Since we’re using the big, bulky table from our last dining room in our kitchen area now, my initial thought was to soften it with some slipcovered dining chairs. It seems practical with kids, right? You just remove the slipcover, wash and you’re good to go. But, in reality, I wonder how many times I would actually wash the slipcovers. In our house, it could be a daily chore and that’s just not going to happen.
Better Homes & Gardens
So, after we completely destroy the upholstered chairs we have now (and we’re getting there quickly!), I’m thinking easy-to-wipe-down chairs are the way to go.
For those of you who have messy people living in your house, here’s a quick round-up of practical chairs. (Click on the image for the source.)
And, by the way, if I’m totally wrong about the slipcovered chairs, let me know :)
I’m with you…while they’re pretty, would I really take the time to wash? Probably not!
I can only speak for my kiddos, but slipcovered dining chairs were a bit of a train wreck over here. I think if they had eaten less at the dining table (for example if we had a bar area or breakfast nook for breakfast, lunch, and snacks) it wouldn’t have been as bad. But I have two young boys and there were jammy prints galore. I wasn’t willing to sit at the table and police their snacktime behavior so I pulled the slipcovers instead ;) But I do love the look.
Having said that, I’m all for slipcovers elsewhere, in less foodish areas of the house… ;)
I love the slipcover look. We don’t have slipcovers at the table but what if you used slipcovered chairs at the ends and used wipeable seats down the sides of the table where your kids will eat. The slipcovered chairs can be for you and your husband. That way you can get the look but don’t have to worry about the kids getting them dirty. Just a thought.
Kindof like Emily’s but opposite: http://jonesdesigncompany.com/decorate/the-dining-room/
Hope it helps. Whatever you come up with I’m sure will look great! Can’t wait to see!
Meg
I am thinking about getting some chairs from PB that are actually upholstered, not slipcovered. I have 5 children, ages 12-1, so that seems a bit crazy, but i was thinking about spraying them with some type of stain and liquid repellent, in the hopes it would keep them clean. Maybe a crazy thought though. And since the chairs are like $300 each, it probably won’t happen until my youngest is quite a bit older! :-)
So tough to answer….I currently have slipcovered chairs that I purposely have my 2 year old eat on so I can wash them! But long term, I’m reupholstering others in leather for that very reason. I do have to wash them a lot. :-( But I love them! They were a lucky MGBW find at a consignment store.
As a mom of 4 messy eaters, I would not use the slipcovered chairs. Even though I love the look, I know I would not be happy about doing laundry constantly. That said, I have slipcovered the seats of our kitchen chairs in the past with a really sturdy, indoor/outdoor fabric that could be wiped clean with a sponge.
My husband and I have kooboo chairs with white cushions, but the kids are not allowed to sit in them while eating. They get the hide-everything black distressed wood chairs :)
FYI…the Andres II Side Chair will collect crumbs in the texture.
Can slipcovers be made of an outdoor fabric? Then maybe you can just wipe them down. Get the look and none of the hassle of needing to wash them all the time.
I was actually going to recover my cushions in a gorgeous Robert Allen white/gray fabric until little miss starting sitting at the table. You should see the mess she has created on the chocolate suede! No way I’m recovering them now! I think we need wipe down chairs! Great solution!
I tried white slipcovers cod awhile bur hated them dirty and hatednwashing all the time! Now I have the supremely durable, wipeable, and virtually I destructible aluminum Delta side chairs from Crate & Barrel. (and they’re on sale rigth now for $85, a steal…I just bought two more for the playroom).
I’m about to slipcover my barstools at the island with non-washable fabric, yesterday I tried a little test by rubbing ketchup into the the fabric after using Scotch Guard – I was amazed,it easily came out, I’m going for it!!
I am with you! I want to add that a bench also wipes easily and functions well for kid seating. Thanks for the post!
I have actually been searching for some good stain resistant fabric to put on my dining room chairs. I have 3 little ones and one on the way and needless to say our cream colored fabric chairs are not holding up so well. I’ve been researching oilcloth and laminated fabrics and I think that’s the direction I’m headed. You can get designer fabrics (Heather Bailey & Amy Butler are two of my favs) and still have a durable, stain resistant material that will hold up to messy eaters.
I especially love this post that features vinyl coated Chiang Mai dining chairs:
http://revivalfurniture.blogspot.com/2011/05/laminated-fabrics.html
Emily, I have 6 kids (yes, I said 6). I currently have slipcovers (white…eeeek!) and I probably need to wash them every week and it happens once every month, possibly 2 months. WE bought these IKEA chairs with navy covers and white covers thinking, “oh how easy would it be with kids just to pull off the cover and wash it!” Such foolish thinking for a newly married couple! Anyways, I LOATHE my chairs now. Wish that I had easy, wipeable chairs, like the ones you posted today. HO HUM. Someday, when we get more $$. OH, I just saw a great thing on great rooms on HGTV. Meg reupholstered a bench and used a gorgeous, somewhat white fabric but then covered it with an iron-on clear vinyl fabric which then stapled into place and back onto the bench. THINKING about trying this when I make new slipcovers for these chairs. Have you ever used a fabric like that before?
Thanks, Emily! I have messy kids (not to mention the Hubby!) and have just started looking for our kitchen table replacement chairs. You gave me some wonderful sources and I just kept clicking on each image you posted getting more and more excited at what I saw! Thanks!
I think slipcovers would b a trainwreck. I have chinese chippendale chairs that I upholstered with wipeable vinyl (klassy–and they have been colored on, so they look terrible), but I have been thinking of replacing them with these tolix-knockoffs from Overstock:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Silver-Tabouret-Stacking-Chairs-Set-of-4/5095638/product.html
I’d prefer a real tolix chair, but you can’t beat a set of four chairs for $190.
I *hate* my upholstered chairs. They are disgusting. Any idea where I can find the Anna Brentwood style chairs for less than $299/pair?
Such a timely post. I have parsons chairs in leather that I was thinking of slipcovering because I want a great punch of colour but now you have me rethinking this. Practicality trumps all when kids are around.
I would love o see ghost chairs with that table!
Stacy
Anyone with kids will appreciate Crypton fabrics. Completely washable, moisture resistant, anti-microbial. I’ve used them in my clients’ homes as well as healthcare settings. It’s great. http://www.cryptonfabrics.com.
And by the way, I’m not paid to mention them here or anywhere else.
I don’t have small children, but we’re a busy household with lots of company. I’d have no desire whatsoever to add more work for myself with having to wash slipcovers regularly. I don’t see anyone else mentioning this, but while rattan wears like iron, neither those or the chairs with the caned seats would be on my list of choices. They’d be an invitation to have to clean gunk out of cracks & crevices. You can’t beat a smooth chair that can be wiped down.
I recovered my chairs with outdoor fabric (that doesn’t look like it) and it works great! I have a toddler and he of course makes messes and I just wipe them down and even chocolate ice cream comes right off after it’s been there for a few days.
I wish I could say you were wrong about the slip covers because that was the same logic I used but I ended up having to wash the slipcovers weekly and they still look like they had been shot at and hit.
The other commenter talking about the Andres chairs is right – I had mine for a few years and sold them on Craigslist awhile back. CRUMB COLLECTORS. Also? Not comfy at all. Which is shame because they really were gorgeous (and a great price, since I got them on sale with free shipping too).
With five kiddos, I wouldn’t dream of doing slipcovers. We’ve got microfiber chairs at each end (also Craigslist – $40 for the set, so even if they don’t last forever they were still worth it), and wood ones that you can take out back and hose down for the rest ;)
We actually just got rid of our parsons chairs and got some similar to the 3rd one from Cost Plus World Market. We love them because they’re so easy to clean and really open up the room.
I agree with your practical thinking. Although I love the slipcovered look – with 3 small children, you probably would feel the need to wash them on a regular basis. On another note, I really like all of the chair choices that you shared today. There would certainly be something for everyone in those choices.
I would not go with the cane seats, madras, wicker or bamboo/rattan chairs. I’ve used all four types over the last couple years and they are hard to keep clean. Food collects in all the crevices.
I have slipcovered chairs now (because the all wood ones I wanted were too expensive)and they definitely get dirty but I wash them every other week or so. We don’t have guests that often* to make it a necessity to wash more than that.
This is a real problem! I took our uber comfortable upholstered dining rooms chairs (we only have one eating area) and lightly upholstered temporary vinyl to the kids chairs that goes on top of the nice Robert Allen fabric chairs. This way when they are older I can remove the vinyl without changing the integrity of the chairs or starting over. I have a blog post on my living room at http://www.catherinealisoninteriors.com with pictures of the dining chairs.
Alison
I would not use any thing woven. You would be amazed at how much crud can hide in all of those cracks. Also, I would not use any of those chairs with absolutely flat seats; they are terribly uncomfortable to sit in. I would cover the seats in outdoor or other durable fabric. I know this sounds crazy but I have recently seen some great looking vinyl; one was “pewter” and the other was “bronze”. They were nothing like ordinary cheap vinyl, nor was the price at $20 per yard.
Love that picture! Specifically, the table in it, do you know which issue of BHG you found that in? Or, being the decorating genius you are, maybe you know of where I could find a table like that!
Thanks!
I suffered the EXACT same way with my decision on kitchen chairs. My ultimate choice was a chair from World Market which seemed like a knock-off of Arhaus which I am sure knocked off someone else. I would skip the slipcover – seems that it would slip around a lot unless it was made for the chair. http://houseography.blogspot.com/2011/03/chairs-alicious.html