Short answer
Seat height, seat depth, back support and a firm seat; armrests and upholstery add comfort, but they cannot rescue a chair that gets those four wrong.
The seat has to put you at the right height for the table, with feet flat on the floor. It has to be deep enough to carry your thighs without pressing behind your knees. The back has to meet your lower back when you lean back, and the seat has to hold its shape instead of letting you sink.
The chart below shows how each of our dining chairs is built for comfort.
| Model | Seat | Back | Armrests |
|---|---|---|---|
 Sella
| Upholstered over high-density cold-cure foam | Padded | Yes, at 64 cm (25.2 in) |
 Bella
| Upholstered over high-density cold-cure foam | Padded | No |
 Isabell
| Upholstered over a composite base | Upholstered to full height | No |
 Erik
| Sculpted two-piece seat, oak or bouclé | Curved oak | Yes, at 67 cm (26.4 in) |
 Karin
| Sculpted two-piece seat, oak or bouclé | Curved oak | No |
Around 40 to 45 cm (16 to 18 in) of seat depth suits most adults: enough to carry the thighs, with a gap of about a hand's width between the front of the seat and the back of the knees.
A seat that is too deep pushes you forward, away from the backrest, or presses into the backs of your legs. One that is too shallow leaves your thighs unsupported and tires you over a long meal.
Seat height works together with depth. With the right height, 45 to 48 cm (17.7 to 18.9 in) for a standard table, your knees sit at about a right angle and your weight rests evenly on the seat. The dining chair height guide covers the measurements.
An upholstered seat feels softer for the first hour, while a well-shaped wooden seat can be just as comfortable over a whole meal, because it spreads your weight through its shape instead of through padding.
Upholstery only works if the foam underneath is firm. High-density cold-cure foam, which we use in Sella and Bella, holds its shape for years instead of flattening.
A wooden seat works if it is shaped for the body. Karin and Erik have a seat sculpted from two pieces of oak, inclined gently towards the centre to follow how you sit. Both also come with a bouclé seat, for those who want the same shape with softness on top. Our guide to wood vs upholstered dining chairs compares the two in detail.
A backrest that meets the lower back, where the spine curves inwards, gives the most support; a back upholstered to full height supports the whole back.
Low backs look light but leave your shoulders unsupported, which you notice after the first hour. A slight backward tilt lets you lean back between courses without sliding forward.
Isabell's backrest is upholstered to full height, which is why it is the chair we suggest to people who sit at the table for hours, to work as well as to eat. Karin and Erik have a curved oak back that meets the lower back, and Sella and Bella a padded one.
Yes, for long meals: armrests carry the weight of the forearms and shoulders, and make it easier to lean back and to stand up.
They come at a cost in space, 70 cm (27.5 in) of table edge per chair instead of 60 cm (23.5 in), and they only slide under the table if the armrests are lower than its underside.
Sella, in steel, and Erik, in oak, are our dining chairs with armrests. Our guide to dining chairs with arms explains when they are worth the space and how to combine them with armless chairs.
Erik Dining ChairArmrests at 67 cm · from €519View Erik
Sit at your own table for at least 20 minutes, as you would at dinner, and check that your feet rest flat, your thighs are supported, your back reaches the backrest and your knees clear the table.
A quick sit in a shop tells you how soft a chair is, not how it feels after an hour. The table matters too: a chair that suits a showroom table can be too high or too low at yours.
That is why we let you order a single test chair with free returns, and material samples of every fabric and wood, before you commit to a set. See our dining chairs to choose one to try.
Isabell Dining ChairFrom €409Full-height upholstered back
Sella Dining ChairFrom €489Armrests · cold-cure foam
Erik Dining ChairFrom €499Armrests · bouclé seat
Karin Dining ChairFrom €479Sculpted seat · bouclé
