STORY
There is a quality to a long Sunday lunch in an Australian home: wide windows, conversation that drifts past dessert, the table still gathered around long after the plates are cleared. Each seat holds you through all of it. Across a lifetime of meals and gatherings, it works harder than almost any other piece of furniture in the house.
Choosing dining chairs well means looking past surface appearance to understand comfort, materials and craftsmanship. At Kett Furniture, Design Director Justin Hutchinson approaches each piece as a study in precision and permanence, constructed with handmade techniques and timber sourced from sustainably managed forests. This guide covers the essentials: ergonomics and sizing, material quality, and how to find pieces that belong in the room they will live in for years.
Wye indoor armchair for relaxed dining
A beautiful chair that cannot be sat in comfortably for two hours is a design failure. True comfort comes not from the depth of padding but from the intelligence of the structure beneath it. A well-built seat distributes weight evenly, holds the lower back with genuine support, and keeps the body at a natural, relaxed angle.
Standard seat height for dining chairs falls between 45 and 48 centimetres. The backrest should curve to meet the lower back rather than simply stand upright. Web suspension or sprung seats, rather than solid foam blocks, create a more responsive feel that holds up under years of daily use. These structural choices are what produce comfortable dining chairs for Australian tables rather than attractive ones people leave at the first opportunity. Explore the dining furniture collection to see how Kett brings these principles to each piece.
The relationship between your dining table and chairs matters as much as the chairs themselves. Allow 28 to 30 centimetres between the seat and the underside of the tabletop for a comfortable fit. Plan for around 60 centimetres of width per place setting so elbows have room to move, and at least 90 centimetres of walk-around clearance behind a pulled-out chair.
Measure the room with chairs in their pulled-out position when planning this combination. That is the configuration that matters at a dinner party, not the tidy arrangement with everything tucked in.
Portland armchair for upholstered dining comfort
Material choice determines how each piece ages, and how well it belongs to a home across the years. Each option brings a distinct character.
Timber dining chairs carry structural warmth and lasting integrity. Solid timber frames, joined with precision joinery rather than staples or adhesive, flex slightly under load rather than cracking under stress. Well-made timber furniture develops a patina with use, becoming more characterful over time rather than less.
Leather dining chairs age with comparable distinction. Fine leather softens and deepens in colour across the life of a household. A quality hide responds well to care over decades, and for families who want chairs in Australia that are straightforward to maintain, well-sourced leather is both durable and practical.
Upholstered pieces introduce texture, customisation and a different relationship to the room. At Kett Furniture, upholstered sofas and chairs are made to order in Melbourne, with each client selecting from premium fabrics and finishes matched to the space. This is the difference between furniture that belongs and furniture that merely arrives.
Quality lives in the frame rather than the upholstery. Lift the piece and press the backrest diagonally: a well-constructed frame will not flex or rack. Look for joined construction rather than stapled or glued joints, hand-finished surfaces, and a weight that signals solid material throughout.
Each piece is designed with longevity in mind, with enduring frames, considered finishes and upholstery choices that can be refreshed as a room or taste evolves. Chairs built to this standard can serve the same table for a generation or more.
Precise matching between chairs and a table is one approach. Cohesion is the more considered one. Pieces that share a material reference or finish tone read as designed together without needing to be identical. A set of modern dining chairs in a natural timber finish can sit alongside an upholstered carver at the head of the table, adding visual depth without disruption.
Modern dining chairs tend towards cleaner lines and quieter forms, with materials that read as refined rather than decorative. In Australian homes, luxury dining chairs often draw on the landscape in their palette: warm timber, natural wool boucle, fine leather in earthy tones. These choices age better than trend-driven decisions, and they belong to a room rather than date it.
Kett’s collections take their names from the Victorian coastline. The Otway, Avoca and Erskine collections carry the sensibility of that landscape into the dining room: restrained forms, natural grain, and finishes that work across different interiors.
Otway Armchair in Solid Ash & Fabric or Leather Upholstery
The right chair changes how a room feels and how long people want to remain at the table. Each piece is crafted with purposeful design and considered craftsmanship: sustainably sourced timber and made-to-order upholstery tailored to the space it will occupy.
Kett is available exclusively through Cosh Living showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. There is no substitute for sitting in a piece before choosing it. Visit a Cosh Living showrooms or get in touch to discuss made-to-order options for your home.
A standard seat sits between 45 and 48 centimetres. Allow 28 to 30 centimetres between the seat and the underside of the tabletop for a comfortable fit. Less than 27 centimetres and most adults will feel cramped; more than 32 centimetres and the seat sits too low for the table.
Not necessarily. A shared material reference or finish tone creates cohesion without requiring an exact match. Many contemporary rooms pair upholstered seats alongside a timber table, or mix chair styles while keeping the frame finish consistent. The goal is a space that reads as considered rather than coordinated by catalogue.
Both work well with the right material choice. Quality leather dining chairs wipe clean easily and develop character with use over time. Performance fabrics can achieve high Martindale rub counts and resist staining effectively. With a made-to-order approach, fabric selection becomes a practical decision as much as an aesthetic one.
Timber dining chairs built with solid frames and considered construction should last decades with normal care. These pieces are designed for re-upholstery and repair rather than replacement. The frame is the long investment; the fabric can be refreshed as the room changes.
Learn more
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03 9532 0464
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Richmond VIC 3121
03 9281 1999
melbourne@coshliving.com
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69 O’Riordan Street,
Alexandria NSW 2015
02 9317 3011
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Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
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Osborne Park WA 6017
08 9415 2522
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