Metal chairs with upholstered backs

A metal frame keeps the chair slim; an upholstered back gives the guest something soft to lean on through a long breakfast or a business dinner. This group holds 63 such chairs, vinyl on nearly all and fabric on a few. Measure width first, because these chairs run from compact side chairs to roomy pieces over 24 inches across.

Width sets the count

The examples show how far widths travel. The metal dining chair at $125 measures 16 1/2 inches wide, while the metal dining chair at $153 measures 24 1/4 inches. If each guest gets roughly two feet of edge, the slimmer chair sits easily at a four-top; the wider one wants a generous table or fewer seats along each side. Measure the table edge you have, set the chair width against it with a little elbow room, and the count for every table follows.

A hotel restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner from one floor often mixes the two: slim chairs at the center tables where the room is busiest, wider ones along the windows where a guest lingers over a late dinner. Both can share the same frame finish and cover, so the room still reads as one.

Backs, seats and the swatch card

Most backs are fully upholstered, eleven are bucket shells, and three take a retro shape. A padded back appears on 56 chairs. Seats are vinyl on 61 and fabric on eight, and 45 chairs let you choose the cover from the listed options. The channel-back dining chair at $220 shows the stitched look at its plainest.

Order free upholstery swatches and hold them up in the dining room at the hour it is busiest. A color seen under morning light looks different under the evening lamps, and guests see it in both.

Frames and the room's other pieces

Forty-six frames are plain metal. Eight are metal finished to look like wood, seven are aluminum and three are steel. Only five chairs here stack, so a function room that clears between events should start with stacking chairs or banquet chairs instead. Prices start around $40 and reach $347.

For a wood frame with the same soft back, see upholstered-back wood chairs. Save your choice to a property plan for each dining room, and add the breakfast room as a second room if it shares the chair.