How to Choose Dining Chairs: Height, Width, Fabric and Back Height Explained
Dining chairs are used more hours a week than any other seat in the house except the sofa, and they are the easiest furniture to get wrong: too high for the table, too wide for the space, or a fabric that does not survive a family. Here is what to measure and what to ask, with the real sizes and prices of chairs from our showroom in Portlaoise.
1. Seat height: the 28 to 32cm rule
Measure from the floor to the underside of your table top. Subtract the chair’s seat height. The gap should be 28 to 32cm: less and knees hit the table, more and you eat with your shoulders up. Most dining tables are 75 to 80cm high, so a seat height of 45 to 48cm suits nearly all of them. If a chair has a thick padded seat, measure with the cushion compressed.
2. Width: how many chairs fit along the table
Allow 60cm of table edge per chair, or 65 to 70cm for chairs with arms. A chair that is 53cm wide leaves elbow room; a 70cm armchair-style dining chair looks generous but takes the space of a chair and a half. Along a 220cm table you fit three 53cm chairs per side with ease, and three 70cm chairs only just.
| Chair | Width x depth x height | Style | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leora Cream Fabric Chair | 53.5 x 64 x 90cm | Slim, metal frame | €640 |
| Parma Cream Dining Chair | 52 x 70 x 90cm | Slim, gold frame | €690 |
| Milano Cream Fabric Chair | 55 x 67 x 90cm | Standard, gold accent | €620 |
| Casto Cream Dining Chair | 55 x 66 x 89cm | Standard, black and gold legs | €690 |
| Ecrue White Dining Chair | 58 x 70 x 90cm | Standard, gold accents | €740 |
| Galante Beige & Black Chair | 70 x 52 x 88cm | Wide, armchair feel | €840 |
| Nevada Cream & Brown Dining Chair | 70cm wide, 105cm high | Wide, high back | €1,140 |
3. Back height: comfort versus sightlines
An 88 to 90cm back is the standard and supports the lower and mid back for a long dinner. A 105cm high back, as on the Nevada chair, makes a statement at the head of the table but blocks the view across an open-plan room, so many people use two high-backed carvers at the ends and standard chairs along the sides.
4. Fabric, and who is sitting on it
Cream and beige fabrics photograph beautifully and are the most popular choice in our showroom. With small children or a dog, ask for a tighter weave or a treated fabric, and choose a chair with a wipeable frame. Most of our dining chairs are made to order, so the same chair can be specified in a darker or more hard-wearing fabric than the one on display. Our fabric vs leather guide applies to chairs as much as sofas.
5. Match the chair to the table base
Four-leg tables limit where end chairs can sit; pedestal tables do not. A chair with arms needs to slide under the table apron when not in use, so check the arm height against the table’s underside. Buying the chairs as part of a dining set removes all three checks, because they were designed together.
Dining chair questions
How many dining chairs should I buy?
The number the table seats day to day, plus two if you host. Extra chairs from the same range can be ordered later because the designs are made to order rather than end-of-line stock.
Do dining chairs need to match the table?
They need to match in height and scale, not necessarily in colour. A cream chair with a walnut table works; a 105cm-high chair with a 75cm table does not.
Can I try them first?
Yes. Every chair in the table above is in our Portlaoise showroom, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Sit in it at a table for ten minutes; that is the only test that matters.
See the full dining chair range, or read the dining table size guide first if you are starting from an empty room.
For related guidance, read our styling a dining room.
