Little decor ideas for big impact: mismatched dining chairs

Remember the time when you could buy matchy-matchy furniture? You could buy a full set of matching pieces for the living room, dining room or the bedroom. I’m so glad those days are long over! It’s gone so far the other way that mismatched dining chairs are a very much a decor thing and thats a very good thing. And that is exactly what today’s little decor idea is about.

Mismatched dining chairs add character and interest to a dining space. They can look great and really allow you to express your personality and style. While it’s a great look, it’s not the easiest look to pull off especially if your decor style leans minimal — you can’t just grab any old chairs and call it a day. There are a few things to consider so that you have a mismatched yet cohesive look.

Apart from being an interesting look, mismatched dining chairs could save you money too. It’s no secret that dining chairs are very expensive but with this look you can use some of your existing chairs or you can get second-hand chairs or you can even get them for little or no money if you’re happy to get old and damaged ones that you can restore.

how get the mismatched dining chairs look just right

1. Keep the seat height and size similar

This is the one thing that I would say is absolutely essential for this look. Firstly, because you want everyone at the same height at the table. It will look a bit ridiculous if people are seated at different heights! Same goes for the size of chairs — having one random extra large chair or extra small chair will look strange and simply won’t work.

2. Find some commonality

Find your thread or a common element that ties all the chairs together. They could all be rattan chairs in different styles or they may all be mid-century modern chairs or they may all have a very minimalist profile. Having one common element that runs through all the chairs will make your mismatched style look intentional and cohesive.

3. Stick to a similar colour palette

This doesn’t necessarily mean that all the chairs should be exactly the same colour. Instead they should be in the same colour palette — think neutral tones together or natural wooden tones together. This is especially important if you want to go for lots of different chairs.

The flip side to this is to go for very similar or even the exact same chair but in different colours. For a more minimalist look though I would suggest no more than two or three colours otherwise it may look a bit chaotic. For e.g. (AFF) you could go for something like the Muuto cover side chair which comes in five different colours or New Works missing chair which comes in three different shades.

4. Keep the decor style similar

To keep things looking cohesive and more minimal, choose a decor style and stick to it for all your chairs. If you have a minimalist home, then a bunch of chairs with a minimal and clean profile will look great. If your style leans mid-century opt for this style. There is plenty of choice within each style so you’ll still have lots of dining chairs to choose from.

5. Anchor the ends

If you’re unsure about pulling off the mix and match dining chair look, consider having different chairs only at the ends of the table. Keep all the middle chairs the same and add two different chairs at each end. You’ll still have a mismatched look but it will look cohesive and you can’t go wrong.

For a bolder look, keep the two end chairs the same but opt for a mix of chairs in the middle. The end chairs will act as an anchor and bring everything else together.

6. When in doubt, try alternating chairs

If you love the mismatched chair look but also want to guarantee that it looks cohesive, pick just two different types of chair (with some commonality) and alternate them around the table. For a bigger table that seats say 10 or 12, you could go for three different dining chairs and alternate them.