the dining chair dilemma

Posted on by Lauren Zerbey

Apparently, the barstool dilemma was just a prelude to the dining chair dilemma. We thought we had this one figured out long ago, but no such luck.

Yes, just like 90% of you reading this, we wanted Eames side chairs. Even though I love the new colors that Herman Miller introduced this year, I just don’t like the plastic shell as much as the fiberglass. And the bases…well, I personally like the dowels but Kyle couldn’t get on board with the maple and black. (I’m sure the nice people at DWR found some entertainment in our discussion about the pros and cons of the different bases.) I wasn’t a big fan of the Eiffel base and overall, it would still be a big investment for something we weren’t 100% in love with. I’m completely envious of all those stories I’ve heard of people happening upon originals and you can be sure if that ever happens to us, we’d jump on it. But until the Eames karma rolls into Seattle, we need to find an alternative.

Last spring, we noticed this punchy (and affordable) yellow chair from West Elm. We haven’t ruled it out completely, but we are hesitant to buy something without trying it out. (C’mon West Elm, time to open in Seattle. You too CB2.) We’re also wary of getting something that can’t be pushed fully against the table. Small living = every inch counts. (Note: we’re keeping our solid beech table from IKEA for now. It just got a fresh sand and finish and looks great!)

 

I’ve also been eyeing these simple wood chairs from West Elm, but have the same worries about not being able to try them out first. Also, we have so much fir in the house now that we’re worried another wood species wouldn’t look right (though the chair does come in white too).

And then there’s Blu Dot’s version of the iconic bent plywood chair. We ordered a sample of the “ivory” and it really is too off-white for the bright white that is everywhere else. I do love the chair cozy accessory. Although I can totally hear my mom saying, “but you could make that!”. I know Mom, I know. Maybe this is the year I dust off the sewing machine and uh, learn how to use it. 

There’s also an upholstered version that comes in brown or black faux leather. I just got the brown sample in the mail today and even though it seems like a good option, we’re just not 100% sure. Blu Dot is having a 20% sale through November 8th, but the chairs would still be around $150 each after shipping. I also don’t think this version really works with the cozy colors. Maybe the wheat…maybe not. 

So here’s where we come full circle, back to the chairs we already own. We bought these standard IKEA upholstered chairs 6 1/2 years ago and made the mistake of buying beige slip covers. Seriously, what were we thinking? Even though I want a hard surface chair (light weight, easy to clean, visually minimal), we’re thinking about just buying new slip covers until we find something else. What do you think about this gray cover?

Are there any other chairs out there that we’ve totally overlooked?

As much as we want to make our house the vision that we have in our heads, I think we also have to realize that the best houses are those that evolve over time. And even though it’s been four years, it also feels like we just moved in.

28 thoughts on “the dining chair dilemma”

  1. I think you’re right, just get the cheap new Ikea covers and wait til you find something you absolutely adore and need to have. Maybe it will be expensive, but maybe it will be worth it and your bank account will have recovered a little by then. 😉

  4. I find myself fearful/avoidant of 3 things regarding dining table chairs: (1) That I’ll bash my elbows/funny-bone with a good arm-swing (2) That they’ll fall apart via (a) leaning back too hard or (b) moving them across the floor (with an awful rubbing sound-frequency) and (3) That they feel off-balance when I’m sitting in them, moving them back, whilst trying to remove myself from the table. I hate when the back has weight-priority, and decides to wedge itself, making me sit back down 🙁

    ..Not to make your decision harder, but just another set of variables for y’all to fuss about!

  6. as someone who has happen upon original eames chairs, i am also having the debate between the dowel and eiffel bases. at first i thought i wanted to go with the dowel, but now i’m really leaning towards the eiffel, plus the cost is much less. but now i just need to get up the courage to move the mounts on the chairs because my chairs have the wide mounts for the stacking base. in reality, i will probably just have the stacking bases for awhile…

    i like the blu dot chair, but would that look too similar to the barstools? maybe the best option is to wait and see what else comes along. i have found that sometimes as soon as i stop looking, the perfect thing comes available 🙂

  7. I’m personally really in love with the yellow chairs myself, but I understand being worried about getting them without testing them out. With the fact they aren’t flush with the table… maybe you could do some chairs and a bench to make up for the lost space…

    I don’t know, I don’t think that works, I can’t picture it in my head.

    I’d say go with the slipcovers for now. Wait until you love something.

  8. I like the wood ones from West Elm on their own but, like you said, if they don’t go well with the fir in the rest of the house then they’re not “the” chairs. I’d agree with most of the other comments and say buy some new slip covers and then wait for the perfect chairs to come to you. 🙂

  9. I agree, let’s wait and see, who knows maybe I’ll even design and build some! I do like those orange chairs posted by ModFrugal though. I could do those for sure.

  11. have you looked at modernica? they carry eames replicas in fiberglass and have a lot of bases to choose from…

  12. I have had those West Elm chairs in white – they’re really good quality and comfortable. I would stay away from IKEA…I just don’t think that the quality is worth replacing them every few years. The West Elm ones will last a long time and won’t kill your wallet.

  13. Thanks for the tip Meredith…we’d been focuing on Herman Miller since they have a good architect discount. We recently looked at Modernica’s Case Study daybed, but I don’t remember there being a trade discount. Does that seem right?

  14. Thanks Sara, we had planned on doing a bench originally, but decided that we liked the flexibility of being able to rotate and/or expand the table if we have people over.

  15. I hear you Katie. We’re also struggling with striking that balance between too “hodgepodge” and too “matchy matchy” since we basically have a one-room living space. Definitely makes choosing furniture more difficult! =)

  16. Hmm…I recognize that sidewalk in the orange chair add. I think this guy is a dealer of sorts. That’s definitely a good price though. Hmm…

  18. Jaime, which West Elm ones were you referencing (they both come in white)? Good to hear about the quality…

  21. Today I was at a cupcake shop in Brooklyn and they had one of the West Elm wrap chairs, so of course I scoped it out for you. My opinion: not comfortable, and for some reason I really didn’t like the legs in person. Just in case that helps. I’m a vintage junkie, but I think chairs are some of the best things to buy vintage– just so many amazing styles out there that mix really nicely with newer stuff.

  22. I say stick with the Ikea chairs for now with the gray cover. That looks nice. And then, when something awesome rolls around, you can go for it. Also, I like the idea of Kyle constructing something of your own design.

  23. Ha, Kyle has talked about designing/building the chairs and the barstools. But there’s still a lot on the “to build” list so I think we’ll go the pre-built route for now. =)

  24. Thanks Daniel, good to know. And I think you’re right about the vintage mixing well with newer stuff. Time to stalk craigslist!

    (By the way…I got an e-mail from West Elm this morning called “take another look at our wraparound chairs”. Uh, creepy?)

  25. I agree with Nicole. The grey chairs with slipcovers seem fine. I also like the bentwood chairs, but if you’re not convinced, don’t get them!! Especially not at $150 each.

  26. Check the Eames, Arne Jacobsen etc. chairs with your table. Most of them are of lower height than today’s chairs/ tables. That’s why Hansen makes their chairs today also in 47cm high versions instead of the original 44cm ones. ;-)))

    We feel uncomfortable sitting in the lower ones over a longer period of time, and we are not necessarily overly tall people ….

    P.S.: A Hello from our Eames bird to yours ;-))) What have you done about the feet? We are afraid it might scratch wodden surfaces and are designing shoes out of cork for him.

  28. I just happened upon this blog during a google search for dining chair slipcovers…I don’t know if you’re search has been solved by now, but we have these chairs in black and I love them…small in stature and easy to wipe clean. They also stack. The only drawback is if you stand on them (to reach a high shelf, etc) they tip over forward quite easily.

    http://www.dwr.com/product/bellini-chair.do
    http://www.allmodern.com/Heller-Mario-Bellini-Dining-Chair-1000-HEL1000.html

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