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The Design Files // Photo by Sean Fennessy
So what do you think? Do you love the look of an eclectic mix or completely mismatched dining chairs or do you prefer the more formal look of a matched set? There’s no right or wrong when it comes to what’s popular in design right now, I think it all depends on the look you are going for!
Happy Monday, friends!
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Love this! The fourth and fifth are my favorite. I think I can appreciate really different ones, but for me I would want some similarities…
– Kaitlyn | http://www.TheCrownFox.com
I love this look too- it is just like the people surrounding the community of the table- all different. I took it one step further in the city Seahurst home and used handmade recycled wood chairs in two types from Tropical Salvage; tall and short (google them!) and added one of their benches. They put together the smooth salvaged wood with its various colors garnered from the process to make the furniture to help the community. Also the wood is all kinds in the room from the floor (tiger-striped bamboo) to the the table (Brazilian hardwoods) with its African mosaic marble top but all from tropical enviros- really makes my staid china and crystal sets shine and warms up my brocade wainscoting and dupioni silk drapes!
I always thought I would like it, but when I see pictures of mismatched chairs I never like it. If the chairs are the same height and colour I like it . As soon as the heights are different it throws me off. I do like different chairs at the ends of the table. I also don’t mind a bench on one side and chairs on the other.
This is so well-timed! I’m currently working on plans for my new dining space, and mismatched seating is at the heart of it! I want to use a bench, a settee, and a few other chairs to lend a comfortable, lounge-y vibe to our eating area, given it’s location off the kitchen. Your post has a lot of great inspiration!
Love all of these inspiration photos, particularly the first one, they look like they have all been handpainted in the perfectly complimentary colours!
Thanks so much for sharing!
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Do you know anything about the light fixture in the Southern Weddings photo? Manufacturer, etc.? Thank you.
I prefer the mismatched look. It gives a room more character, and for some reason I think it always lends a more relaxed mood as well – not too stuffy or formal. My in-laws went with the mismatched chairs in their breakfast room. They started with antique wood chairs, all different shapes and styles, and then painted each one the same color, so at first glance they look like a matched set, until you go to sit down at the table, you notice that they are all very different from each other.
Now, that I could get behind! Total mismatches, not so much.
So I am not weird after all! Back in February when we remodeled our kitchen I painted the chairs different colors. Actually I used the colors that I put on the walls and woodwork. I used toile chair pads for the seats.
Well timed for me as well, but in a different way. After years of searching, I finally found chairs I really want….got 6 of them, all the same. A modern take on a Windsor chair, in black. Love them.
I think mismatched dining chairs work best in a very simple and open space; my dining area is too small. And I prefer when all the chairs are approximately the same size.
I’m in at about 50%! If the chairs are all the same, but painted different colors, that works for me.
The Alexander Waterworth image with bentwood chairs is soothing as the paint colors are repeated, albeit in different parts of the chair. The total mismatch look reminds me too much of college days, so may work for a very casual space. All good ideas – just depends on where you are on the eclectic scale.
I’m with Kaitlyn and Suzanne – I like a bit of symmetry or some relationship. The second pic with alternating chair types each with a different cushion color and the two very different chairs on the end is fun and reminds me of occasions when I alternated two 4-place settings of dinnerware for a not-so-formal 8-person dinner. The Waterworth pic with the same chairs painted different colors is whimsical but comfortable. And even the Southern Weddings pic has a pleasing symmetry with its mix of similar and different. Delightful post.
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mismatched is the new matched! ;)
Oh, my brain is way too symmetrical to handle this! It would drive me crazy, not having matching chairs, lol.
I can’t do the mix and match with every single chair, but I do love the side chairs and the chairs at the head of the table different, or the same style chair in different colors, that is a really fun look.
I really think it adds character to a dining space using the mismatched chair concept. My own design aesthetic tho calls for them to be the same seat height and color if painted, but different styles is really a cool look!
I love mismatched chairs! Thanks for all the wonderful inspiration!