Does it pay to buy Italian DR chairs?

amother

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 12:06 am

As soon as one chair's fabric gets a tear or bad stain or damage, they all need to be reupholstered, because you never find the same upholstery that the manufacturer used. These days people are buying modern style chairs and they're almost totally fabric, both backs and seats, with not much wood.

That means possibly spending almost the same to reupholster, with labor and fabric, as buying brand new chairs. (The same goes for sofas, btw. Fabric and labor are outrageously expensive).

So does it really pay to buy Italian chairs at a few hundred, and possibly $1,000 a piece, if there are companies like Modway and Meridian where you can buy stylish chairs for up to $300 a chair and when they get ruined you just throw them all out.

Also, Ive sat on some Italian chairs and theyre not deep, so theyre not that comfortable.

amother

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 1:34 pm

Chairs use a lot of fabric, unlike other furniture thats mostly wood.

Im thinking that even the best quality Italian chairs will need new upholstery pretty quickly, which is very expensive, and generally its cheaper to buy new chairs.

Is there an advantage to buying expensive chairs?

bump

caza

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 1:55 pm

I have some velvet fabric chairs and sofa and I have them for 5 years already with children aging 1-10 and I have not had an issue with tears or stains. I do have the bissel vacuum which can clean fabric and I use it often.

mizle10

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 1:58 pm

I had wayfair dining room chairs. They were not comfy at all. They were vinyl/faux leather but even when wiped down you still saw marks and they looked grimy. I needed 12 chairs, 12x300 is still a lot of money for garbage. I'm sure there are some that are better than others but it's a gamble.

I replaced them with Canadian made solid wood chairs. They're so so comfy!! The fabric is a high quality velvet that wipes clean beautifully with a bit of water on a rag.

If expensive chairs are not in your budget than get cheap ones and enjoy them while they last, but if you can afford quality chairs it's a no brainer for me.

jflower

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 1:59 pm

Do a search of 'dining chair covers' on amazon. My friend covered her badly stained chairs and they now look fabulous. Is it as professional a look as reupholstered chairs? No. But the results are beautiful. She paid under $50 for 8 chairs.

Amarante

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 2:02 pm

I am not sure how the country of origin matters.

There are expensive chairs that are made in the United States so I don't even know what differentiates an Italian dining room chair. Very Happy

Italian is often a shorthand for a certain very contemporary style although there is furniture and cabinets imported from Italy which is generally quite expensive and fashionable. For example, very high end Italian kitchen cabinets are often lacquer which is not the same as formica LOL

That said if you are worried about upholstery, then get a chair that is mostly wood with only an upholstered seat. If the upholstery becomes shabby, it is relatively inexpensive to have it changed and depending on the actual construction someone who knows how to sew could do it themselves - my mother did for chairs like that.

For the most part more expensive furniture has better construction and dining room chairs get a lot of wear. So the legs can break or collapse away from the frame.

If you want to save, you can often get great deals on dining room furniture at estate sales or secondhand through Craigslist if you are patient.

amother

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 2:14 pm

Most of the Brooklyn and Lakewood stores are saying their Italian chairs are the best, and are selling similar.

They are upholstered with a combination of Vinyl (front and seat) and Velvet (backs), and Im sure the vinyl shows signs of wear pretty quickly.

This is what they look like, with some variations.

Amarante

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 2:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

I have no idea why these are called "Italian" dining room chairs?

Are they from Italy and imported - they aren't in any style I would call "Italian".

Taste is subjective but I don't find those particularly attractive either.

FWIW, there is a lot that can fall apart in terms of the construction of cheap wood chairs and the upholstery would be the least of it.

I don't shop for furniture in Brooklyn or Lakewood so I have no idea of what the price is.

Not "Italian" but super high end and very expensive - just to give you an idea of styles

https://www.bakerfurniture.com.....ting/

Pottery Barn

middle to expensive

https://www.potterybarn.com/sh.....iture

amother

Black

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 3:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

I have something similar to that from Italy from a Jewish Lakewood store. It’s 7 years old and not one sign of wear and tear. It’s in perfect condition.

amother

Gray

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 3:40 pm

I got leather (probably vinyl) chairs from TH interior and I’m very happy with them. I didn’t want fabric.we tried out many chairs and chose the most comfortable one. It’s very comfortable.

amother

Peach

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 4:13 pm

We got Italian chairs when we got married. The material is stained, the boarder ribbon is ripping and the cushioning is shot. But we had them for over 20 years and they only started to look ragged the last few years.

I did price reupholstering, but the cost is more than I bought the chairs for (yes I know in the 20+ years, they probably cost way more new). Now we are debating finding another company or just replace.

amother

Denim

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 4:48 pm

I got those Italian chairs you are talking about. You are right the vinyl is showing signs of wear. I give it 7 years max. They are not particularly comfortable. It’s not worth the money(we had a gift certificate for half but still regret it.

amother

Wed, Mar 20 2024, 7:25 pm

amother Denim wrote:

Have you thought about which chairs you would buy?