Comfortable and resistant without sacrificing style: are you thinking about how to renovate your dining area by changing the kitchen chairs but don’t know where to start?
We have prepared a complete guide to choose the best modern kitchen chairs to match all styles: happy reading!
5 points for choosing kitchen chairs
Let’s start from the fundamentals: what are the essential characteristics that a kitchen chair must have? We have selected the five most important ones.
1. Convenience
The first point to consider when choosing a chair for the dining table is comfort , not only in the seat itself, but also within the space.
The backrest must not be very high, otherwise it becomes an obstacle to movement (the chair must be a maximum of 2.9 feet high) and the chairs must not be too heavy precisely because they must be moved often.
Also evaluate the space available to sit comfortably: the chairs must not be too bulky and not obstruct the passage.
2. Resistance
The chairs for the kitchen and dining room are not accessories that only serve to furnish a space, but have very specific functions and are positioned in an area of continuous passage and where they get dirty easily. This is why the materials that compose them must be resistant to impacts, dirt and wear.
3. Easily cleanable materials or washable fabrics
Especially if you have small children or pets , chairs without padding, made of polypropylene, are the most comfortable, because they are very easy to clean.
Alternatively, opt for removable and machine washable and generally stain-resistant fabrics, or, again, for removable cushions. Avoid bouclé and velvet fabrics, which are too delicate, prefer microfibre and cotton.
4. Harmonious colors
Moving on to the actual style, the choice of colors for the kitchen chairs must not be random. The chairs must first of all match the table and then the entire surrounding environment. If the table is simple, made of wood or just one colour, you can place a very colorful and particular chair next to it.
If the table is already an elaborate and designer piece of furniture in itself, the chairs must be simple, linear and in neutral colors.
5. Avoid too many mixes of materials
As with the previous point, the materials must also be chosen with care, to avoid an excessively confusing effect , especially in an environment such as the kitchen where it is often not easy to maintain order.
Chairs that are too different in materials and styles could increase the sense of confusion and disorder. If you are not sure how the whole thing will look, opt for very simple chairs and possibly try placing cushions on them to evaluate the final effect.
Types of modern kitchen chairs: the most beautiful models
1. Metal and bouclé
The padded seat in bouclé fabric , halfway between a chair and an armchair, is the ultimate in comfort when you are at the table.
With or without armrests, it might seem very classic, but if you choose it with the design touch of the metal legs it immediately becomes a modern piece.
Colorful fabrics combine with a simple wooden table, white with the delicate nuances of the Scandinavian style.
The only precaution: the bouclé padded fabric can be problematic if you have cats, who will immediately pick at it to scratch their claws.
2. Modern designer kitchen chairs
If you want to buy a set of ultra-modern chairs following the latest interior design trends, buy them with rounded and soft shapes, which soften a square or rectangular table but are also the perfect complement for a round table.
The legs can be in matt black or golden metal, the padding in imitation leather, for an industrial style, velvet, for extra luxury, or in microfibre, for practicality and ease of cleaning.
Even more modern are those that have the entire metal structure, including the backrest, with cushions instead of padding.
3. Modern meets classic
When tradition meets contemporary design, a classic-modern furniture is created , which is very popular today because it recalls warm elements of the past and integrates them with contemporary pieces, exploiting the contrast between the two worlds but creating a unique harmony.
If you like this style, you can also include it in the chairs for the dining table. Choose a chair with metal legs but with padding in neutral colors, beige, pearl grey, brown, and in a shape that recalls classic seats.
4. Polypropylene chairs
Absolutely the easiest to move and clean, polypropylene chairs today are made in very particular designs , they can be mixed by choosing different colors or different shapes but in the same color.
Perfect if you have pets or small children because they have no fabrics that could be ruined, they are also excellent for moving outdoors for summer dinners.
Choose them with a wide, enveloping seat and armrests that make them more comfortable. If you want to add a comfortable touch, add some colorful cushions, perfect for changing the style of the dining table in an instant.
5. The Scandinavian touch
Modern Nordic style chairs are very popular for their simplicity and at the same time the softness of the lines which make them suitable for all environments, as well as very comfortable, thanks to the enveloping seat.
You can find them both with wooden legs and a colored polypropylene shell, and in the upholstered version in fabric, imitation leather, velvet, even with matt black legs for an extra modern touch.
How to match modern kitchen chairs
Chairs are the simplest furnishing accessories to change when you want to renovate the modern kitchen or dining room without spending too much or distorting the rest of the furniture.
How to combine them correctly in the kitchen? Here are some ideas to harmonize them with the rest of the furniture and the style you have chosen.
Kitchen in shades of white
The most classic of kitchens is the one in shades of white. Here the chairs will certainly have the role of modernizing a slightly dated furniture and making a neutral kitchen more modern.
Opt for colored chairs for a pop touch, even in different shapes, perhaps combining some fabric chairs with a wooden table, others in plexiglass or wood, or with a Viennese weave backrest.
Kitchen with dark tones
If you have a kitchen in dark wood, and in general in dark colors, you can choose two different paths.
Either maintain the general mood of the kitchen with upholstered seats in dark fabrics or imitation leather, or use them in contrast, choosing them in colored polypropylene or with light or white padding. If the kitchen is a little gloomy, the second option is certainly the best choice.
Beige or light kitchen
If you have furnished the kitchen in a classic style, and its predominant colors are light neutrals and warm whites such as beige, cream, taupe, dove grey… you can complete it with equally comfortable chairs. The white bouclé fabric and chairs with wooden structure are perfect.
Black kitchen
If you have made a decisive choice and have furnished a total black kitchen , complete the ultra-modern setting with minimal and linear design chairs, with decorations reduced to a minimum and possibly without padding.
Or, choose an armchair model but with a metal structure, and fabric cushions in a shade of grey.
Eclectic kitchen
An original and absolutely trendy solution is to combine different chair models with each other.
This solution works very well especially with wooden tables, even recycled ones, but also evaluate it with modern designer tables. It’s all about always keeping a common thread between the chairs, be it a color or a shape.
Kitchen with island
In this case you have to optimize the spaces and you could choose stools. However, don’t think that you have to “surrender” to uncomfortable plastic seats:
today design has made great strides and stools have nothing to envy of the most fashionable chairs, they have comfortable backrests, armrests and padded seats in many different variations.
