Restaurant chairs

The 465 chairs here run from metal and wood frames to aluminum, steel and resin, with vinyl, fabric, wood and faux rattan seats. Start with the height of the table you own, because the gap between seat and tabletop is what a guest feels in the second hour of dinner. Frame, back and arms come after that.

Begin with the height of the table

A dining top stands at about 29 to 30 inches. A seat between 17 and 19 inches high gives a guest 10 to 12 inches of clearance beneath that edge, enough to slide in square to the table. The seat heights listed here sit in that band: 18 inches on 34 chairs, 18 3/4 inches on 27, and 18 1/2 and 19 inches on 23 each. A counter or a bar needs a taller seat, and bar stools cover that.

Frames come next. Of the 465 chairs, 183 have metal frames, 115 wood, 64 aluminum, 36 aluminum with a wood look, 21 resin and 18 steel. Seats are vinyl on 286, fabric on 205 and wood on 122, and 254 list upholstery options. Vinyl wipes down between seatings. Fabric earns its keep where quiet matters more than the turn.

Backs, arms and the table edge

From across the room, a guest sees the back of a chair before anything else. Upholstered backs lead with 146 chairs, then curved backs at 38, tolix-style at 29, banquet at 20, vertical slat at 15 and bucket at 14. A padded back is listed on 137.

Arms change the arithmetic. 118 chairs have them, and each asks for more width than a plain side chair. A guest takes about 24 inches along the edge of the table, 18 in the tightest rooms, so hold the arm height against the apron before the order goes in. The arm chairs page gathers them. Single chairs range from $26 to $566.

Outdoors, stacking and the next piece

Furniture goes outdoors only when its listing says patio use. 124 chairs here carry that listing, 5 of them for a covered patio only, so read the usage line before one goes near a terrace; the outdoor chairs page collects them. Wood frames and upholstered seats made for indoors will fade, swell or rust outside, and weather damage of that kind sits outside the warranty.

Rooms that reset between seatings care about stacking. 133 chairs stack, and the stacking chairs page sorts them. Four swivel.

A chair is half of a pair. Set it beside a table or a booth, then save both to a seating plan, where the room is counted as a whole instead of one seat at a time.