Switching your dining chairs can be a great starting point when sprucing up your home décor. Whether you’re planning a total transformation or just a small refresh, something as simple as a few new dining chairs can make a dramatic change.

One of our favourite trends sweeping the interiors world right now is mismatched dining chairs. In this article, we will lay out how you can take advantage of this look to bring your home one step closer to becoming that Pinterest-perfect haven you always dreamed of!

Why Master the Art of Mismatched Dining Chairs?

A fabulous way of injecting colour and character into your space, mixing up your dining chairs allows you to separate yourself from the crowd and to express your personal tastes while giving your home a subtle designer edge.

Mixing Dining Chairs: The Three Golden Rules

Planning is paramount in order to master this design aesthetic. We at EZ Living Interiors recommend you stick to our three golden rules when selecting your dining room chairs.

Comfort should be your very first priority. There’s no need for your dining chair to be any less comfortable than the other chairs in your home. Take a moment to consider just how many hours you spend at the dining table, you wouldn’t want an uncomfortable chair to stop you (or worse yet your guests) from enjoying a beautifully-prepared meal. Never sacrifice comfort for design; it is very doable to get the best of both worlds.

The next thing to consider are your measurements. Take care to ensure that the table height is compatible with that of the chairs. It’s also important to double check if all your chairs will be able to fit nicely under the table. You will also need to keep comfort in mind - the average diner tends to prefer a distance of 25 to 30 cm. If you do decide to mix chairs, it will be imperative to maintain a consistency of height so that you and your fellow diners aren’t looking up or down at each other.

It may sound like a contradiction, but the final keys to successfully pulling off the mismatched look are consistency and cohesion. You will need to find some element that visually unites the chairs to each other. In the next section, we will give you some tips on how to strike the right balance between eclecticism and consistency.  

Get Creative: How to Mix & Match Your Dining Chairs 

Switching up your end chairs is a quick and cost-effective way of making a unique style statement. This approach allows you to subtly play with pattern and colour. Once you have selected your accent pieces, offset them with a much simpler, solid style of chair to create a sophisticated balance.

Choose dining chairs from the same colour palette

In terms of colour variation, one very effective trick is to opt for chairs that share the same shape but contrast in colour. This approach works best for chairs with a simple design. More daring designers may want to take this one step further and choose chairs that are all from the same colour palette. Another good tip is not to think about matching the chairs to the table, but rather to think of how best to elegantly tie them to the rest of the room. To achieve a “tied together” look, pick something in the room and match the chairs to that instead such as a lighting feature or another piece of furniture.

Benches offer a cost-effective alternative to buying individual chairs. Seeing as they don’t have to blend in with the other dining chairs, they work well as a good statement piece. Pick a wooden bench for a sleek look or opt for something upholstered for added comfort. Providing ample space for multiple sitters, benches can come in very handy when entertaining. Benches are also an excellent option for smaller spaces as you can simply slide them under the table when not in use.

Benches offer a Sleek and Cost-Effective Alternative to Dining Chairs

Mismatched dining chairs are a great way to incorporate the current interiors trend for mixed textures. Texture plays a vital role in adding visual weight to a room so bringing together materials of contrasting textures can create incredible depth, balance and visual interest to your living space. So how can you channel this trend in your dining room? If you have a wood table why not pair it with an acrylic, plastic or an upholstered chair? Alternatively, if you have a lacquered table a wood or upholstered chair can work well.

We hope these tips and tricks will help you to achieve the dining room of your dreams.  Remember that our sales advisors are available to help you with your styling needs all year round!

Happy decorating!
Team EZ Living