Str Furniture chairs

[Justin Melton]

I have looked at several posts but am curious what chairs you recommend for living room to go along with the couch. 

My wife found some mid century modern chairs from Walmart but they were fabric and I’m sure they won’t hold up.  Leather is expensive but may be more durable. What is the happy medium of price, durability, and style. Any recommendations or ideas? 

[Account Closed]

Quote from @Justin Melton:

I have looked at several posts but am curious what chairs you recommend for living room to go along with the couch. 

My wife found some mid century modern chairs from Walmart but they were fabric and I’m sure they won’t hold up.  Leather is expensive but may be more durable. What is the happy medium of price, durability, and style. Any recommendations or ideas? 

You can consider faux leather chairs that can offer look of leather without the high price tag. They are also usually more durable than fabric chairs and easier to clean.

[James Carlson]

@Justin Melton

If you have a little time, can you look on FB marketplace or OfferUp? I've had a lot of STR/Airbmb clients in Denver/Colorado Springs furnish their short-term rentals with items from there.

If you're going upscale in other ways, you can sometimes get away with cheaper side pieces, but if the chairs are going to feature prominently in the photos and design, a few hundred extra dollars are worth it. 

My two cents.

[Brooklyn McCarty]

I wouldn't over think this a whole lot. 

A Leather of faux leather is going to be stain resistant which is nice. However if you are in  a beach or warm market, leather might be not be popular. In that choice if you choose a fabric just know it will need shampooed once a year and spot treated sometimes. 

No wrong choice here, whatever you like best is what I would place. 

[John Underwood]

Take a look a look at top performing properties in your area and see what they have to give you ideas. 

[Jeremy Jareckyj]

I think faux leather is a good way to go. Or get some washable covers for your chairs. 

Make sure they are Sturdy chairs. They are worth the investment because they get used and abused

[Michael Baum]

Ok @Justin Melton, I am going to push back on those that recommend faux leather etc.

It isn't durable. It will begin to crack and tear pretty quickly. If you get 2 years out of a chair, you would be doing well. They look cheap IMHO and aren't great to sit on. Usually the rest of the chair is just as cheap as the faux parts.

I highly recommend you search Craigslist, OfferUP and Facebook Marketplace for used USA made chairs. They are all over those sites for cheap or even free. Some are in excellent shape and will last much longer.

We have all fabic, made in the USA couches and chairs in our lake house and they still look great after 7 years. Basset and La-Z-Boy are the manufacturers we have.

Also, don't shy away from commercial/office furniture. Some of it is pretty nice and very durable. it might have some "officey" look to it, but overall they can fit in.

Here is an example that you can kinda see in one of our photos

The chairs with the circles are Steelcase all wood and fabric. Got them for free off Craigslist. They wear like iron and look pretty good! I looked up some similar chairs and they were over $1000 each.

People get rid of great stuff when they do a change of decor. Spring is one of the main times folks do it so get on it now and I bet you find some good stuff.

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Ok @Justin Melton, I am going to push back on those that recommend faux leather etc.

It isn't durable. It will begin to crack and tear pretty quickly. If you get 2 years out of a chair, you would be doing well. They look cheap IMHO and aren't great to sit on. Usually the rest of the chair is just as cheap as the faux parts.

I highly recommend you search Craigslist, OfferUP and Facebook Marketplace for used USA made chairs. They are all over those sites for cheap or even free. Some are in excellent shape and will last much longer.

We have all fabic, made in the USA couches and chairs in our lake house and they still look great after 7 years. Basset and La-Z-Boy are the manufacturers we have.

Also, don't shy away from commercial/office furniture. Some of it is pretty nice and very durable. it might have some "officey" look to it, but overall they can fit in.

Here is an example that you can kinda see in one of our photos

The chairs with the circles are Steelcase all wood and fabric. Got them for free off Craigslist. They wear like iron and look pretty good! I looked up some similar chairs and they were over $1000 each.

People get rid of great stuff when they do a change of decor. Spring is one of the main times folks do it so get on it now and I bet you find some good stuff.

 Hey, that's our office breakroom you got there! 😅😂  Just kidding of course, looks good!

I'm a fan of just vinyl in general in rentals, as long as it's decent quality especially for dining room/breakfast room chairs. We have fabric in ours right now - they're going to be recovered this spring - and people are constantly spilling food on them and leaving stains. If you go with fabric go with a pattern - dirt and stains are far less noticeable. Light colors are the worst. 

[Lauren Kormylo]

I’d stay away from Walmart furniture. On chairs, you’ll need to look at weight limits, because I’ve seen a lot with a low 225 lb limit.  You know there are a lot of people who weigh more than that, and the chair will become a liability if it breaks with a guest in it. 

[Michael Baum]

Quote from @JD Martin:

 Hey, that's our office breakroom you got there! 😅😂  Just kidding of course, looks good!

I'm a fan of just vinyl in general in rentals, as long as it's decent quality especially for dining room/breakfast room chairs. We have fabric in ours right now - they're going to be recovered this spring - and people are constantly spilling food on them and leaving stains. If you go with fabric go with a pattern - dirt and stains are far less noticeable. Light colors are the worst. 

Hehe! Yeah, those chairs are a little office like, but they are very durable for accent chairs.

For dining, solid wood all the way. No fabric at all anywhere.

The dining sets we have are either solid pine or oak. One is in the breakfast nook and the other is in the dining room. Wearing very well. Easy to refinish if needed. Just use the Minwax Polyshades stain. Lightly sand and go right over the old finish. Looks like a million bucks and takes just a few hours to do a whole dresser or dining table.

That 3-1 gaming table in that pic had some water rings and a slight bit of peeling on the top. It is solid oak. I just sanded with my random orbital, 320grit. Then right over with the Minwax. Polyurethane is tough and it still looks great after 7 years.

So, don't be afraid of some quality furniture if there is some work to be done on the finish. It is super easy to fix these days. 

[Sarah Kensinger]

I wound recommend Wayfair to purchase large pieces of furniture...definitely NOT Walmart! Make sure to read the reviews to get a good idea of how easy the piece would be to assemble and how it'll hold up. Their pro line is designed for STR, and other places furniture would take a beating. Also, if these chairs would be a highly used item, it pays to spend a bit more for them, so they last longer.

[Jon Martin]

@Sarah Kensinger Wayfair is great for finding options but if you do a reverse google image search you can often find where it actually ships from at a steep discount. Wayfair is not a retailer, they are a drop shipper who scrapes most furniture retailers on the internet. 

Chrome browser makes this easier now when you right click, the “search image in google” 

[Sarah Kensinger]

Quote from @Jon Martin:

@Sarah Kensinger Wayfair is great for finding options but if you do a reverse google image search you can often find where it actually ships from at a steep discount. Wayfair is not a retailer, they are a drop shipper who scrapes most furniture retailers on the internet. 

Chrome browser makes this easier now when you right click, the “search image in google” 

Yes, that is a way to find inexpensive items, especially if you have lots of extra time. But our hospitality group uses Wayfair and for returns, plus keeping things simple, a quick one stop shop works the best.

[Kerry Baird]

I have solid wood chairs at the dining table, and really like LaZBoy for their amazing quality of couches.  I have had a spate of cheaper outdoor furniture breaking, things with arm rests to include Adirondack chairs.  I have been getting wider, stronger outdoor furniture when possible. 

[Jon Martin]

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

It doesn’t add any item aside from an extra minute per item, as the reverse image search takes you directly to the vendor who ships it to you if you were to order on Wayfair. The savings are significant. For example, a $135 dining table chair on Wayfair I found at a restaurant supply store for $65. That’s well over half off, and times 10-12 chairs plus other furnishings you are now talking real money. 

I do love the options and filters on Wayfair to optimize for assembly (as in none, as much as possible) and the money I save going directly to the source allows me to buy better quality and set up faster. 

[Sarah Kensinger]

Quote from @Jon Martin:

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

It doesn’t add any item aside from an extra minute per item, as the reverse image search takes you directly to the vendor who ships it to you if you were to order on Wayfair. The savings are significant. For example, a $135 dining table chair on Wayfair I found at a restaurant supply store for $65. That’s well over half off, and times 10-12 chairs plus other furnishings you are now talking real money. 

I do love the options and filters on Wayfair to optimize for assembly (as in none, as much as possible) and the money I save going directly to the source allows me to buy better quality and set up faster. 

Oh, we go for more designer style furnishings, not supply/office style. Plus, our hospitality group gives us extra discounts as well! To us, our time is worth the extra couple hundred on a house worth of furnishings. 

[Colleen F.]

@Justin Melton   consider consignment and estate auctions if  you are in an area that has them.   I like cloth for cleaning but there are a lot of different kinds of cloth, some more stain resistant than others.   Not a walmart fan but consider that some items you are going to replace when they get tired looking so I wouldn't think hey we are going to keep this furniture forever but it should be sturdy.