Mixing Dining Chairs: How to Pair Two Styles at One Table
By Dining1006 min read
Buying every dining chair from the same set is the safe route, but it is not the only one. Two styles around one table can make a room feel collected rather than bought in one go, and it lets you put a comfortable armchair at the head without paying for six of them.
The risk is that it looks accidental. Chairs at different heights, clashing colours, backs that jump up and down along the table. This guide sets out how to avoid that, using the real seat heights and widths from our own range so you can plan a mix that sits level.
Start with seat height, not style
The one thing you cannot fix after delivery is seat height. If one person sits noticeably lower than the next, they end up closer to their plate than everyone else, and the difference shows every time the table is full.
All three of our dining tables are 75cm tall. A gap of roughly 25cm to 30cm between the seat and the tabletop is comfortable for most people. Against a 75cm top, seat heights from 45cm to 50cm all land inside that range, and the brown Marlow at 50.5cm sits just above the top of it. The aim when mixing is to go further and keep the chairs close to each other, ideally within a centimetre or two. We explain the reasoning in our guide to dining chair seat height.
Our chairs by seat height
These figures come from our product listings. Where a listing gives no figure, or where the colours disagree, we have left the cell blank rather than guess.
| Chair | Seat height | Seat width | Overall width | Overall height |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna (green) | 45cm | 44cm | 83cm | |
| Nora | 45.5cm | 44cm | 47cm | 79cm |
| Cheer (charcoal, olive) | 46cm | 46cm | 74cm | |
| Dany | 47cm | 47cm | 46cm | 78cm |
| Dusks | 47cm | 52cm | 81.5cm | |
| Roscoe | 47cm | 48.5cm | 82cm | |
| Elara | 47cm | 44cm | 47cm | 81cm |
| Mila | 48.25cm | 50cm | 50cm | 83cm |
| Oslo (moss, camel) | 48.5cm | 74cm | ||
| Sienna | 49cm | 43cm | 86cm | |
| Bergen | 49.5cm | 51cm | 85cm | |
| Daniel | 50cm | 48cm | 75cm | |
| Marlow (brown) | 50.5cm | 42cm | 56cm | 83.5cm |
Read it as three rough groups:
- Lower seats: Vienna, Nora and Cheer.
- Middle seats: Dany, Dusks, Roscoe, Elara, Mila and Oslo.
- Higher seats: Sienna, Bergen, Daniel and Marlow.
Pair within a group and the seats will line up. Pair across the groups and they will not.
Then repeat one thing
Once the heights match, give the eye something to follow. Pick one element and carry it through every chair:
- Leg finish. Dany, Henley, Nora, Oslo and the charcoal and olive Cheer all stand on walnut-finish, walnut-tone or brown wood. Sienna, Mila, Camden, Marlow, Dusks, Daniel and Elara are on black metal.
- Material. Vienna, Roscoe, Nora and Elara all have cane or rattan in the back.
- Colour. A shared colour family, such as cream seats or brown faux leather, ties together two quite different shapes.
Change one thing, keep the rest. Two styles that differ in shape but share a leg finish look planned. Two styles that differ in shape, colour and legs look like a house move.
Pairings that work
Nora and Vienna. Both have cane backs, both have a 44cm seat width, and the seats are listed at 45.5cm and 45cm. The Nora stands on a walnut-finish wooden frame and the Vienna on a chrome cantilever base, so you get similar materials at seat level with two different silhouettes. Around a 4-seat table, put two of each opposite one another.
Dany and Elara. Both sit at 47cm, and both are 47cm wide or less. The Dany in cream fabric picks up the white seat of the Elara, while the Elara brings rattan into the room.
Roscoe and Dusks. Again a matching 47cm seat. The brown faux leather on the Roscoe sits well beside the brown Dusks, and the chrome base contrasts with the black crossed legs of the Dusks.
Mila and Oslo. Seats at 48.25cm and 48.5cm, the second figure being the listed height for the Oslo in moss and camel. The white boucle of the Mila against the textured fabric of the Oslo gives two soft finishes in different colours, with black metal legs on one and dark wood on the other.
Bergen and Sienna. At 49.5cm and 49cm, these two line up. Both have a curved back with an open or cut-out section. The beige Bergen and beige Sienna together give a quiet, tonal look with wooden legs against black metal.
Daniel or Marlow at the ends. The Daniel at 50cm and the Marlow at 50.5cm are the tallest seats in the range, so pair them with the higher-seat group. The Marlow has integrated armrests and is 56cm wide, which makes it a natural carver for the ends of a rectangular table.
Matching the mix to your table
Aaronsburg, 120cm round, seats 4. Two pairs, set opposite each other, is the neatest arrangement. Round tables have no head, so the eye reads the chairs as a pattern around the circle. Nora and Vienna work especially well here.
Dakota, 140cm x 77cm. Using the common guide of about 60cm of table edge per diner, there is room for two chairs along each long side. Keep the sides matching and use the ends for your second style. The X-shaped base leaves the corners clear, so wider chairs like the Marlow have room.
Pimlico, 80cm square, seats 4. One chair per side, so narrower chairs suit it best. The Dany and Cheer are 46cm wide. The table has an apron clearance of 72cm, which is worth checking against any chair with arms. Choose oak effect, walnut effect or black, and match the chair legs to it.
Watch the back heights too
Seat height matters most, but the tops of the backs matter to the eye. Our chairs range from 74cm overall (Cheer and Oslo) to 86cm (Sienna). A tall-backed pair at the ends and lower backs along the sides looks intentional. Tall and short alternating along one side tends to look busy.
Before you order
- Check the seat heights sit in the same group.
- Pick the one thing that will repeat.
- Decide where each style goes: ends, sides or opposite pairs.
- Allow for walkways. Our guide to dining table size for your room covers the space you need behind each chair.
If you are weighing up seat materials as well as shapes, our guide to dining chair fabrics for family homes sets out how each one cleans, and cantilever dining chairs explained covers the Vienna, Roscoe and Daniel frames.
Browse the full range on our dining chairs and dining tables pages. Delivery is free to mainland UK, and if a pairing does not work in the room you have 30 days to return it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you mix different dining chairs at one table?
Yes. The mix looks deliberate when the seat heights are close and at least one thing repeats across all the chairs, such as the leg finish, a material or a colour.
How close should the seat heights be?
As a rule of thumb, aim for chairs within a centimetre or two of each other so everyone sits at a similar level to the table. Several of our chairs share the same 47cm seat height, which makes them easy to combine.
Should the chairs at the ends of the table be different?
It is the simplest way to mix. Two statement chairs at the ends with a matching run along the sides gives a clear pattern, and it suits a rectangular table like our Dakota.
Can I mix chairs with arms and chairs without?
Yes, and chairs with arms usually go at the ends where there is more elbow room. Our Marlow has integrated armrests and works well in that position.
How many of each chair should I buy to mix them?
Most of our chairs are sold in sets of 2, which makes mixing simple. Two pairs give you four chairs in two styles, which suits our 4-seat Aaronsburg round and Pimlico square tables.
