Hi all, and happy Wednesday! Hope you’re all enjoying your week. I’ve been busy getting my youngest settled back in school, and we spent this past weekend bringing my daughter back to college for her sophomore year. I tell you, it doesn’t get any easier!
I’ve been really missing her and I know that keeping busy will help. So on that note, I’ve got another post for you about my breakfast area. I shared all about my new antique farmhouse table with you a few weeks ago, but now I’m going to talk all about my French café chairs!
I’ve gotten so many questions on Instagram about my chairs that I thought maybe they deserved their own post! But before I tell you where they’re from, let’s back up a little and talk about why I chose them in the first place….
Originally, I put the dining room chairs in here and I actually liked them quite a bit. And though I didn’t want to move them in here permanently, they did get me thinking about getting chairs in an off-white shade. So originally, that is where I was headed. However, in the end I decided I didn’t want the two rooms to be twins. My dining room has a brown table with off-white chairs, and I felt that if I did that same thing in the kitchen area, it would just be too similar.
Here you can see what it looked like with the dining chairs in here….
An antique chair would definitely have been my first choice, but with the fact that we eat almost three meals a day here, week in and week out, that didn’t seem practical. The dining chairs are antiques and two are already broken! I also wanted a little more casual of a feel in this room versus the formal dining room. So I looked around at all kinds of chairs, both in person, and on every website you can imagine, and the simple French café x-back style chair kept coming back to me.
Old Seagrove Homes via Decorpad.
They are modeled after traditional café chairs in Europe, and that timeless feel is something I’m always drawn to. I love them, but I did hesitate as they are so prevalent! They are literally everywhere, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted something that everyone else had.
But, I do love them. And, they are extremely practical. In fact, they are perfect in many ways for my space. They are lightweight, and as such, easy to move around. They’re not particularly expensive, which means if I did want to change them they wouldn’t be a huge investment. And despite their prevalence, I think they are still classic. If they are good enough for Parisian cafés, who am I to argue? 🙂
But as I said, they are everywhere.. so where to buy them? I found them many places but in the end, I was looking at three stores: World Market, Restoration Hardware, and Ballard Designs. The World Market chair is the least expensive and if it had been the right color, I would have done that one for sure. However, when I went to the store they looked too grey in person and I didn’t think they would work with my antique wood table.
That left the RH version and the Ballard’s. The RH is kind of the original (at least here in the U.S.) and they have a natural wood version. I spent a good few weeks calling the outlet daily, trying to find them on sale, to no avail. I was leaning toward getting the RH version at the regular store, when I remembered that I had already seen the Ballard’s in person when we ordered them for the farmhouse kitchen I designed last year! I figured since I had one close by I should at least look at in my space.
So after dragging one of the BD chairs from my friend’s house over here to make sure they would work (nothing worse than shipping things back!), I ended up ordering the BD ones. In the end I paid much more than I would have for the WM ones and a little more than the RH ones, but the color is perfect!
They are not too brown and not too grey. They have some “patina” on them. And, even more importantly, BD is the only one who makes a quality cushion you can buy for them! I’ve heard the WM cushions are thin and awful, and RH doesn’t even make one. Having cushions was imperative as the rattan seat is not super durable and I still have a son at home who has friends over, etc., and I wanted to have some extra comfort for us as well as some added protection. Personally, I think it’s more comfortable on bare legs than the rattan alone.
All in all I’m super happy with my choice. And they have proved to be very comfortable as well. And can I say, having a lightweight chair is so much better than the heavy ones I had here before!
So if you are looking for a French café chair, the World Market version is the best deal if the color works for you! The second cheapest is actually the Restoration Hardware (I find that so shocking!) They are also the only one who makes them in four colors, including white, which is great. The Ballard Designs version is the most expensive, but I do love the color. I also used a 20% off coupon which they run quite frequently. And of course, they have the adorable cushions! And you might even be able to use the cushions on one of the other chairs, I didn’t actually check measurements on that.
I’m linking both the World Market (because they are the best price) and some other options below in case you are in the market. And if you’ve bought these, I’d love to know which ones you went with!
Shop the Post!
*affiliate links included for your convenience*
And if you want to check out the Ballard’s version, you can find it here, and the cushion here. I also noticed it’s on sale now!!
Sheila
xo
Sharing this week at Stonegable
Caroline Scott says
Hi! Your table and chair combo is beautiful. I found your pictures on pinterest and I’m trying to mimic this look. I’ve looked at a lot of farmhouse tables. I’m trying to evaluate how chunky your table legs are to know if I’m finding something comparable. Can you tell me how large the legs are…like what are the dimensions of the block at the top of the leg? From looking around, it seems they can range from 3.5-5″.
Thanks, Caroline
Sheila says
Thanks so much for your kind words Caroline! My table legs are about 3 1/4″ wide (on one side). These are the “blocks” at the top of the table legs. They were actually supposed to be about 5″ but I felt that was too bulky so I had them make them slightly smaller. As you know, it’s totally personal preference, but for me these looked more in proportion.
Hope that helps – and thanks for stopping by!
Sheila
Kassandra says
Hi Sheila – Where did you get your table? It is beautiful!
Sheila says
Hi Kassandra! Thanks so much for reaching out. The table is from a small store called Elsie Green. You can read the post all about the table and how I chose it here: https://maisondecinq.com/new-antique-farmhouse-table/
Hope that helps!
Sheila
Elizabeth says
Hello Shelia I am a new visitor to your blog and I love your table! The chairs are a perfect match for the handsome table. I think the cushions add a great deal of comfort and style. Looking forward to seeing more of your home and ideas.
Sheila says
Thanks so much Elizabeth! I love hearing from new readers and am so happy you’ve stopped by!
Sheila
Sandra says
I absolutely love your new table Sheila!! And those chairs are perfect! So classic!
Sheila says
Aww thank you Sandra- that means so much! I’m really happy with them:)
So glad you stopped by over here, too!
Sheila
xo
Antiquechase says
I bought the World Market simply because with the 30% 0ff coupon and free shipping the price couldn’t be beat. However, they are not perfect by any means. I am using them in an office so I am not seeing them surrounded in my kitchen. The color is ok. Yes, a bit more grey than my antique pine table. The seats are kind of scratchy. WM cushions dont really fit and are not very attractive. I will have two cushions made in white denim to match my sofa. So if you can afford it, or will be looking at the chairs in a group in a kitchen/dining, I would spend the extra money and get the Ballard. As I type this, I’m wondering if I should just return the WM and get the Ballard. I’ll check the price again. Haha
Marcy
Sheila says
I totally agree Marcy – the WM ones are absolutely the best price! Thanks so much for your input, I really appreciate it! And also, as I’m typing this I looked today and the Ballard’s are almost as low as the WM now!! (of course, AFTER I bought them, lol!)
Sheila