I have vintage chairs that I've put new fabric on several times, and the one that lasted the longest and looked the best was vinyl. In fact, that's what's on the chair right now, looking as new as when I stapled it on five years ago. I have kids and the chairs gets a ton of use and food spilled on them, etc. There are lots of choices in terms of color and texture with vinyl these days. But if you go with regular fabric, get upholstery or outdoor fabric; anything else will loosen and rip.

Oilcloth, laminated cotton or vinyl are probably the most stain/spill resistant. Laminated cotton has a softer hand than oilcloth and drapes nicely. Another option, although I haven't tried it, is to apply a sealant or waterproofing product to other fabrics. This blog post mentions Marine Formula 303; she has kids and lovely dining room chairs:

http://www.stayathomeista.com/2012/03/dining-room.html

Check your local thrift stores for curtains. I've found a number that look very mid century and are quite durable. I still have to recover a pair of mid century dining chairs but I haven't gotten around to getting new padding. The person who had them before me covered them in a godawful leopard spot fabric with foam that was too thick. If you're worried about staining then, as has been mentioned, sealing or waterproofing is probably a good idea.

I have pillows on my kitchen's window seat that are covered in outdoor fabric. I think they are Teflon coated or similar; spills litterally don't seep in at all and roll right off. Good suggestion.

Nice chairs! the curved wood reminds me thonet chairs: have you considered having a vienna cane seat like those?

examples:
http://www.idfdesign.com/pub-accent-chairs/thonet-canna-similar-486-42415s.htm
http://www.relaxhouse.com.au/product/cafe-chair-natural-timber-thonet-bentwood

P.S. I wouldn't stain them, I'm sorry

Don't stain the chaires!

Go to a store that specializes in upholstery fabric and find whatever you like. Ask for something somewhat heavier-weight that will be durable (avoid stuff like chintz) and look for blends, not cotton, that will resist stains. You can always buy extra fabric if you have a toddler or something and anticipate a destructive phase. Scotchguard them and you should be fine. It won't last forever, but it doesn't have to! And I agree, don't stain the chairs! They look like great midcentury examples!

I like the strong black and white print you used in the drapes. How about something high contrast black and white like that?

As far as wearing well, true upholstery fabric is going to be your best option. The fabric store closest to me sells lots of remnants on the cheep, and you don't need a lot of fabric so that might be an option.

You cold also just use a heavy non-upholstery fabric. Scotch guard those babies and you'll be okay.

Is the existing upholstery....FAUX FUR!!!??? It looks like it's seen better days but I just have to give the prior owner props for that. It's faux fur people!!!

The fake fur is too funny! I agree with going with black and white upholstery fabric, maybe in a somewhat narrow stripe, something that coordinates with the curtains. Or even toile that has a lot of black. There are lots of newer toile designs out there, including some with more geometric leanings. Google "toile" and check out images.

Oh, please don't stain them. They're very nice as they are and you'll probably be glad in the long run that you didn't. All the fabrics above are good choices (I c an personally attest to using curtains for upholstery - works great and is sometimes cheaper!) But if you want a more natural fabric, go with something like cotton duck, canvas, or a heavy linen. And then spray it with unnatural chemicals (Scotchguard). Works! Nice find!

Also, how long did you have to wait for your Good Question to be answered? I have a hutch that I need to poll the masses about!

My daughter in law used black leather on her mid century teak chairs about 5 years ago and they are still looking good. They've survived a toddler and many family feasts with rowdy kids. You might be able to pick up a couple of old leather coats at the thrift shop for a distressed look or buy new. There are a lot of leather colours available, you're not stuck with black.

beautiful chairs, I would keep the finish as is, it's perfectly honeyed

I see red, black, yellow in your pillows, those must be colors you favor

how about a lively, thick, cushy red fabric to contrast with the lovely wood?
maybe barkcloth? maybe wool from a felted sweater?
you don't need that much material, pick something special

I see you are not adverse to color from your pillows! Here's some vinyl and oilcloth to play off the red hints. Not sure if they will go in the space the chairs will be in, but pretty nontheless.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/93274775/3079a-1-yard-vinyl-waterproof-fabric?ga_search_query=red%2Bvinyl

http://www.etsy.com/listing/114429746/black-cherry-cherries-mexican-oil-cloth?ga_search_query=black%2Bcherries

And if you are shopping online and come across laminated fabric...steer clear!! It's very thin and I can see it being punctured and stretched out easily if used on a chair. I bought some to use as a tablecloth until I can paint my new kitchen table. I couldn't believe how thin it was! I was expecting it to be like oilcloth. It doesn't even work that well as a tablecloth it's so thin...moves around. I had to get tablecloth weights to keep it in place.

Good luck on the hunt! Cute finds!

I love your chairs, and I actually just reupholstered six similar vintage chairs. It was easier than I thought!

I spent a little extra money on quality, durable upholstery fabric with a bold print (see here: http://www.lotsofabric.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?cart_id=8298884.IP163.11.226.31IP.23325.s0&product=Geometric&productid=img6676&sales=0&lastmenu=).

I purchased a little under 2 yards and was shocked that I was able to cover all 6 cushions. Now the chairs add a bold pop to our midcentury modern, white-walled dining room. I'm so glad I chose the upholstery fabric over a vinyl... they look much more lux!

Good luck!

My personal favorite for chairs like these is wool flannel, maybe a charcoal pinstripe. Originally these chairs probably had wool upholstery, maybe in a bright solid color.

Such beautiful chairs! I agree with earlier posts that urge you not to stain them. But - I too live with a lot of mixed tones of wood in my dining & living area. I've found two tricks that help in harmonizing a 'mixed chocolate box' of wood furniture:

1) make sure at least one other wood surface in the room matches the tone of the item you're trying to integrate. In your case - it looks as if the floors maybe very similar in tone to your chairs, so you may be good on this point.

2) try using textiles (eg, the chair covers, but could also be pillows or something else in the room) that mirror the mixture of tones in the varied wood. Eg - instead of black and white for the chair covers, try brown/black/white (thus tying into the darker wood of the table), or black/one or more grays/white (tying into the mixed levels of darkness among walls, floor, table).

beautiful find!

sunbrella fabrics wear like iron and repel most stains

@MSPFace - I'd be interested to see your question answered. I'm about to refinish a Conant Ball Russel Wright hutch this weekend and I'd like to see what you're doing. I'm keeping as close to the original stain/finish as possible, but it has some damage that needs to be repaired and uneven spots due to basic wear, and there was no way to fix that and have it perfectly match and there's enough needed all over I figured I'd just do the whole thing.

I've upholstered a number of mid-century chairs similar to these and my favorite fabric so far is vinyl. But then, I have toddlers and a rather messy husband. Cotton velvet is my other favorite but it's not nearly as low-maintenance. Sunbrella fabrics are great, and you can always add a fabric sealer as extra insurance. My dining set (in a similar honey tone as your chairs) currently has black and white striped vinyl and I love it.

@Rainarana - I have a veneered hutch with nice lines that I'm debating whether or not to paint. It's no designer piece by any means, but I'm still not 100% sure. Especially because I think I might two tone it.

And strangely enough, I have Conant Ball sideboard that I think was at one time part of a larger hutch. Great minds, eh? I haven't stripped mine or anything, but I did give it a good coat of Danish oil. If you're interested in taking the finish off yours, I'd start with some steel wool and varnish remover. What color is your piece?

I just reupholstered 4 MCM chairs and literally looked at about 500 different fabrics before picking one. I found some beautiful mid-century designs that I loved, but ultimately ended up going a slightly more practical route. I found some awesome orange microsuede, which is a bit less fun than the mid-century prints but looks great and will hold up well. Plus, you can find it in all different colors, so they still have a little pizzazz!

I have chairs very similar to this. Originally they had black vinyl. It was very common although there were some with wool like upholstery in colours like turquoise, avocado, or orange !. At one point I decided to change them to a more colourful bright blue but didn't like it and went back to black vinyl. It just seems to suit the colour of the wood and the simplicity. While our daughter was growing up nothing she or her friends did to it, damaged the vinyl which was also nice.

@MsPface - The one I'm working on is a blond birch, Conant Ball from the Modern Mates line. I'm actually going to sell it, as we bought it before the house was finished then found that it didn't really fit and were using it in the bedroom as a dresser and tv stand. I recently picked up a gorgeous MCM dresser at a yard sale and after refinishing decided I was in love with it and it fit much better. The top of the CB needed refinishing, then I realized there were a lot of dents and dings and getting the top to match the rest would be tough, so I'd just redo the whole thing. Agreed on stripping the lacquer. I started last night, got most of it off of the drawers, then the dogs decided to help, so trying to keep them away from the chemicals I didn't do a very good job on the rest and need to have another go at it this morning. The lacquer is pretty tough, I realized when sanding. The drawers sanded fine but the rest, due to not getting enough off, not so much. I'm going with a honey maple stain, once it's fully stripped and sanded.

As for painting veneer, is it the veneer that worries you or just not sure about the piece in general? I've painted veneer before, and it depends on the finish. The first piece, a tall dresser, wasn't a problem. It was a cheap part-particle board dresser that looks brilliant, a bright yellow with a marble top. The second piece I've had to put on hold until I have more time/patience. The reason for that is I didn't take into account the finish, didn't sand enough of it off and the paint ended up not adhering well. Not sure if using an oil based primer would have made a difference, but it has to be stripped and redone so I figure I'll just take it down further this time. Frustrating. It's best to figure out exactly what you're working with first, definitely. I do like two tone, though. I did another dresser in two tone, and it works really well.

@Rainarana - I don't worry about painting veneer, just not sure how the piece would look with what I have in mind. The drawers on my hutch have inset handles and I'm thinking about painting certain parts to set them off. I'm not completely sold on the idea, but stripping this thing would be awful.

Is your hutch like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MID-CENTURY-MODERN-CONANT-BALL-CREDENZA-SOLID-MAPLE-/110674877551
Because if it is, we have the same one!

Yeah, stripping veneer would be pretty awful. Not enjoying stripping the piece I have but at least the weather's improved so I don't mind being outside. And yes, it's the same series as that piece. Three drawers and the hutch has two shelves, no glass. It's a lovely piece, just too big for our space and doesn't quite go with anything. The piece that I just redid, that's taking it's place, is this one http://nicolewoodinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/06/mid-century-kent-coffey-tableau-series.html

Oh, god. Your website is like a candy store. Thanks for posting!

Hi Olivia, I would recommend that you go to your fabric store and ask to see their selection of upholstery grade fabric. Every fabric has a grading and upholstery fabric is designed to withstand the kind of wear a dining chair gets. Then you could pretty much choose any colour or pattern you like since the chairs are so simple. Beautiful find btw, I love those chairs, but honestly, I agree with the other comments, I wouldn't re-stain them. You'll loose the original patina that is so much a part of their charm.

given decor, cushion in vinyl or indoor/outdoor in red w/ white stripe. wood colour nice as is.

Is that fake fur on them now? Crazy. Recovering chairs like this is really simple. In fact it's so simple you can change out the fabric whenever you get tired of the last thing.

We have similar kitchen chairs and I've been using flannel-back table cloths to cover them. Before you recoil in horror, hear me out... I'm brutally indecisive in choosing a fabric design/color and I have a charming two year old who's handy with markers. The table cloths are wicked cheap, easy to use, and get changed out with every season/holiday.
Once the graffiti phase has tapered off and I pick a color scheme I'll invest in some quality outdoor fabric, until then... :o)