16 Inexpensive Dining Chairs (That Don’t Look Cheap!)

In this post: On the hunt for good looking, inexpensive (ok… cheap) dining chairs? I’m sharing 16 of my favorites!

If you’ve ever been in the market for new dining chairs, you know how quickly the cost adds up when you need 6-8 of them! Fortunately there are stylish yet inexpensive dining chairs out there – and luckily I’ve done all the searching for you! Today I’m sharing the best online sites to shop for inexpensive dining chairs, my favorite inexpensive dining chair finds, and a few tips for shopping for new chairs including how to make your dining space look more high-end even if you bought your chairs on a budget. And read on to the end where I share progress and updates on our own dining room! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here}).

You can shop HomeGoods online too {HERE} but their online selection is currently fairly limited. Of course going to any of these three stores in person can work too – it’s rare that they have more than one or two of the same chair but sometimes shopping multiple stores can get you what you need. I actually found the dining room side chairs in my last house by shopping three different HomeGoods stores over a period of weeks to create a full set:

Dining Room Sources: Wood bead chandelier  |  13″ Rattan chargers (similar)  |  Green & white plaid napkins  |  Table runner (similar)  |  Wood vases – no longer available  |  Faux pink tulips  |  Faux white tulips  |  White wall plates  |  Patterned wall plates  |  Drapes – no longer available

Some of my other favorite online sources for inexpensive dining chairs are:

Pottery Barn (check out their Everyday Value chairs {here})

Target {here} (they have a lot of good online options you won’t see in the store)

Wayfair {here}

Walmart {here}

Amazon (they have their own Stone & Beam brand of dining chairs {HERE}) & their more contemporary Rivet brand {HERE})

After doing a ton of online hunting, I gathered together my favorite 16 dining chairs that retail at $150 or less per less. Many of them are under $100 and the ones closer to $150 can often be found on sale for less). There are details about each chair and a link to it below. Note that the price for many of these dining chairs is for a pair or set of four! 

Details & Links for Each Chair:

Chair 1: Armless bistro dining chair (set of 2) available {HERE} (these go out of stock frequently so keep checking back!) in white, dark gray, and beige. These bistro dining chairs are the bargain buy of the bunch at under $100 for the set of 2. They are made of molded plastic (which is how they can be sold at this low price) so can be used indoors or out. 89% of reviewers give them 4-5 stars, praising them for being sturdy, comfortable, easy to clean, and surprisingly chic looking in person.

Chair 2: Classic spindle back Windsor dining chairs (set of 2) available {HERE}  in charcoal gray, oak, white, and black. These are some of my favorite chairs of the bunch – I have a pair of them in the white. They are a classic design that will never go out of style. They do require some assembly but are easy to put together. I like chairs with tall backs and these are one of the tallest of the bunch at 36″ H.

Chair 3: Rattan chair with black metal base available {HERE} (they recently updated the design of the chair a bit from the one I have in my collage and unfortunately raised the price too). I love rattan chairs but they’re typically on the pricey side so I was excited to find this dining chair that’s a reasonable price. It’s the only chair on my list that has arms (arm chairs are typically more expensive than side chairs). I personally wish they had a white base instead of the black but if your vibe is more modern than mine, the black could work great (and the base color is nothing that a can of spray paint couldn’t fix!)

Chair 4: Metal X Back Dining Chair (set of 2) available {HERE} in black, white, light blue, and gray. I love this chic, modern version of a classic chair! They’re made of steel so are very sturdy and have a more petite frame size than some of the other chairs on my list.

Chair 5: Gray upholstered dining chair with nailheads available {here}. It’s difficult to find decent looking upholstered dining chairs at a low price point but these make the cut! The dove gray fabric color is neutral enough to work in almost any space and the curved chair tops add a touch of elegance:

Chair 6: Ladder back chair available {HERE} in black, weathered gray, white, and salvaged black. This is another of my favorite chairs on the list because I love the simple design (including the curved, splayed legs) and the weathered gray finish is beautiful:

Chair 8: Spindle back updated dining chair (set of 2) available {HERE} in black, green meadow, silver birch, white, and blue steel. This chair is a modern version of the classic Windsor spindle chair at an excellent price and has one of the higher backs of the bunch.

Chair 9: Woven IKEA chair available {HERE}. This chair has a bamboo frame and handwoven paper twine seat and back. It’s a newer chair so doesn’t have many reviews but I love the look of it!

Chair 10: Metal X-back dining chair (set of 2) available {HERE} in 7 color options including antique blue:

They get great reviews are are said to be both sturdy and comfortable. One thing noted by a few reviewers is that the paint scratches more easily than expected so they might not be the best choice if you have kids. Also check out {these chairs} that have a similar design in several wood finishes including a lime wash.

Chair 11:  Solid wood Windsor dining chair (set of 2) available {HERE} in neutral gray with lower backs than the other Windsor options. The reviews on this dining chair are among the highest of the bunch, praising the high quality of the chairs.

Chair 14: Leather weave dining chair available {HERE} in six weave color options & three wood finish options. These chairs have a younger, more modern vibe than most of the other chairs on my favorites list.

They get excellent reviews with the exception of the black weave/walnut frame combination (reviewers state that the wood color is more of a cherry color than walnut) and the natural weave/natural frame combination (reviewers state that the weave is more of an olive color).

Chair 15: Cross back dining chair (set of 2) available {HERE} in four color options. A classic, timeless style!

Dining Chair Shopping Tips

1. Pay attention to is the seat height of your dining chairs. There’s actually quite a bit of variation in seat height so you want to make sure that you’re choosing chairs with a height that’s comfortable for your dining table. To determine this, take the height of your table and subtract 12 inches (for example most dining tables are 30″ high so an appropriate seat height would be 30-12=18″).
2. If you’re looking at dining chairs with arms, make sure they’re not so high that they’d prevent you from pushing your chairs as close to the table as you’d like. I made this mistake once about 15 years ago and you can bet I ever make it again!
3. Consider mixing your dining room chairs with one style of chair for your side chairs and another style for your end chairs. The eclectic mix gives you a higher end look and if you have higher quality end chairs, you can often get away with spending a lot less on your side chairs. As I mentioned earlier, I found the side chairs in our previous house at HomeGoods but then spent more on two substantial wingback end chairs to elevate the look of our space. I do recommend that your end chairs be taller than your side chairs if you’re mixing things up! The mix of {these side chairs} with {these end chairs} from Serena & Lily is another example:

Progress On Our Dining Room

So where are things at with our current dining room? We didn’t bring any dining room furniture with us from Connecticut (the table was too long for our new space, even without any leaves and we didn’t have a sideboard or buffet since we had a built-in there) so we started completely from scratch. I’ve taken it slow in putting this space together (we’ve been in our house almost a year now!) because we’ve made several large purchases for it that we plan to be “forever” pieces and wanted to space those purchases out a bit.  Here’s where our still-looking-bare room is at right now:

I found {this sideboard} on sale as a floor model locally:

and recently added {this French blue gourd lamp} to it when it went on sale:

And I bought {this blue patterned rug} (that I love!) and {this 71″ dining table} (you can also get it in an extendable version {here}) that has the most beautiful finish:

I love the profile of it too:

Update! For dining chairs, I found some amazing upholstered side and arm chairs that are on casters (which I love!) and are very reasonably priced. I love the design of the back of them too:

And they’re super comfy! You can find the side chairs {here} and the arm chairs {here} – mine are the linen color.

I hope these tips and favorite chair picks are helpful to those of you who are on the hunt for new dining chairs on a limited budget! For more helpful tips for decorating your home, check out these posts:

How High to Hang Pictures

Tips for Hanging Lighting

Must-Have Bathroom Measurements

XO,