Thank you this is great. I was thinking originally using leather. But this maybe a good alternative. What about the fabric that restaurants use on their chairs? Would you happen to know what fabric they use?

I have had same dilemma. Ended up buying outdoor chairs to put around our small table. And reupholstered our dining chair seats with apron material - everything wipes off super easily. Chairs have slat backs so only needed seat part reupholstered. For both chair sets picked colours or patterns that worked with rest of furniture. Both solutions have worked a treat and will get me through til a kid-proof dining set is no longer required.

I bought Pottery Barn dining chairs with removal slipcovers (and then bought a second set). I wash them. They withstood over 10 years of kids growing up from 6-16 no problems. Failing that leather insets in formal chairs is another solution.

sveta222, the fabric restaurants use on their chairs is commercial grade fabric which is strongly woven and which either has a very resistant finish applied or the fibres themselves have properties which give great cleanability.

You can think of Crypton as the next level beyond the durability of commercial fabrics. It's been used for years in locations requiring the utmost performance, such as nursing homes, hospitals, schools, etc.

Whatever you choose for upholstery, I recommend getting a small sample and "torture testing" it with various staining agents like mustard, coffee, etc. You'll see how cleanable it is, and you'll see how it acts as a barrier which keeps stains from going through to the underside of the fabric.

When it first came out, it was embraced as a "miracle fabric" for difficult environments, but frankly it was kind of ugly. They have worked hard in the past few years to create fabrics that are not only fantastic but they're beautiful too. I know of no other company that has fabrics that can compare equally with it.

I would not recommend leather. You'd have to buy a whole skin (or more) in order to cover a set of dining chairs and that would be expensive. There are less expensive bonded leathers that are leather scraps that have been chewed up and then spread onto a backing and sealed with a clear layer on top. These are what many manufacturers advertise as "leather" when they offer very cheap upholstered furniture. They would have the durability of a medium-range vinyl, and actually, I'd prefer one of the beautiful new vinyls that are out there.

Very informative Cynthia - thanks this is useful info for me as well!