Mismatched Dining Chairs

Mismatched dining chairs create a completely custom look that’s unique & interesting. Learn how to mismatch dining chairs well with Wood Furniture Store.

Can you mix and match dining chairs?

A completely matching dining table and chairs is perhaps more traditional, but there’s no reason why you can’t mix and match dining chairs. If you follow some of our tips below, you can pull off a big range of different styles and it allows you to personalise your dining room to a greater degree.

However, the chairs have to complement each other in some form in order to look like they still belong and to create a rounded, balanced final look.

The Golden Rule

There are lots of ways you can balance mismatched dining chairs, but there’s one golden rule that makes the biggest difference.

Keep mismatched chairs the same height.

Keeping even mismatched chairs the same height helps to ensure they all look like they belong together. It creates an even and aesthetically pleasing shape that means you can often pull off even the most ‘interesting’ of arrangements!

How To Mismatch Dining Chairs

If you’re following the golden rule, you can play around a bit with the different combinations of dining chairs, but here are 6 of our top choices for mismatching dining furniture.

1. Same colour, mismatched style

Image from Decorating Files

Mixing the style of your dining chairs can work really well if you choose a colour to keep consistent throughout all the chairs. This helps to create unity within the furniture, especially if you also match the chair colour to the dining table.

With a matching colour, a mismatched style can create interest and a more dynamic look to your dining room.

Try:

Same colour palette

Rather than matching colour precisely, staying within a colour palette can be enough, even if you want to mismatch the style of your dining chairs.

For example, choosing different shades of wood can create a rustic and cosy style. It’s often good to ensure that some of the chairs share the same colour tone to create a sense of continuity within the mix and match style.

Choosing matching dining chairs with a mismatched end chair can create a beautiful statement design that captures two different styles while balancing the overall look.

To choose your statement chair, work out how you want it to tie in with the rest of your chairs. It could include a similar colour of wood or upholstery, or be a completely different colour but match the style of other chairs.

Find a way to tie the statement chair in with the rest of your dining chairs.

If you want to explore this style for yourself, try these two chairs from Wood Furniture Store. Use the reclaimed pine chairs around the table, with the grey upholstered chair for the two ends.

Image from Tidbits & Twine

3. Same style, mismatched colours

Image from tuvalu

Mismatching the colours of your chairs can help to brighten up a room or allow your dining room chairs to better complement the rest of the decor. This is a great way to mismatch chairs as the matching style means the chairs naturally fit together and look like one set, while still creating a variance.

Consider the best way to mix colours and ask how many of each colour you want. You could have the two end chairs featuring a different colour, alternate colours or add two chairs of a different colour in random places to create an asymmetric effect.

Ensure that the colours you pick complement and fit with each other, as well as the rest of your dining room.

Try:

4. Same chair collection

Choosing chairs from the same furniture collection will mean that they naturally have similarities in colour, shape or style. This will mean that even when choosing mismatched dining chairs, they will still work well as a group to create a unified and pleasing look overall.

The Cotswold furniture range at Wood Furniture Store, for example, has a range of different colours available in their dining seating collection.

Try:

5. Mismatched colour and style

It’s possible to mismatch both colour and style across your dining chairs, but it’s vital that there’s still some element that holds the overall look together and unifies the room.

A type of style can be enough for this. For example, minimalist elegance can pull a look together, even if the chairs show this in different ways.

Alternatively, focus on shapes such as rectangular or curved.

The chairs in this example are all the same height, are low backed and feature a rounded top. While they are different styles, this ensures they still look intentional alongside each other. The colours match the overall theme of the room so each chair looks as though it belongs.

Try:

Image from tuvalu

6. Same textures, mismatched style

If you choose to go very mismatched by mixing both colours and styles, it can be a good idea to tie the whole look together with soft furnishings such as cushions. Choosing cushions for the chairs that match each other will draw all the dining furniture together, especially if you get a matching table runner or table cloth.

Mismatched Dining Set Suggestions

If you’re ready to embrace a mismatched dining set in your home, we’ve got a few ideas that might just hit the perfect tone for you and your style.

Mismatched upholstered dining chairs

For comfort and style, try these mismatched upholstered chairs with this round, grey-painted table.

Minimalist Set

A minimalist mismatched dining set is a fantastic choice as it suits a wide range of different spaces and will always be in fashion.

Industrial Set

To take your fusion look even further, an industrial style dining set with mismatched chairs is perfect. It’s a fantastic way to give your room character.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do chairs have to match the dining table?

There’s no reason why dining chairs have to match the dining table – mismatching them can provide more character and interest in your dining room. You could try choosing different chairs from the same furniture collection as your dining table for a mismatched, yet complementary look.

Do barstools and dining chairs have to match?

While it’s certainly possible to find matching dining chairs and barstools, there’s no reason why they have to be the same. It’s a good idea to match the colour or the style though so that the room looks like one whole space.

What makes a good dining chair?

There are loads of factors that make for a good dining chair from it’s size to how well it complements your dining table. You can read the full list on our blog: Choosing Dining Room Chairs.

Should the living room and dining room furniture match?

If you want a consistent theme throughout your home, then it can be good to match the dining room and living room furniture, particularly if you have a more open design where the spaces merge. However, many people prefer to explore different aesthetics or colour schemes between their dining room and living room.

Explore more furniture with Wood Furniture Store, based in Holton-le-Clay, Grimsby, but delivering furniture UK-wide.

Cover photo by Amy Bartlam