The Ideal Dining Chair: What Should You Look For?

A good dining chair should first and foremost match your table: a standard dining table that’s 74 to 75 cm high calls for a seat height of about 48 cm, leaving about 26 to 27 cm between the seat and the tabletop. Next, choose the backrest height, with or without armrests, the base, and an upholstery that suits your family.

A dining chair is no longer just a place to quickly eat a meal. We have breakfast in it, sometimes work there all day, help the kids with their homework, and linger there for hours after dinner, chatting. A good dining chair must therefore do more than just look nice. These are the points our advisors will go over with you.

What seat height is right for your dining table?

Most dining tables are 74 to 75 cm high. This corresponds to a seat height of about 48 cm, leaving 26 to 27 cm of space between the seat and the tabletop: enough room for your legs, and low enough to rest your arms on the table comfortably. All Stressless dining chairs have a seat height of 48 cm.

Don't just look at the tabletop; also look at the edge underneath it. If your table has a wide side edge or a drawer, measure from the floor to the bottom of that edge. Your knees and any armrests should fit underneath it.

Upper or lower back: What's the difference?

A high back provides more support, all the way up to your shoulder blades, and you’ll notice this especially when you lean back after a meal. A low back is less conspicuous, keeps the view unobstructed in an open living space, and fits more easily under a windowsill or between a kitchen island and the table.

For Stressless, the high back is 105 cm tall and the low back is 92 cm tall on the Mint, Laurel, and Vanilla models. The Bay is available only with a low, enveloping back that is 91 cm tall. If you like to sit for long periods, our advisors usually recommend the high back; if you want the chairs to “blend in” with an open kitchen, they recommend the low back.

Will you choose dining chairs with or without armrests?

Armrests provide extra support when getting up and a sense of being cradled when you sit at the table for a long time. They do take up some space, though: with armrests, a Stressless dining chair is 58 to 59 cm wide; without armrests, it’s 44 to 57 cm wide, depending on the model, size, and base.

The armrests on a Stressless dining chair are 69 to 70 cm high. This means they fit neatly under the tabletop of a standard dining table that is 74 to 75 cm high. Keep in mind, however, that a work table or built-in table may be only 70 cm high.

You don't have to choose between all or nothing. A practical combination: two chairs with armrests at the short ends, and chairs without armrests on the long sides, where space is more limited.

How many dining chairs fit around your table?

Along the long side of your table, allow about 60 cm per chair without armrests and 70 cm per chair with armrests. That’s the width of the chair itself plus some space for your elbows. It’s best to leave 30 to 40 cm of space behind the chair so you can stand up comfortably without bumping into the wall or a cabinet.

Guidelines, calculated at 60 cm per chair without armrests and 70 cm per chair with armrests. If your table is at least 90 cm wide, you can fit one more chair at each end.

If you want to fit as many chairs as possible around a single table, check out the Stressless Laurel: in size M, it’s only 44 cm wide on its narrowest base. You can find more calculation examples on our Stressless dining chairs page.

Which base should you choose: fixed legs or swivel legs?

The base determines the chair’s look, price, and whether it can swivel. A swivel chair is convenient in a smaller dining area: you can sit down and stand up without sliding the chair backward, and you can easily turn to face the person sitting next to you. Fixed legs give the chair a more understated, classic look.

All Stressless dining chairs are compatible with five different bases:

• D100: four straight legs in solid oak or beech, classic style.
• D200: Angled legs made of laminated beech wood with oak or beech veneer, modern.
• D300: four slender steel legs in matte black, chrome, or satin silver.
• D350: an aluminum star-base chair that rotates 360 degrees, with an optional auto-return feature: after you stand up, the chair automatically rotates back toward the table.
• D400: a continuous sled base made of curved steel.

The D200 and D400 are the most affordable bases. Wood goes well with a wooden table; metal looks lighter and pairs well with a table that has a metal base.

Leather or fabric at the table?

Spills happen at the table, so choose your upholstery based on your daily life—not just on color. Leather is easy to clean with a damp cloth and gets more beautiful over time; fabric feels warmer and creates a softer, cozier look. For Stressless dining chairs, choose from 3 types of leather in 50 colors and 10 fabric collections in 71 colors.

If you have children or grandchildren, our advisors recommend leather, particularly Paloma or Velaro: both are durable, provided you maintain them at least twice a year using a Stressless care kit. If you have cats or dogs, keep in mind that leather is more susceptible to scratches.

Not sure about a color? Take some leather and fabric samples home and lay them out next to your table and on your floor, both in daylight and in evening light. Feel free to combine different colors on a single table.

Which Stressless dining chair is right for you?

The four Stressless dining chairs all feature the same motion-adaptive seat with Balance&Glide™ and fit on the same bases. The difference lies in their shape and size.

Each chair is made in Norway in the style, upholstery, and color of your choice, with a delivery time of 8 to 10 weeks. If you also work from home, the Mint, Laurel, Bay, and Vanilla models are also available as home office chairs on casters.

How do you test a dining chair in a store?

By sitting down at a table, not just standing around in the showroom. A dining chair behaves differently when placed at a tabletop: only then can you tell if the seat height is right and if the armrests slide underneath.

• Sit the way you would at the table at home, with your arms on the tabletop.
• Lean forward as if you were eating, and then lean back as if you were clearing the table.
• Turn toward the person next to you.
• Stand up and sit back down: Can you do that without pushing the chair all the way back?
• Imagine sitting here for two hours during a leisurely dinner.

You can read about just how important that last point is in our article, “Hours of Dining: Why a Comfortable Dining Chair Makes All the Difference.”

Come try it out for yourself in Leuven or Antwerp

You can only truly appreciate comfort when you sit down. In Leuven and Antwerp—the only official Stressless stores in the Benelux—the full range is available, and paramedically trained consultants will work with you to find the right size and model.