Wood or leather. While any of the options may be comfortable, fabric is a high-maintenance choice for a dining area since accidents happen, at least in my dining room.

I agree with Miami's Elaine. Wood of leather. Upholstered chairs would be a disastrous in my house, we cook and eat at home most nights. I like the natural look and feel of wood.

In a formal dining room I love upholstered chairs especially for long dinners with good friends. They're just more comfortable.

I think it totally depends on your lifestyle. If you have kids, don't even think about upholstered. Me personally I love the look upholstered chairs, and if you've chosen a simple enough design, you can always have the option to re-upholster them yourself if the wine stains get out of control.

Go with wood - not only will it last longer with regard to spills, tears in fabric, etc., I think wood is a more timeless choice. It will last you through more decorating changes (wall color changes & even table changes), and if you need a chair in another room, I think a wood chair can blend into other rooms better than an upholstered one.

I like a wood back but a cushioned seat really makes a big difference. If you are like most, you probably use your dining table for more than just dining, ie doing paperwork, etc. And I notice that when people stop by my place, as hard as I try to usher them into the living room, they tend to hang out at the dining table as it is a perfect set-up for group conversation. That being the case, I would say you should definitely go for the most comfortable seats you can get. I actually bought wood back seats with cushion seats and ended up having the seats redone to make them a little thicker and more comfortable. As for cushioned backs, I find that people very rarely sit back in the dining chair and since an open wood back is lighter visually, I go for that.

We have leather upholstered chairs (WS Home Baxter.) They are beautiful and comfortable. You can have both!!

Pot pie has made a good suggestion regarding leather chairs. My experience is that there are so many wonderful fabric choices, including indoor/outdoor that can easily be wiped/cleaned. Give some consideration to comfort and how much time you'll actually be sitting in the chairs. You can have beautiful wooden chairs, but unless they're comfortable, you won't want to linger at the table.

I have both! Around my oval Saarinen, the two head chairs are upholstered while the four middle are mid-century with caned seats. The aligning factor is teak wood: the (also mid-century) upholstered chairs have teak arms and legs. Totally the best of both worlds.

We have metal and faux suede chairs. They're padded and pretty easy to clean (but we don't have children).

I would go with wood. I just like the simplicity of it and fabrics can stain and get discolored.

wood chairs for me..I think upholstered chairs make the dining room too formal...almost trying too hard look.

they make so many different kinds of wood chairs now, so try to find some with an ergonomic shape that's still stylish... that way they will be comfortable, funtional, and stylish!

I'd like to mention an option I didn't see in the comments: vinyl. (Unless it is included under "faux leather"). I just got a set of MCM wood chairs with white vinyl upholstery that on one hand looks soft and not plastic-y, but on the other hand is easy to clean. Having a toddler, cleaning is a big issue in our dining space.
Vinyl comes really close to the look of leather these days and color and texture options are countless.

I like chairs with upholstered seats which I can easily pop out and reupholster. My French country dining chairs came with cream upholstery and three years on, they look tired, so I'm looking for a nice red or russet linen. Easy update, like new throw pillow covers.

I absolutely love the look of upholstered chairs, they are so inviting and comfortable (well most of them). The only reason I don't have them is $$, if I did take the plunge I would pick up a couple cans of scotch guard on the way home.

Or just buy upholstered chairs that are pre-treated to resist staining.

Mix and match--get the best of both worlds! Wood and upholstered chairs can go side by side. I've seen some great examples here on AT of mismatched dining chairs that look fabulous together.

A chair that's perfect for me often is uncomfortable for my husband, and the other way around. Another advantage of unmatched dining chairs is that each person can have one that suits her or him well.

Cloth upholstered chairs, like the ones in the picture above, seem geared for light use. They are usually relegated to the formal dining room, and get used on on special occasions -- holidays, increasingly rare dinner parties.

Leather and wood and cane however, are the materials of chairs which endure daily use.

I guess it all depends on what sort of dining area you are creating -- one that gets used at every meal and should also pass muster for entertaining and formal dining, or one exclusively for formal dining?

Finding a chair that is comfortable, matches your table, works for both the everyday and the more formal and is a great design -- now that is a challenge!

I loved Pierro Lisson's Camogli chair, but it seems that it is no longer made by Porro (not listed on their website). There are others he has designed (the Como for example). Or perhaps the Donghia Anziano chair. My husband likes Christian Liaigre's leather chairs, and I like antiques... It is really, really hard finding the right dining chair though, and we are a bit stumped.

Upholstered. I like to sit at the table for hours, and I don't want to sit in hard chairs. I want soft, comfortable chairs that support my body, and I'd like be able to lean my head back as well.

I had one set of fabulous chairs that lasted a good long time, and were destroyed by a passive aggressive over bred cat, not anything that happened at the table.

I was so lucky to find a replacement set on Ebay. My original chairs were 75% off at a decorators only warehouse sale. On Ebay, I paid twice what I paid so many years ago, but I love the chairs. And I gave the cat away.

Our toddler ruined our old dining chairs with fabric seats. What were we thinking?? Actually, we got them before kids.
Now we have all wood chairs. We thought we would get cushions for them, but found they were comfortable without them.

I would say wood, leather or upholstered, easily washable! We have ikea henriksdal chairs found on craigslist for super cheap, with the beige microfiber covers, and they get SOOO messy from my toddler, but they come out looking brand new every time I wash them. I couldn't imagine upholstered chairs that weren't slipcovered at this point in time, maybe when the kids are older!

I also agree with Miami's Elaine. When upholstered (fabric) chairs get dirty, and they most likely will, they just look nasty.

I second jess13's suggestion for Scotch Guard. Also, cotton brushed twill is a very practical fabric choice for furniture that might see spills. The tight weave and raised nap make it possible to clean stains away easily IF you ACT IMMEDIATELY! Anything will stain if a spill is left to dry before being treated.
Another possibility is to find upholstered chairs you like just as they are for your own everyday use, then sew a set of brushed twill slipcovers for occasions likely to produce spills.
You might enjoy the change.

I don't spend too much time at my dinging room table (quite frankly, I eat at the table only when I have company) so the issue of comfort is not that important to me - I am not saying that I would accept chairs that are outright uncomfortable; I currently have chairs from bent plywood and they are ok.

But, when I had my previous pack of dogs, one of the dogs decided to use the dining room chairs as napkins. She would eat her food and then she would come to the table and rub her snout against the chair seat. She was very thorough, I have to say. At that time, I really could not care less because the chairs were purchased for $2 apiece (our office was disposing of old furniture) and their upholstery was darker fabric but it just opened my eyes to what can happen when sharing one's life with dogs. It was only this one dog that did it, the others were not interested but it is something that I keep at the back of my mind.

I agree with Valerie on wood chairs with upholstered seats that can be easily recovered. Buy extra fabric for accidents, or just change the fabric when you're ready for something fresh.

Wood or fiberglass.

I have cats, so I prefer chairs that don't attract cat hair and are easy to clean--wood. We have an assortment of wooden school house chairs--some are new, others are old (I got four oak chairs for $20 and another two chairs for $8 at neighborhood rummage sales. Since we use our dining area as a workspace on occasion, I also have chair pads we will pull out--we also do this if we are having guests we know like to to talk at the table (like us!).

I like solid chairs, but you can get (I assume washable) slipcovered upholstered chairs as well... parsons chairs, for one, and I rather like these, which were apparently anthropologie.

We use wooden ones, but were lucky enough to get ones that were really comfortable! When my desk chair died, I appropriated one to use as a stand-by until I got another...

And I haven't actually got another yet. It's been about three years now...

i have wood with cushioned upholstered seat...that is the best option for me...i can just change/reupholster the seats easily when needed. Furniture must be enjoyed,used and abused without batting an eyelash. They are meant to not last perfectly...age and worn look makes it much more worth it's price rather than illussioning it to stay nice and 'unwounded'.

buy what is "you"

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