Which dining chair is best?

Whether it’s for everyday dining or elaborate special occasion meals, sitting in your dining room should be a pleasure. While the company around the table is most important, the dining chairs they sit in matter, too.

For an elegant look in a very comfortable chair, try the Andover Mills Agastya Tufted Parsons Chair. This set of two chairs adds a classic touch with tufted backs and gracefully curved tops.

What to know before you buy a dining chair

How many chairs do you need?

Most people buy dining chairs based on the number of people they have, but it’s important to think about the available space around the table, too. For a comfortable dining experience, plan on 24-30 inches of space per person when seated.

This translates into:

Four chairs for a 48-inch round or square table
Six chairs for a round or square 60-inch table or 72-inch rectangular or oval table
Eight chairs for a 72-inch round or square table or a 96-inch rectangular or oval table
10 chairs for a 120-inch rectangular or oval table

Chair type

Whether your style is fun and funky or clean and classic, the type of dining chair you select should reflect that. Consider the following styles.

Armchairs: Armchairs are formal options that are usually placed at the ends of the table. These are also good for people who struggle to stand up when seated.
Side chairs: Side chairs are more casual and compact. For this reason, they are often on the sides of the table and work better in dining rooms with less space.
Parsons chairs: This type of chair resembles a side chair but is slightly more formal. They’re often tailored and upholstered with a curving back.
Benches: Benches are a great option for seating more people than individual chairs would allow. They are casual and appropriate in less formal dining rooms.

Material

Further customize the look of your dining room by considering which chair material you’d like.

Wood: Wood is a common and durable material that can be simple or intricate. These may also come with an upholstered cushion or accents on the back of the chair.
Metal: For an industrial look at home, choose metal. These are easy to store and often stack, plus they are lightweight and easy to keep clean.
Wicker: Natural materials are woven together to create a chair that works well in bohemian or rustic dining rooms.
Fabric upholstery: Upholstered chairs are a good choice for formal dining rooms in households without children. They are more able to be personalized than other options, but they are harder to keep clean.
Plastic: Plastic chairs come in a wide variety of styles and colors. They are lightweight and easy to clean and store. This is the best option for homes with small children.

What to look for in a quality dining chair

Floor protection

Simple rubber stoppers on the bottom of each chair leg protect your floors from scratches and damage. These also prevent the chairs from skidding.

Easy-care fabric and materials

Even upholstered chairs are available in easy-care fabrics that are treated for stain resistance. This is important if you like the look of a fabric chair but don’t want to spend a lot of time maintaining them.

Easy storage

If you purchase extra chairs for large gatherings, they must be easy to store when the party’s over. Stackable chairs are perfect for compact spaces.

Slipcovers

Slipcovers let you change the look of your dining room in a flash. The best slipcovers are machine washable and offer protection for the fabric underneath. Some slipcovers are also available for metal, wood and plastic chairs.

How much you can expect to spend on a dining chair

The price varies dramatically depending on the number of chairs you purchase, the materials used and the overall quality. Expect to spend $35-$300 per chair.

Dining chair FAQ

What are some tips for selecting dining room chairs that match the decor?

A. The most important factor when selecting dining room chairs is to make sure you have room for them. Measure your dining room and dining room table first.

To find the best dining room chairs for your decor:

Coordinate the shape of the chair with the shape of the table. Square or rectangular tables look great when surrounded by chairs with square or rectangular backs.
Customize your cushions to match the colors of your walls and table accessories.
Change the look of your dining room with slipcovers.
Consider neutral colors if you prefer that your tablescape gets all of the attention.

Do you have to buy a matching set of table and chairs?

A. No. If your decorating style is more eclectic, choosing different chairs and coordinating the color of the chair or the pattern of the cushion can pull the look together.

What’s the best dining chair to buy?

Top dining chair

Andover Mills Agastya Tufted Parsons Chair

What you need to know: These chairs bring an elegant, comfortable touch to the dining room.

What you’ll love: The rolled tops and tufted buttons are graceful and fit a variety of decorating styles. They come in a set of two and are available in one additional color. The legs have plastic glides to prevent scratching the floor, and they assemble easily. These hold up to 260 pounds.

What you should consider: These cannot be stacked, and they can only be spot-cleaned.

Top dining chair for the money

FDW Store Tolix Side Metal Kitchen Trattoria Chairs

What you need to know: The clean lines of these chairs are modernist and classic.

What you’ll love: If you prefer the clean lines of a stool, the backs are removable. They are steel, stackable and sturdy. These sets of four chairs come in nine colors. Nonslip rubber feet keep them in place and protect your floors.

What you should consider: You’ll need to add cushions if you want a more comfortable seat.

Worth checking out

Ink+Ivy Nola Dining Side Chairs (Set of 2)

What you need to know: These comfortable chairs can give your living room a 1960s-1970s vibe.

What you’ll love: The cutout design in the back gives each chair a desirable silhouette. The wooden legs keep the chairs stable. These chairs can support up to 300 pounds.

What you should consider: They’re easy to stain and difficult to clean.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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Midway through Tyler Childers’ Wednesday night concert at Minneapolis’ Target Center, the 33-year-old Kentucky native took to a satellite stage in the middle of the arena floor for a series of solo acoustic numbers.

Dramatically lit from soft lights below and two spots above, Childers looked a bit amused, a bit bewildered and a bit amazed as he sang “Born Again” to a full house of youthful fans hanging on his every word. For a moment, it felt like Childers wasn’t basking in the glory as much as he was wondering just how he got there.

To be sure, Childers is one of the most unusual country stars to come along since Zach Bryan, who went from active duty in the Navy to headlining stadiums in just three years. I’m guessing Bryan’s breakaway success helped boost the fortunes of Childers, who surely shows up in many a “since you listened to, you might like” playlists.

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Yet Childers is a different, and far more talented, beast than Bryan, who would probably be the first to admit it. He grew up in the same county that gave country Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle and Chris Stapleton and recorded his first album while he was still a teen.

Wednesday night, Childers and his well-oiled band the Food Stamps surveyed his career, from the title track of his 2011 self-released debut “Bottles and Bibles” to “Rustin’ in the Rain,” the title track of his sixth and most recent album. With the prominent fiddle, gospel-inspired keyboards and Childers’ nasal twang of a voice, it’s tempting to call him a classic country act.

Yeah, sure, his sound brought to mind both the early days of country and the outlaw turn the genre took in the ’70s. But there’s also something utterly modern about Childers’ approach and his direct, heartfelt songs that feel like old friends after the first spin. (Clad in a well-worn Kentucky sweatshirt and pleated Dockers, Childers clearly doesn’t care much about cultivating the image of a superstar.)

What’s most amazing about Childers is that he’s now at the point of filling arenas without hype or trickery, but sheerly on the strength of his songs, which he delivers with infectious passion. He’s a true storyteller who has captured the hearts of his audience, who sang along to the acoustic numbers “Shake the Frost” and “Lady May” but spent the rest of the night grinning and swaying along, from the raucous love song “All You’n” to the heartbreaking “In Your Love.” This kid is going places.

The Minnesota Wild honored Ray Shero before their game with San Jose on Wednesday, with the home crowd offering a moment of silence to remember the team advisor who died recently.

There was very little silence inside Xcel Energy Center after that moment.

The Wild’s lineup got healthier before the game, and their playoff position got significantly healthier via a crazy 8-7 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks.

Joel Eriksson Ek, back on the line chart for the first time in more than a month, scored four goals — three of them after the Sharks had taken a 4-3 lead in the second period — to put an exclamation point on his return from a lower-body injury. Kirill Kaprizov also returned for the first time since Jan. 26 with two goals, including his 25th of the season 1:01 into overtime for the win.

Along the way, the fans roared for Eriksson Ek’s return to the starting lineup and Kaprizov’s first shift, as the Russian star played in just his fourth game since Christmas. The crowd also saved enough cheers for goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, making his final home start of a two-decade career.

By the end, Fleury had 24 saves and the Wild had two vital standings points with a week left in the regular season, which at least temporarily gave them a six-point cushion over Calgary in the race for the final Western Conference postseason assignment.

Minnesota’s win also mathematically eliminated Utah and Vancouver from the playoffs.

Macklin Celebrini had his first NHL hat trick for the Sharks, who own the NHL’s worst record but took the lead twice on Wednesday, before falling to 0-5-2 in their last seven. Alexandar Georgiev had 36 saves for San Jose.

Trailing 4-3 late in the second, the Wild got power-play goals from Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek to lead after 40 minutes, then two more from Eriksson Ek early in the third. They held on as the Sharks made a late charge to win Minnesota’s second in a row.

After trailing briefly in the opening period, the Wild led 2-1 after one period on goals from Marcus Johansson and Brock Faber, who sent a shot through a crowd and to the back of the net with 72 seconds left in the opening frame. Minnesota had 17 first-period shots — four of them from Kaprizov.

Celebrini’s initial second-period goal forged a 2-2 tie, but it didn’t last long.

Just 18 seconds later, Eriksson Ek got a second whack at the puck in the San Jose crease and celebrated his return from more than a month lost to injury with his first goal since Jan. 26. But the visitors knotted the score at 3-3 less than a minute later.

After Celebrini gave the Sharks the lead at 4-3, the Wild got a rare four-on-three power play, which gave Kaprizov the time and space needed for a missile into the upper left corner of the net to tie the game. He had last scored in a Dec. 23 win over Chicago.

The Wild took the lead for the third time in the game with 11.9 seconds left in the middle period when Eriksson Ek swatted in a loose puck at the top of the crease on another power play. There were six goals scored in the second period.

After Minnesota went up 7-4 in the third, the Sharks again forged a tie and forced extra hockey when Will Smith scored an extra attacker goal in the final minute of regulation.

Defenseman Jake Middleton, injured in a loss to the Islanders in New York last Friday, missed his second consecutive game on Wednesday but practiced with the team earlier in the day and could potentially return to the Minnesota lineup by the weekend.

The Wild head to western Canada for their final regular season road trip, facing the Flames in Calgary on Friday and the Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday. Their final regular season game is at home on Tuesday versus the Anaheim Ducks.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Right-hander Joe Ryan gave the Minnesota Twins just what they needed: a dominant starting pitching performance.

Twins hitters joined in, generating enough offense, and Minnesota’s bullpen finished off the Kansas City Royals in a 4-0 victory Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.

Ryan allowed two hits and struck out four over seven scoreless innings. Ryan (1-1) filled the zone with 63 strikes on 85 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.65 in three starts this season.

Griffin Jax, after finding trouble of all kinds in his previous outings, allowed a hard single in the eighth inning but got three outs. Jhoan Duran walked Bobby Witt with two outs in the ninth before Vinnie Pasquantino grounded to first for the last out.

Matt Wallner and Ty France hit solo home runs, the first of the season for both, and the Twins got RBI singles from Edouard Julien and France. The Twins stopped a three-game losing streak and improved to 4-8 overall.

Twins starting pitchers came in tied for 28th in innings pitched, averaging 4 2/3 innings per outing, but Ryan came in ready for more. Ryan himself hadn’t gone longer than five innings in his first two starts.

Royals right-hander Seth Lugo (1-1) kept the Twins off the scoreboard until two outs in the fourth, when Julien drove in a run with a single to right. With Carlos Correa heading home, it looked like Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe had a play at the plate. But the trailing runner, Trevor Larnach, was between second base and third and Renfroe threw that way, letting Correa score. Larnach was tagged out in a rundown.

After an intentional walk to Larnach with two outs in the sixth, France found a hole on the right side for an opposite-field RBI single to make it 2-0.

Wallner hit a homer to right that just got out in the eighth, and France connected into the Twins’ bullpen for another solo shot in the ninth.

The Twins best defensive play happened in the fourth.

Bobby Witt went the other way for a double to right and, one out later, Salvador Perez hit a deep fly to center. Witt had tried to steal third on the pitch and slid into third. He had too far to return to second once Harrison Bader caught the ball. Bader made a perfect throw to an outstretched Julien, just nipping Witt at the bag.

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