By Dave Nemeth
There are many important issues to bear in mind when purchasing dining chairs in order to give you peace of mind that you will get many years of comfort and usage out of this essential item of furniture.
Dining chairs are often bought separately to dining tables, and it is important that these will not only complement your current decor but also fit in with future decor styling and looks. This is where a more conservative buy will result in the chair having longevity, instead of being a fashionable statement item that will quickly date and be out of place.
If you are purchasing dining chairs for an existing table, one of the most important factors to bear in mind will be the height of the existing table, which should be between 74cm to 76cm. This means the chair should be around 45cm to the top of the seat. If your table is higher, you may have to get something specially constructed or reduce the height of the table legs slightly. There is nothing worse that eating a meal and being too high or too low.
The next important factor to take into consideration is how many chairs you will fit around a dining table in order to create comfortable spacing between people. As a guideline, leaving 60cm per person will leave enough space for a place setting; if you can allow 70cm, this will give even more flexibility.
Legs
How far they splay out; ensure that when someone walks past, they don’t trip over legs that stick out too far.
Look for chairs that have stretchers between the legs. These are wooden supports between the legs, which give additional strength and will ensure that the seats don’t separate from the back and legs.
Back
Make sure that the backs of the chairs have the correct “rake”. This is the angle of the back, and will determine how long you are able to sit comfortably on the chair without putting unnecessary pressure on your back and posture.
Upholstery
Generally it is advisable to go for a dining chair with a well-padded seat, although newer more contemporary versions may not be upholstered at all; however these are more suited to an informal dining or dinette area.
Having upholstered backs is again pure preference, but do bear in mind that dining chairs get pushed in and out on an almost daily basis, so a fully-upholstered back stands the risk of getting very dirty, quickly. A more practical solution is to often have a wooden frame around the upholstery.
As with all furniture, when it comes to purchasing dining chairs, ensure that you ask about the guarantees and warrantees as well.
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