Which Dining Chairs are right for your home? Timber vs Upholstered explained.

Most people don't agonise over a dining table. They walk in, find the right size, like the look of it, done. Dining chairs are the part that trips them up.

It's usually somewhere around chair number three of the comparison that the doubt sets in. Timber chairs feel like a solid and practical option, but is it going to be comfortable enough for a long Sunday lunch? Upholstered chairs are softer and more inviting, but how does it hold up with kids, gravy, and a decade of use? And then there's the question nobody quite asks out loud, which is whether you have to pick one at all.

You don't. But to choose well, it helps to understand what each style is actually good at, and where each one quietly costs you something.

Which dining chair is best for me?

Timber dining chairs are the longer-lasting, lower-maintenance option. They suit busy households, families, and anyone who wants chairs that can take a knock and still look good in ten years.

Upholstered dining chairs are the more comfortable option for long meals and conversation, and they soften the look of a heavier dining table. They suit slower mealtimes, formal dining rooms, and homes where the dining space doubles as a place to sit and talk.

Most homes are happiest with a mix. More on that further down.

How to choose between Timber Dining Chairs & Upholstered Dining Chairs?

When people say "timber vs upholstered," they usually mean three different things tangled together: the material the seat is made of, how the chair feels to sit in, and how the chair looks in the room.

A timber dining chair has a solid timber seat, frame, and back. Some have a slatted back, some a curved one, some a panelled design. They're firm. They can be softened with a seat cushion if you want, but the chair itself is hard surface.  Shop Dining Chairs

An upholstered dining chair has a padded seat, and often a padded back, wrapped in fabric or leather-look material. The frame underneath is still usually timber or metal, so the bones are firm. The difference is the cushioning on top.  Shop Upholstered Chairs

There's also a middle ground worth knowing about. Timber-frame chairs with an upholstered seat pad only. These are popular for a reason. They give you the look and durability of a timber chair with most of the comfort of a fully upholstered one.

Browse the full dining chairs collection to see how each style sits next to the others.

Which dining chair is more comfortable? 

If you're hosting a long lunch or a family Christmas where people are at the table for two or three hours, upholstered is kinder to backs and hips. The padding distributes weight more evenly, and the soft back support encourages people to actually relax into the chair instead of perching forward.

Timber chairs can absolutely be comfortable, especially when the seat is shaped (a slight curve or saddle in the seat makes a real difference) and the back has some shaping rather than being flat.  

The thing customers most often underestimate when buying timber chairs online is how their body will feel in it after a roast and a couple of glasses of wine.

How long will a Dining Chair last? 

Timber wears in. Fabric wears out.

That's the honest version. A well-made timber dining chair with a solid hardwood frame can take twenty years of family meals, sticky fingers, school bags, and the occasional dragged-back manoeuvre, and look better for it. Small marks become character. The finish darkens slightly with age. It becomes the chair, rather than a chair.

Upholstered chairs have a different lifecycle. The frame can last just as long, but the fabric is the variable. A high-quality upholstery fabric in a sensible colour, treated and looked after, will hold up for ten years or more in a normal household. A pale linen seat with three kids under ten will not.

If your dining space sees a lot of daily action (school lunches, homework, art projects, dogs in laps) timber is the more forgiving choice. If your dining space is more formal, used a few times a week and protected from the worst of family life, upholstered is fine and arguably the better experience.

How do I look after my Dining Chair?

Timber is genuinely low-effort. A regular wipe with a soft, damp cloth handles most of it. A timber-care product once or twice a year keeps the finish in good condition. Spills get dealt with quickly and almost always come up.

Upholstered needs a bit more attention, but not as much as people fear. Vacuum the seat regularly with an upholstery attachment. Treat fabric chairs with a fabric protector when they're new and again every couple of years. Dining & Kitchen Care Products

Address spills immediately rather than letting them sit. Leather-look upholstery is the easiest of the upholstered options to clean and is worth considering if you like the soft look but want low-effort care.

If maintenance time matters to you, that's a real factor in the decision. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't.

Which style of Dining Chair suits my space?

Timber dining chairs ground a space. They add warmth, they pair beautifully with timber tables (especially mismatched timber tones, which look more collected than matchy), and they suit cosy country, coastal, earthed, and rustic looks particularly well. A timber chair lets a striking dining table take centre stage.  

Upholstered dining chairs are a great way to soften a dining space, especially when paired with a heavier table. They help balance the room and create a more refined feel, making them ideal for formal dining rooms and modern spaces where you want something less farmhouse and more considered.   

Can I mix & match Dining Chairs?

Here's the answer that's grown quietly more popular in the last few years: don't choose. Use both!

The most common version is timber chairs along the long sides of the table and upholstered armchairs at each head. The armchairs become the "host" seats. They look more formal, they're the most comfortable spots for the longest sitter, and they break up the visual rhythm of six identical chairs.

A second option is three matching timber chairs paired with a dining bench on one side. This works particularly well in compact spaces, homes with kids and casual open-plan rooms where you want the setting to feel relaxed and flexible. To make the bench more comfortable for everyday dining, add a seat cushion for extra softness and support. It’s a simple way to make the look feel more inviting, while still keeping the streamlined, space-saving benefits of a bench.

A third version is fully mixed: four upholstered chairs and two timber, or three of each, with a unifying element like a shared timber tone, a shared frame colour, or a shared seat colour. This takes a slightly braver eye but rewards it.

What links them all is the same principle. The chairs don't have to match perfectly. They have to belong together.

What else should I think about when buying new Dining Chairs?

A few details that genuinely matter and are easy to forget.

Seat height matters more than chair height. Most dining tables sit at around 75cm. You want a seat height of 45–48cm under that, which gives a comfortable gap between thigh and tabletop. Chairs sold for kitchen counters or bar tables will be too tall.

Width matters when you're seating six or more. Allow about 55–60cm of table edge per chair so people aren't bumping elbows. Armchairs need slightly more clearance than armless chairs.

Test the back. A chair you'll sit in for hours needs back support that meets your back, not a back that ends in mid-shoulder-blade. This is one of the most common regrets after the chairs arrive. If you're buying online, look closely at the back height and shape in the product photography, not just the front-on hero shot.

Count carefully. Six chairs around a six-seater is the obvious one, but think about how often you actually have eight people over. A bench plus chairs, or a couple of extra chairs stored elsewhere and pulled in for occasions, is often more practical than buying eight permanent chairs that crowd the everyday setup.

Quick comparison

What type of Dining Chair is best for me?

Choose timber dining chairs if your dining space is a working part of the house, used daily, by a household that includes kids, pets, or a lot of guests. Choose them if you want chairs that age into the room rather than out of it. Choose them if low maintenance matters to you.

Choose upholstered dining chairs if you spend long stretches at the table, if your dining space is more formal or doubles as a quiet conversation spot, if your dining table needs softening visually, or if comfort is the single thing you don't want to compromise on.

Choose a mix if your honest answer is "both of those sound right." That's a real answer, and it's usually the best-looking one.

When you're ready, browse dining chairs, dining tables, or the full dining furniture range to start putting it together.