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Decor

Molded Plastic Chairs for Every Style and Budget (and In Our Dining Room, Too!)

January 7, 2015

Over the holiday break, we got new dining room chairs! We were hosting my whole family on the 26th and our old dining set we bought when we got married was in rough shape. The table has scratches and paint on it, but even worse, the chairs were starting to break and a couple cross braces were missing. It was time! Hysterically (kind of) the chairs didn't make it to our home until the 27th (!!) but we have been enjoying them very much since. We have plans to make a new table soon, but it's crazy what an improvement the chairs made. Here's how the setup looked beforehand:

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A few things we were looking for in new chairs were: 1. Wipeability. We are in the deep of child rearing and I am not interested in babying upholstered chairs while eating. 2. Comfort. We host a lot of dinner parties that sometimes last for hours. No one wants to be sitting on a hard chair for that long! 3. Lower profile. Our old dining room chairs had really tall backs which cut into the openness of the great room.

We looked at a ton of different options, but pretty quickly settled on a molded plastic chair style. I have heard great things about the comfort level, the all-one-piece molded plastic could not be easier to wipe down with kids and they have a lower backs. Not to mention, my pins were crawling with them. Although we settled in on this style after only a couple days into our search--there were still so many options! The original and ever-classic Eames one was out of the budget, but fortunately there are a lot of comparable knockoffs in our range.

Molded-Plastic-Chairs-for-Every-style

one | two | three | four | five | six

These were a few of our top contenders, all from Wayfair, that we loved for so many different reasons. After we gathered a few styles and prices, I was leaning toward a white shell with dowel legs. We slept on it, and then I felt like white would be way too stark in our place. And then we nixed a black shell because we are planning on black cabinets in the kitchen. A tan shell was becoming more and more appealing. I love the mix of tan and black (love!) even more than white and black, really. The only problem was option six had a faux wood grain in the plastic we weren't crazy about. I kept looking and discovered that our number one option came in a lot of different intriguing colors, including beige, but there were no pictures online!! So I googled. I googled the crap out of pictures of beige molded plastic chairs and there wasn't one that I didn't like. We went for it, sight unseen.

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When we opened the box, we both let out a sigh of relief. The color was just what we were hoping for. A warm light beige. The chairs were a cinch to put together and opened up the great room so much. It's amazing what getting rid of those tall backed chairs did. It's easier to place food on the table, see the girls play in the living room from the kitchen, and although our kitchen isn't much to look at right now, once we complete the renovations, I'm sure we'll appreciate the clear sight line even more.

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What we heard about the comfort of this style of chair was true. We were apprehensive, especially Chris, but we are both believers now. They are very ergonomic and even have quite a bit of give to lean back in.

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We are still designing our new table and trying to be mindful of future surrounding finishes while doing so. In the meantime, these chairs are doing a good job at making our table look 10x better than it did. My mom actually asked if we had gotten a new table, too…and then I pointed out the old paint splatters. Ha! If you are on the fence about molded plastic chairs, we're new fans but would definitely recommend them. And in beige--so sophisticated!

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  1. I'm having the hardest time finding beige chairs with out the faux grain. So excited that you have discovered them but I can't seem to locate them on Wayfair through the link! Would you be able to name off what they are listed under on their site please and thank you!

  2. So I'm seeing this post over a year later and I'd like to know how your chairs have held up? I'm considering getting the white ones and I have 2 kids and was wondering if you've had any scratches since getting them?

  3. Julia, I just ran across this post (found your blog from House Tweaking) and I love how these chairs look in your home! I have been considering getting chairs like these and I think you pushed me over the edge.

    I know it's been 6 months since you posted this, but just in case you see this comment: any updates on how the chairs have held up over time? I've seen various Eames knock-offs online that get critical comments from folks who say they fall apart fairly quickly. I'm guessing the ones you used are a better brand -- it would be lovely if they're staying in good shape!

    1. They are still in great shape and are an absolute dream to wipe up after meals with two little girls. We love them and couldn't recommend them enough!

    1. I can't believe how wonderful they have been in the few weeks we have had them. The clean up is a cinch and they feel like a hug when you sit in them.

  4. These chairs totally look like you guys. And I love the way it transformed your dining space. And the fact that you can just wipe them down after a big mess or spill! You'll SO enjoy that with the girls.

  5. Oooh! I love this! I've been trying to think of ways to update our plain table with a more industrial edge, and this might just work. Do you know if any of these styles come in counter/bar height?

    Also,can you keep us posted on how they do over time with the kids and with general use? I'm a bit hesitant to bring white furniture into our home.

  6. I was a little skeptical when you said you chose the beige because the white ones are so iconic and popular but they work so well with your space! I can't believe more people aren't decorating with beige Eames-inspired chairs, it's like a best kept secret. Great choice!

  7. Is it just me, or are the shareasale links not working? Call me lazy, but you have done an awful lot of legwork on this and thought I'd piggyback on the purchase...

    1. You sweetie. You know, we usually have to make Wayfair links no follow, but then we got on their affiliate program and assumed we still had to, and I don't think we did. So we actually made it a lot more work than it had to be. If you can get to the chairs, then we'll just try again next time. Haha. However, if the link is not bringing you anywhere--well, that's cause for concern. Let me know!

  8. I have always loved those chairs and have been drawn to the black or white but your choice of the beige is amazing! I'm totally in love :) Maybe I missed it in your post, but did you go with option 6? They look smooth in the pictures. Would you be willing to send me the link for the ones you purchased? Thanks!!

  9. These look great! I originally thought these looked really small because I was comparing to the old chairs, but I saw your Instagram yesterday and they look perfect.

    1. Glad you saw the pictures on Instagram! They are a great size. Our last chairs had really tall backs that blocked so much view we didn't even realize!

  10. This seems like an odd request, but I'd love to see a photo of either of you sitting in them. Looking at the chairs by themselves they appear larger. . Mainly, I'd like to see where the top of the chair hits on your back. Would you mind snapping a few modeling photos later? Thanks!

      1. Thank you so much! I am in love with the beige. I too would have probably initially gravitated toward the white, but I love how natural these look. I appreciate you humoring me and getting those pics! :)

  11. These chairs look gorgeous! It's always such a leap of faith when buying online isn't it - but such an awesome moment of triumph when it's exactly what your mind's eye envisioned! These chairs look so great in the space. I'm looking to replace our dining room chairs (we got an interim dining room table set on Craigslist and painted/reupholstered them but it's not the long term solution) I'm increasingly stuck since it's a very traditional craftsman room - do I add formal chairs to match or will it make the room too stuffy? Now you have me thinking to maybe go a bit more clean/modern!

    Gorgeous space!!

  12. p.s. I shocked myself and ordered a MIDCENTURY BENCH for our foyer!!!!! the MCM part is not the surprise, just always thought I needed a console table.

    Then I kept going back to your entrance way and thought: We have a great hall closet so no need for hooks or a coat rack, no outlet for any lamp or need for one, and we hang our keys. A bench makes so much more sense!! Found a beautiful one on Wayfair and am ordering three paintings from Janet Hill on etsy to go above the bench. It will be so lovely, and your chic foyer inspiration gets all the credit.

    Check her OUT, darling right??? http://janethillstudio.com/

  13. I love how you mix beige, black and gray so effortlessly. Your home looks so pulled together yet you do it piece by piece, do you have a agreed upon design direction you want your home to go in? I wonder also how does your beige couch hold up with a dog/kids? I am in the hunt for a couch and am debating on the fabric/color and fearful if I choose a light color it will look dirty all the time?

    1. We definitely have a style and direction we're headed in, it just takes a long time for us to update things piece by piece. The beige couch is holding up fantastic. It still looks brand new. Our gray Lounge wipes up like a dream, too. We eventually plan on moving the gray sofa in the downstairs family room (where the TV and no seating currently is) and something leather in its place.

      1. Oh I remember you possibly mentioning something about leather!! I have a dark brown leather sofa (i bought it when dark brown leather was in) in my living room and my 100lb dog (who loves to lounge on it) has worn out the leather on two of the seats. Since my cushions don't move i can't rotate them which means that sofa is on its way out. So make sure the cushions can move if your dog likes to lounge on your sofas!!!

  14. Yes yes yes oh yes! Way to go :) We bought a two-set of the white plastic (from overstock, the one pictured above with the arms); I use one for my desk chair and we have one in our retro lounge next to Grandma's 1960s apple green chair. It IS soooooooooo surprisingly comfortable and everyone flocks to it. Also makes a great comfy chair at my desk for writing sermons!

    I so, so wish I could bring myself to replace all of our dining chairs with the armless ones, but we have our grandparents' dining table and the matching chairs are simple and attractive enough, and will be MUCH more comfy with reupholstered seats. One day.

    I have always been ga-ga over IKEA's Tobias plastic chairs, they have so much give and are so comfortable and very attractive. Again, hard to justify ditching my vintage chairs that just need a little TLC! In the meantime, our bucket chairs make darling bookends to our dining table when we've got lots of company over.

    Fabulous pick of your part, this is a great post! Tan = rockin'.

    1. Vintage chairs trump any knockoff for sure. Luckily, we had only had cheap chairs that were falling apart to replace. It was a no brainer. Haha

  15. This reminds me of the knockoff Eames rocking chair we got a couple of months ago! Totally agree with you in terms of kid-friendly wipeability, cost, and comfort. We got a white chair, but I like the pale warm tan hue with your dining table. Nice balance of materials.

    (P.S. Are those toys on the floor in the background? Kids make everything look cute :)

    1. Oh, definitely toys. And I think those are dirty dishes in the second photo. I just don't have time to clean up before taking pictures right now. Haha. I have x amount of minutes before two little girls are going to run into my shots. Hahaha.

  16. I thought for sure painting our old black table white was going to give us more time before needing to upgrade to a larger and BETTER table and chairs. BUT, the paint has chips everywhere and the chairs seem to always be dirty. I would love to find chairs like these and just keep our table for now. BUT the question is, you can't strap a booster seat to those plastic chairs, right? Ellie still needs to be boosted and strapped for at least another year I swear so we'll see. I've also been looking at a bench row too for kids. I loved the benches we had growing up and they were always fun to see how many people we could squeeze on them. I am just LOVING how everything is coming together in your house!

    1. Such a bummer about your paint job. Did you put a sealer on it at all? And, good question about the booster! I don't think we ever used one for Greta. She just went straight from highchair to regular chair, so I am not sure. Also, I love the look of benches!! My sister has one on just one side of her dining table and alll the cousins can magically fit (squish).

    2. YES! You can strap a booster to them. We have these chairs in white with metal legs. I love them so. And we still have a booster on one of them even though our three year old flat out refuses to use it. It comes in handy for guests with kids. We also have a bench that we use on one side of the table. I love the combination. Just go for it!

  17. Looks great! Over the holidays, I purchased a new table which will be delivered today. So excited. I'm on the hunt for the style and color of chairs that I want!

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