???

A bit off-beat, but fun!

Anthropologie: boucle

I like this one, too.

@elcieg i love the boucle one! i have two kids under 5 though so i think it may be a bit foolhardy to go with that one.

I have one husband and it would be foolhardy of me to go with the boucle, too.

Don't discount that you want sturdy, comfortable dining chairs. And I agree, the table is a nice antique and should be the star, not the chairs. In fact, I might consider using it as the island as some have suggested . . . would show off the carvings . . . as for two kids under five, you don't want thin legs and spindles, they will break. If you want something sturdy and basic and affordable, check out a restaurant supply store. That's where we got out last set of dining chairs. They worked out great. Something like this. Several nice options there for you. Or even a bench on one side, that's what my friends did when their kids were young. Kids don't mind a bench . . .

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/42529/restaurant-chairs.html

@louislinus check these out! Sorry i can’t share the link, im newish to houzz and it won’t paste. Pretty sweet price.

WHOA!! Thank you so much

@Kat Berkery Since you and your husband are design professionals (and all you chair enthusiasts too), I thought you might enjoy this wonderful documentary on the history of the modern chair from Vitra Design Museum in Germany. Even the film trailer is delicious, makes me want to settle into one of these wonderful chairs with a glass of something and take up cigarette smoking. Wonderful chairs, wonderful music.

https://www.designboom.com/design/chair-times-documentary-vitra-05-07-2020/

Can I ask the source of that rattan backed black chair with the white cushion? It's exactly what I'm looking for to update a kitchen! Thank you!

Also, just my two cents here because I love this thread. Have you thought about using knock off ghost chairs (if you're on a budget)? They're available online at the "A" place in sets. I'm using them in an eclectic formal dining with 18th century antiques. They are actually quite comfortable!

@tozmo thank you for sharing the documentary, i will check it out tonight! im really enjoying the discussion on th is thread, and even if i don’t stray all that far from my perriand style first instincts, im getting so many great ideas and i hope those that stumble on this thread later will as well! (also my phone hates this site so thats why my typing is always spaced out weird and crazy).

@aweb1 its from scandinaviandesigns.com i didn’t realize the site cropped out at the top of the photo! I was there when i uploaded it , hmm.

@tozmo1, what a find! Thank you for sharing the Vitra chair documentary. Here's the direct link to the hour and a half long film. (Had to unmute the sound.)

@aweb1, did you mean the cantilevered chair Kat posted or the square one with black legs @elcieg posted yesterday? Direct link to the cantilevered ones from Scandinavian Designs OP found: Bendt dining chairs @$149 each.

The restaurant supply store idea from l pinkmountain is brilliant.

The ones that Judianna2020 posted yesterday with a cane back, black legs and what appears to be a white cushion. Love the coastal feel.

@tartanmeup is there a trick to pasting links?

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiKvIzmj67xAhWEh8gKHaghBuwYABAOGgJxdQ&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASE-RoWzGYshSfYM4rUwMMV0Epqpw&sig=AOD64_2aIJ9Nrn5lwzIJqo1CexQda4tQEg&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiQsYHmj67xAhVTFFkFHcHaCjwQ9aACegQIARBq&dct=1&adurl=

Lovely table and beautiful kitchen. It does take skill and effort to mix styles and eras. When you get it right, it can be sublime. You want to respect this table. It's made it this far and it deserves respect.

In the kitchen I would plan for both the antique table and a working kitchen island. My mother had a kitchen island that was movable on locking casters. It was not used for dining. It was a work island. I would suggest having one made with a marble surface in a light wood. Use the Spanish table for casual seated dining use. It appears that you have the room for both in the space.

The great thing about tables is they can be used for so many purposes. If you want to find a use for this table, I suggest that you consider wooden benches that can be tucked under each side of the table. They will work great for children and tuck out of the way for space when not in use. Benches will allow the table to take a starring role in the kitchen. I suggest that the benches be either painted black, distressed black paint with an undertone color or black base with an upholstered seat in a bold pattern fabric. I would tend towards a print with a modern vibe such as geometric shapes. Keep the benches very simple in order to highlight the complexity of the table and stay in harmony with the beautiful straight lines of the kitchen cabinets.

I have an abundance of dining tables at my house. I currently have five tables. One antique American Colonial drop leaf table that I use behind a sofa, a custom tiger maple kitchen-sized table that I use for a desk, one older mahogany table with extra leaves that is folded up into a hall table, my mother's very ornate antique English Chippendale flame walnut table that I use a casual dining table in the kitchen and my largest American antique mahogany drum table that will seat 12 in the dining room. When I went to sell one of two of these tables, the antique dealers told me that the best they could do was $400 dollars for the largest table. People just didn't want to sit at tables anymore. I didn't want to get rid of any of them that badly, so I found uses for them.

My point is this table can and should be used. If not in the kitchen as a family seating/dining area, find another place in the house. It would make a great table behind a free floating sofa.

@A M : i have those chairs! (mine are by Hvidt) — they are marvelous. (Had to scrounge ebay etc for a few years to find a set and then recover them all to match, though.)

This comes in an ebony finish, with several different leather colors

Great table!

But honestly?

My husband would say all these chairs are hard and uncomfortable.

Aesthetically they look great.

But he'd quickly ask why I didn't get chairs with some type of cushion and armrest.

@tozmo1 we watched the chair doc tonight and really enjoyed it, thank you so much for the rec. a nice change from watching Grand designs as per usual.

So i finally remembered a company that made some chairs i had really liked and actually put on a mood board for this room.

This teak chair with the arched back and rush seat is IT for me. i love it so much.

I also really like this chair, but not as much as the One above.

This one is wayyyyy out of my budget but i think it’s super weird and cool. id seen the armchair version but didn’t realize there was a dining chair.

Oh and in other news my dad found the appraisal from the table and they dated it at 1780, rather than 17th century. so that was the fault of my bad memory!

@A M, I like your choices. I think you are my design twin.

The table is beautiful. I could not find its height in the thread. If not tall enough for an island, I would use it as a desk or sofa table eslewhere so it is treated as an important visual piece. If it isn't too much of a difference than the average island height, it might could be used anyway based on your height and how you would use.

While it seems to fit the breakfast room space, it does not appear to be long enough to accomadate two armchairs and two diners comfortably on each side. Benches are not comfortable or easy to get on or off.

Your kitchen remodel reminds me of many Plain English kitchens. If you haven't already, look at their website and social media, as well as other English kitchen cabinet companies. Another is Humphrey Munson.

I have done two English kitchens. One unfitted (various paint/stain colors and counters) furniture style, and the last was a more formal (one color, same color used on walls). I have been buying antiques for 40yrs and during our last house remodel I mixed modern pieces, lighting and art with them.

You can always have an island custom built that looks older or modern, based on desired finished look, but my first choice would be an older piece that brings in character and texture.

Have to say I think that if this your very favorite chair

it really doesn’t fit with the table, and the combo ends up diminishing both the table and the chairs. Those chairs would make it look like the table was something you dragged out of storage, and the table makes the chairs look like something you had leftover from another dining set and just thought looked okay with the table.

The chair wood can’t be as light in color as the chairs you keep enthusing about, even after you move the table out of the dark-cabinet kitchen. Woven parts or fabric on the chairs can be light in color but not the wood.

I also think a semi-circular huggy back just isn’t going to work with the multiple squared off blocks of the table that you’ve got, plus the curving forward arms look like they block the possibility of bringing the chair under the table. Some rounded-ness, like this, works with the table

But in general I think blockishness is going to work better, and bring in the softness some way other than curves in the wood frame.

You are taking a work table and trying to make it inviting as a dining table. The rush and woven chairs lend a very egalitarian, peasant (and pleasant) feel to the invitation, but the frames need to look like sitting there for the length of a Spanish meal (4 hours min) is a pleasure. ;)

;0

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/dining-room-chairs/american-colonial-l-hitchcock-black-stenciled-rush-seat-dining-chairs-set-of-4/id-f_23535182/

A little different take on the chairs you like. Love these (however, they’re backordered):

https://carpenterjames.com/collections/seating/products/belfast-chair

ETA: I’m sorry, just realized they’re double your planned budget.

I really do like the wishbone style chairs you posted.

This is a fun thread! :)

@Kat Berkery The heart wants what the heart wants. Can't wait to see what you pick but I think I have an idea of what it will be. :-) Glad you enjoyed the doc. I watched it again myself last night. I want to move into that warehouse for a few weeks.

It's been a treat to see all the beautiful chairs and inspo pics in this thread. Wishing you luck, @Kat Berkery in finding your beloved table a purpose in your home.

I have no clue how to copy and paste links in a post using the app. I mainly use Houzz on my laptop and use the Link button at the bottom of each new post. The app is still quite limited in functionality for me (I never see dates on posts, can't see posted pics, can't find the main discussions, etc.).

ETA: The Roly Poly chair? Yes, it's weird and beautiful because we haven't seen that shape before but you know it's not your table's mate, right? It would be like surrounding a Japanese Maple with Redwoods. :)

@Jilly I saw those chairs! i love the shape of the back but wish they were a bit more simple otherwise. As far as budget, at third point Im willing to stretch it.

i really want that arched back…i know most of you are not feeling like the chairs im choosing will work but does anyone an issue with the arch back as a concept for this table?

@User those remind me of mustaches for some reason haha! They look like they’re up to something.

When you say ”arched back” do you mean an embracing semi-circle chair back

or a chair whose back is arched at the top?

Unlike a modern table, your table has a deep ”lip” or brace or apron under the tabletop. Without that piece of wood under the tabletop surface, it would be easy to slide a modern rounded-back chair with arms right under the table. But with that barrier of wood, even if you want a modern chair, one that is armless is going to look more comfortable and inviting. Otherwise people will feel if they sit down and try to get close enough to the table to comfortably eat, the arms of the chair will prevent that, so they will need to perch on the edge of the chair, without back support, to eat.

@User like the second example with an arched back. i just love that shape and the post modern feeling perfect half circle contrasted with the primitive rush. i wish i could find a sturdy but simple example of this. i like the shape of these chairs but the first looks very uncomfortable and the second is very expensive.

As far as the apron, its 27” off the floor at the lowest point so i have been taking that into consideration with the other more wrap around styles and checking their specs.

perhaps i can alternatively get the arch back style stools for my island seating…

How cool are these?

from cb2

As I see it, you have two goals here.

1. Show off your beautiful, ancestral table.

2. Marry the vintage, table design with your modern kitchen.

A simpler, stream-lined chair will accomplish both.

@louislinus

saw these tonight. The price is for 2.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1000240377/set-of-two-vintage-cesca-chairs-model

Breuer chairs often suffer a lot of pitting in the chrome. If that matters to you, have the seller send you pictures of the chrome on the chairs you’d be paying for.

Do you know the shipping costs from Spain?

Way out of my budget but I love them so.

@louislinus I know those Cesca chairs are a classic from 1928 and a real design classic, but being "a certain age," all I see is kitchen chairs from the 1970's! Boy do I sound old.

Keep looking, you might find some at a Habitat Reuse or thrift store. Do you check consignment stores in your area? There were A LOT of them in kitchen sets back in the day.

@tozmo1 For years I had a Breuer chair that I picked out of curb trash on the Upper East side of Manhattan because I needed a chair. The caning had a ding in it, and the chrome has already started to pit. By the time I threw it back in the trash the chrome/aluminum had pitted quite a bit.

I’m not totally on board with the mania for ”trophy” MCM stuff or houses.

Hey fellow chair lovers! So, i made a decision 😬 i ordered 2 arch chairs from Sarah Ellison. And I got the big hairy light 😅 we obviously went over budget on the chairs, but they were just exactly right for me. I love the molded seat and postmodern column legs against the tables curves. we’ll do a bench at the back side (still considering a built in) Pictures below of the chairs, the light and a little mock up I did. Thanks again for such a fun and informative thread!

Everything goes better with a black cat. Congrats! :)

Looks great! I see your cat has very good design sense. In case you want some wall art, check out these Tomoo Inagaki prints. Someone sells these on ebay. They are not woodblock prints but they are printed on very heavy paper with excellent ink and look very high quality for the low, low price. Your cat reminds me of them. https://www.ebay.com/itm/403025967004?hash=item5dd638379c:g:lT8AAOSwUnBgrSxy

@Circus Peanut Agreed!

@tozmo1 thank you for sharing, love those!

The cat loves to star in my after photos.

Ha ha ha! In the first pic, she/he is either about to enter the Cone of Silence or "Beam me up Scotty!"

The Eames chairs look great with that table!

Reviving this zombie thread to say that I’ve been waiting all this time for the Sarah Ellison chairs and they’ve just now canceled my order 😩 Back to square one.