Divert a Dining Room Disaster: Mastering the Art of Mismatched Chairs
Mismatching in any discipline – from food to fashion – is an art, and not a science. So while I can’t exactly give you a formula for getting a mismatched dining room look right, I can give you nearly 20 different examples and tell you why they work so well.
Click through to each tour for more photos of each space. Then from here, all you’ve got to do is get your figurative paint brush and try it out at home.
Why it Works: The symmetry and the coordinated palette.
Why it Works: The matched accessory: A fuzzy throw on top.
Why it Works: The similar shapes.
Why it Works: Similar shapes and a low-risk color palette of black and white.
Liisa: Ad Agency Life in Chicago (via Barcelona & Puerto Rico)
Why it Works: Everything is the same color.
Why it Works: Consistent materials and a very simple set.
Why it Works: The room is really eclectic to start with.
Why it Works: Consistency; the wood tones and leg shapes are almost perfectly similar.
Why it Works: A perfectly coordinated pastel palette.
Why it Works: It’s a small and easily palatable deviation from the norm; just one chair was removed to fit this bench in.
Why it Works: The same materials and colors are echoed throughout the “set.”
Why it Works: It’s a really eclectic room and both the chairs have traditional elements.
Why it Works: It’s a proven formula, adding different chairs to just the ends of a table. Plus, the chairs share traditionally ornate shapes.
Why it Works: Two words: color coordination.
Benton, Kristin & Mason: Living and Working in a Chicago Loft
Why it Works: Such an eclectic space, you could get away with almost anything.
Why it Works: The chairs are the same material and color.
Why it Works: Three different “pairs” of seating is oddly symmetrical and harmonious.
Why it Works: It’s the same chair just with different forms and different legs.
Why it Works: The placement; pairs of chairs in opposite corners.