The matched dining set – six identical chairs around a matching table – has been the default for so long that it can feel risky to deviate from it. But in practice, matching sets often make a room feel more like a showroom than a home. The shift toward mixing chair styles has been building for years, and it is now firmly the approach that most interior designers favour for rooms that feel collected, personal, and genuinely interesting.
Here is how to do it without the result looking like you simply could not make up your mind.
Start With One Fixed Point
The key to mixing chairs successfully is having at least one consistent element that ties them together. This might be colour – all chairs in the same tone even if the shapes differ. It might be material – all timber frames even if the seats vary. Or it might be period – all mid-century or all rustic, even if individual pieces are different.
Without that thread, the mix reads as random. With it, even quite different chairs look like they belong together.
The Head of Table Anchor
One of the easiest approaches is to use matching wooden chairs for the dining room on the long sides and a visually different but complementary chair at each head of the table. The end chairs become the focal point – slightly more decorative, slightly more presence – while the side chairs provide consistency.
The Laes Chair works beautifully in this role. Its character reads strongly enough to anchor the ends of a table without overpowering the side chairs.
Vintage Chairs: The Wild Cards That Work
A vintage wooden chair or two slipped into an otherwise contemporary set is one of the most reliably effective tricks in the mixing playbook. The patina and character of an older piece adds depth that you simply cannot replicate with new furniture.
The trick is scale. The vintage chair needs to be broadly the same seat height as the others. If it sits two inches lower, no amount of styling will make the dinner table feel comfortable.
Stools at the Dining Table
Counter stools tucked under one end of a longer dining table – especially a kitchen table that doubles as a breakfast bar – is a practical solution that also looks deliberately styled. The mix of chair heights adds visual interest and the stools slide under the table completely when not needed.
The Tarang Counter Chair has the kind of clean line that sits comfortably alongside a range of dining chair styles without competing. It is a useful piece precisely because it does not demand attention.
Small Wooden Stools as Living Room Accents
In the living room, a small wooden stool can function as a side table, a footrest, extra seating for guests, or a plant stand. Because it is low and compact it does not interrupt the sight lines the way a proper chair would, which means you can introduce a very different style or timber tone without disturbing the room’s visual coherence.
The Vintage Wooden Stool in a Contemporary Room
A vintage wooden stool in an otherwise contemporary kitchen adds the kind of warmth and character that new furniture rarely provides. Position it beside a kitchen island or near a window and it becomes a functional piece with genuine presence.
The Sleeper Sanctuary Counter Stool bridges the gap between vintage character and contemporary function. Its build is solid, its lines are clean, and it sits confidently beside either traditional or modern kitchen setups.
Colour as the Unifier
When shapes are very different, colour becomes your anchor. Painting mismatched chairs the same colour transforms them into a set – the uniformity of finish overrides the differences in shape. This works especially well with vintage or secondhand finds.
If painting feels too permanent a commitment, choose chairs in complementary natural timber tones. A light ash alongside a mid-toned oak works better than a very pale timber next to a very dark one.
Living Room Chair Mixing
In the living room, the same principles apply but the scale changes. An armchair in a different style to your sofa works beautifully if it shares at least one material or tone. A timber-framed armchair alongside a sofa on timber legs creates the connection. A fabric accent chair in a complementary colour alongside a neutral sofa adds interest without conflict.
Browse the full range of wooden chairs and stools at The Vintage Realm to find pieces that are designed to play well with others. The best mixes are built on quality individual pieces – start there and the rest follows naturally.