wood makes my heart pitter-patter, and the black matte finish makes them super modern. And they have a little seat pad! See the photo? Traditional vs. modern.

Love them. 

Amazingly, they fit FOUR to a side. So I can add two extra people to the table, too! So great!

Check them out with the rugs and the black line in the curtain. GAH! Pepper is loving them. Wait until you see them with the GREEN walls.  

And I quickly ditched our old white chairs, donating them to a thrift shop instead of attempting to sell them on Marketplace. I didn't want them hanging around. Once I decided to nix them, they had to go. 

I'll pause here for a moment of tribute to those 6 chairs and their service to our family. From Sharpie markers, to nail polish, to a puppy chew toy to all the food crumbs I wiped off over the decade they were with us, they never let us down. And so many happy memories of meals with my family with all our butts in a chair. Bon voyage, White Chairs. 

OK, now to paint the room and finish up this little dining room refresh.