13 Best Dining Chairs, Tested and Reviewed By AD’s Editors (2026)

No dining space—whether it’s a formal room or a tiny breakfast nook in your kitchen—would be complete without at least one of the best dining chairs. Eating from the comfort of your couch is all well and good, but having a grown-up set of dining chairs is a sophisticated way to keep some extra seating options on hand, whether you’re hosting a few friends or a full-blown bash.

In a world with countless chair types (and one too many knockoffs), honing in on the right style can feel overwhelming. To steer you in the right direction, our team is on hand to tell us about what’s been surrounding their dining tables. Scroll down for their unfiltered opinions on the best dining chairs, period.

Wooden Dining Chairs

Herman Miller’s cushy Comma dining chair takes after the punctuation mark with an upholstered seat that invites you to pause. Associate commerce director Lori Keong took it for a spin during this year’s Seat Week and called out the enhanced comfort level compared to typical wooden options for extended periods of sitting or noshing. “The circular seat base perfectly rounds out the rest of the design, from the steam-bent backrest that curves around your back to the slender legs that look exceptionally pleasing to the eye,” she says. Meanwhile, the midcentury color palette it comes in (from this handsome rusty red to a completely colorblocked, Kindercore red and blue) feels just right for a dining room that has personality and polish. “If you happen to be one of those people who works out of a dining chair rather than a traditional seat on wheels, you could do a lot worse, looks-wise, than this.”

Ton’s Salt chairs are thin and slim in a way that makes them perfect for dining tables of all sizes. “When I bought four of these chairs for my apartment in 2021, I was worried that the black paint might chip,” contributor Madeleine Luckel told us. “So far that hasn’t happened at all, but I am starting to think that the paint on some of the seats is thinning.” In order to prevent floor scratches, Luckel also added felt pads to the bottom of the legs, noting that it was a bit tricky cutting out patches that were small enough to fit the areas but ultimately the added protective measure has paid off in the long run. “If given the opportunity, I’d buy these chairs again! I could see myself having them for years and purchasing more of them down the line to build out my dining-chair set if I ever have the space,” she adds.

Senior digital design editor Zoë Sessums snagged her wishbone chairs at a small antique sale in Maine, and after repairs to the paper cord seats, the Danish beauties were as good as new. Designed by Hans Wegner in 1949, the fan favorite CH24 seats (AKA wishbone chairs), followed the Dane’s self-described “process of purification and of simplification,” with a no-frills hardwood frame and woven seats fashioned from paper string. Widely recognized throughout AD’s archives, the timeless design is a versatile fit for varying design tastes according to Sessums. “After an attempt at restringing the seats (letting my partner do 99% of the work), I can say just how skillfully and thoughtfully the chairs are constructed,” Sessums said. “The sculptural frame is elegant, available in 48 material and color options and will absolutely last you a lifetime of dining delight.”

According to contributor Sydney Gore, Hay’s Rey chair is “hands down one of the most comfortable wood chairs.” A must-have for fans of contemporary modern design regardless of what aesthetic you’re into, Gore told us the seats are more than ideal dining chairs, after all, who wants to feel uncomfortable while they eat? “Trust me, you won’t find a better stackable chair with a screwless wood-to-metal connection. For people like me that live in small spaces where every inch counts, the Rey Chair is a godsend.” The timeless piece is even available in a junior version for kids, and if you really want to flex on friends, enemies, and lovers, just know the Rey Chair is a permanent fixture in the Swiss Museum of Design in Zurich.

A beautiful set of stacking chairs will seldom disappoint you, especially if you’re looking for a smart way to maximize seating options in more modest spaces. Enter: Frama’s Chair 01, which answers all your ugly chair woes with beautifully austere, Scandi-inspired wooden silhouettes. Drawing inspiration from trademark designs seen in Nordic auditoriums and churches, the petite Chair 01 encourages great posture with its sturdy silhouette, according to commerce editor Audrey Lee.

“I’ve always had a fixation with Frama goods and this chair is quite comfortable as far as wooden designs go,” she says. The secret in the sauce? “Despite its more rigid appearance, there are lots of subtle, curved edges that support long periods of sitting, plus a slightly rounded backrest that helps with creating a more welcoming accommodation for your spine.” At 5’1, Audrey found Chair 01 was the perfect size, though she admitted larger and taller sitters might not find the seat as comfortable. “The only thing I’d love to see is an optional seat cushion, to really level up the comfort,” says Lee.

Commerce writer Julia Harrison describes the Lammhults Campus Chair, originally designed in the 1990s, as lightweight, sinewy, sleek, and (most importantly for small dining rooms) stackable. She was drawn to these chairs for their minimal frame. “For those of us who suffer from bulky dining room tables and tiny living spaces, these chairs engage negative space to lighten the visual weight of an otherwise cluttered space,” she says. The chrome legs and wooden back look like a true vintage relic, something you scoured the markets for, instead of finding with ease for under $500. They’re more comfortable than they look, too. Harrison remarks that the silhouette is slightly undulated, so your back and behind rest naturally along the subtle curve instead of needing to adjust every five minutes. “You might not suspect a chair of wood and steel to suit four hours of typing away, but I can attest to the contrary—it’s built for a person to sit comfortably, and without structural parameters.”

Living in a small New York apartment has its drawbacks, a lack of living space being one. But commerce director Lori Keong found a solution in vintage folding chairs. “I bought some vintage, MoMA-worthy Aldo Jacober ones all the way from Slovenia a few years ago (hot tip, you can score good deals from Etsy dealers in Eastern Europe), and they are my favorite chairs to date,” she says. Sturdy and easy to move, these chairs have only gotten better with age, maintaining their handsome natural wood finish. “There’s something so visually clean and singular about the angular alignment of the legs, which neatly fold flat when you need to make space,” she continues. You can shop a number of iterations of these chairs across secondhand sellers like Etsy, 1st Dibs, and even Facebook Marketplace. They come in a variety of wood tones, colors, and materials (Keong has even found some with cane seats and wooden slats). She recommends options with thicker seats or all-wood slats for a more comfortable perch for all-night dinner parties.

Metal and Leather Dining Chairs

When Dutch designer Friso Kramer created the Revolt chair in the mid-1950s both ergonomics and economics were top of mind. In the innovative perch, two bent-steel sheets support a seat and back made from paper and resin. It was lightweight, elegant, and relatively easy to manufacture, making it a popular chair across the Netherlands. “When I scored my black and white vintage ones on Craigslist back in 2014, I didn’t know much about Kramer. I chose them for their industrial schoolhouse vibe and Prouvé-ish qualities,” says senior design editor Hannah Martin.

In the years since, Kramer has been ushered back into the spotlight—this chair and its sister, the Result, are now produced by Hay in a range of colors and materials. “Assuming the new ones are made to the same discerning standards of the original, I can attest to their hardworking comfort. They’re not exactly cushy, of course, but there’s a slight flexibility in the back and a subtle curve in the seat that makes for easy, long-duration sitting, whether for a leisurely dinner or a day of work from home.”

With indoor and outdoor appeal, the versatile Bertoia side chair has modern chops to dial up the interest in any area of your home. “I love the sleek piece for an industrial moment indoors,” says Sessums. With welded steel grids that make up the seat, the icon of midcentury-modern design comes in a variety of colors (with powder-coated finishes to hold up outdoors) and has sturdy, changeable seat cushions that also suit any number of hue preferences.