Modern Chairs for the Kitchen and Living Room: 50 Photos and Inspiring Ideas

Chair in the interior: characteristics and design features

The existing variety of types and shapes of chairs can be divided into three main groups:

• regular,
• bar,
• half-chair (chair-chair).

Each chair has legs connected to the seat in one way or another, and a back – this is its main difference from stools. A bar chair is taller, and a half-chair has armrests. A chair-chair in the interior is usually used as a single item, replacing a full-size chair, especially in small rooms.

In order to correctly determine the appropriate size, it is best to sit directly on the selected product, but there are also general selection patterns that you can focus on. What should you pay attention to before making a purchase?

Seat

• Height. A seated person’s feet should be on the floor and their knees should bend at a right angle. Tall and very short people need chairs of different heights. In large families, it is convenient to use adjustable seat heights, for example, with a gas-lift mechanism.
• Depth. The length of the legs is also different for everyone. It is bad if the edge of the seat rests against the popliteal fossa. As a rule, the depth should be at least 45 cm.
• Width. For a full person, too narrow chairs are uncomfortable, so the optimal seat width is at least 40 cm. If you buy a chair-armchair for the interior of your apartment, keep in mind that the width between the armrests is limiting, if it is insufficient, comfort will suffer.
• Rigidity. The seat can be hard, semi-soft or soft. A semi-soft chair has a built-in “cushion” about 4 cm thick, covered with fabric or leather, a soft chair has a cushion more than 4 cm thick with or without a spring block, a hard chair does not have a softening cushion at all.

Weight

Very light chairs are easy to move, push under the table and get out from under it, and this is certainly a useful quality. However, heavy options look much more solid and add weight to the interior, both literally and figuratively. In addition, they are safer – it is almost impossible to fall off them, you can’t swing on them, which is especially important for families with children.

Advice: The back of the chair can be of any height, but it must be comfortable and fulfill its main purpose – to support the back.

Design

Design features allow us to divide all the models into two main types:

• solid,
• collapsible.

In addition, they differ in storage options:

• stackable,
• folding.

Solid chairs are the most common option, they are convenient in fairly spacious apartments. Small apartments, where you have to save space, are better equipped with collapsible chairs that can either be folded or stacked and put away in a pantry or on the balcony.

Types of materials for chairs

The strength, reliability and appearance of a chair depend on the material used to create it. But we choose this piece of furniture primarily based on how it looks in the interior of the apartment.

Wooden chairs

Wooden chairs in the interior of any home will give it solidity and thoroughness. The color and texture of natural wood will suit almost any style and create an atmosphere of special warmth and comfort. They come in three types:

• carpentry (made from straight pieces of wood);
• bent (made from wood processed in a special way, which is given smooth shapes, for example, Viennese);
• glued (made from veneer of valuable wood species).

The price of the product depends on the type of wood and the manufacturing method. All possible types of chairs are made of wood.

Metal chairs

This is a very durable and strong material, usually used in combination with wood or plastic, making seats from them, or equipping a solid metal product with a cushion. Metal corners, tubes, profile or forged elements can be used as a base. Forged metal chairs in the interior of the Provence style emphasize its simplicity and at the same time sophistication. Chairs made of chromed metal parts will suit the styles of minimalism and hi-tech.

Plastic chairs

Since the early sixties, this material has gradually gained popularity, and with the invention of new types of it, this popularity is only growing. Durable, long-lasting, non-fading, painted in any color, plastic chairs “started” as equipment for cafes and hotels, and now they have conquered apartments.

Another advantage of plastic is that it can imitate glass. Transparent chairs in the interior are used in cases when you do not want to clutter the volume of the room – they are almost invisible, and at the same time comfortable. With their help, you can get interesting decorative effects.

Wicker chairs

Wicker chairs have a number of features. They are very light, their seats spring softly, providing a comfortable fit. In Russia, such chairs were woven from willow, they were inexpensive and available to everyone. If necessary, a chair or even an armchair could be woven independently.

Nowadays, wicker chairs have become one of the almost obligatory elements of “village” interior styles and have gained great popularity – in the “concrete jungle” of big cities, they provide an opportunity to remember nature. Chairs made of synthetic materials are also gaining popularity – they are comfortable and pleasant to sit in, and they do not cling to clothes, unlike willow and rattan rods.

Combination chairs

In many models you can find a combination of different materials, for example, the base and legs can be made of metal, and the seat – of plastic or wood.

Placement of chairs in the interior

The appearance of the chair is determined by where you are going to put it. Dining room, kitchen, balcony, bedroom, children’s room – there is a place for this familiar piece of furniture everywhere, and it will be different everywhere. Chairs in the kitchen interior must withstand high temperatures and humidity, be easy to wash and durable. Hard seats are appropriate here, since the upholstery on semi-soft and soft ones can easily get dirty. For the living room, the main criterion is compliance with the design, for the children’s room – safety.

Chairs in the kitchen interior

If the kitchen is equipped with a dining area, the choice of chairs should be approached especially carefully.

• Chairs should be easy to clean, they do not need semi-soft or soft seats with fabric upholstery, if hard ones do not suit you, choose upholstery made of leather or washable fabric, which is easy to care for.
• The back should not be too high so as not to cause discomfort.
• Too ornate and complex shapes are undesirable – they can interfere with movement during cooking, they are more difficult to care for.

A very interesting option, especially for small kitchens – chairs made of transparent plastic. They do not visually clutter the room, and look very interesting, adding a play of light reflections from a smooth surface to the interior. As a rule, plastic chairs can be stacked, which is convenient if you need to free up more space or clean up.

Kitchen chairs in the interior should, first of all, be comfortable, not distracting from eating. However, this does not mean that they should be boring. Chairs designed by famous designers and mass-produced can fully satisfy all requirements, add uniqueness and charm to the room, and will look great in the kitchen, living room, and studio space.

Unusual and exclusive designer chairs in the kitchen interior can be very beautiful in themselves, but they will rather interfere than contribute to the processes in the kitchen, and due to the saturation of furniture, they are unlikely to be clearly visible.

Chairs in the living room interior

It is not always possible to get by in a guest room with a classic sofa and a couple of armchairs. Not everyone and not in all cases is comfortable with this, for example, it is quite difficult for elderly people to sit down on a low sofa and then get up from it. The main requirement for all items in the living room, which is essentially the face of the house, is compliance with the chosen style.

Chairs are no exception. The material they are made of can match the material of the rest of the furniture, or it can contrast – but this contrast should be justified and aesthetically pleasing.

As a rule, the backs of chairs intended for the living room are 10-20 cm higher than those of other types. High dining chairs in the living room interior look elegant and expensive. If in the kitchen chairs have mainly a utilitarian purpose, then in the living room you can safely experiment. This is rather an element of decor, with their help you can place the necessary accents.

Designer masterpieces can become the main art objects in the living room and perform the same role that paintings by famous artists play in interiors – attract attention, provide a topic for conversation, and bring an element of exclusivity.

Chair design in a modern interior

Style solution

There are an infinite number of styles in which chairs can be made. Almost always they overlap with the styles of the design itself, but they can all be divided into several groups:

• classic;
• modern;
• vintage styles.

Minimalism and high-tech are the most popular modern styles; non-standard shapes and the latest technological solutions satisfy the tastes of most users.

Color solution

It all depends on whether you want to “hide” your chairs, leaving them with a purely utilitarian function, or want to draw attention to them, turning them into an interior accent. In the first case, it is worth choosing colors close to the background color – walls or other furniture. In the second, on the contrary, the color can be contrasting and even very bright.

It is not at all necessary to make all the upholstery of the chairs one color, it is enough to highlight only one with an accent tone, leaving the rest in the background color. The laws of color influence on the psyche also work for kitchen furniture, soft pastel colors are calming, the red part of the visible spectrum stimulates appetite, blue muffles it.

Identical or different chairs in the interior?

The usual option is a dining group that allows you to seat a family. These are four or six chairs, usually completely identical. A win-win option, but quite typical. Try to abandon the standard scheme and combine different chairs in the interior of one room. The result can be magnificent.

Quite often, a family has one or two chairs with a history that it is a pity to throw away. For example, they are made of real wood and are currently at the peak of fashion, but it is impossible to combine them with other furnishings. To “fit” an exclusive item into the overall context of the interior, try following the advice of designers.

• To highlight one chair in the interior, paint it in an accent color. For example, wooden chairs are usually not painted, leaving the texture of the wood visible as an addition to the interior. A painted wooden chair in the interior of any style immediately attracts attention, especially if the color is bright.
• Want to fit an unusual chair into an existing dining group? Change the upholstery so that it is the same – and a chair of a different shape will look great in the group. You can also combine an exclusive item with a group using color or a uniform material.
• Place chairs of different shapes next to each other, painting them in the same color. The resulting group will add originality and a good mood to the interior.
• Using different shades of the same color can also serve as a unifying agent.
• A boring dining group can be radically transformed if you choose upholstery for each chair, or by painting the same items in different colors.
• Collect chairs of different shapes, paint them in the same color and cover the seats with the same material.