How to Alternate Colors for Dining Chairs

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to decorating. Color can be used in any combination that is comfortable to the occupants of the home---mixing color and combining eras and styles is acceptable. Dining room chairs provide a place to play with color---mixing and alternating as desired. Dining tables are typically sold with an even number of chairs, making alternating colors a simple endeavor. Larger guest lists may require a table leaf and additional chairs that create an odd number of seats. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Identify the textiles and colors used in the dining room. Look for color in the room's window treatments, rugs, wall color and art.

2

Choose two solid colors from the room's color palette. Use these colors to choose fabrics to upholster the chairs with. Add a third color for additional chairs not in everyday use or to use on the odd number chair. Contrasting colors--black and white, red and green, purple and yellow--will create a dramatic effect. Muted colors or colors that are similar in their tone--metallics, pastels, jewel tones--present a softer effect.

3

Draw the shape of the dining table on to a piece of paper, using a template if desired, and draw the number of needed dining room chairs around the table in the configuration that works best for the room and its uses.

4

Use colored pencils to identify each chosen color. Decide how the colors will alternate on the given configuration and how many of each color are needed. Generally, the choice to cover half of the chairs in one color and the other half in the second color provides an easy way to alternate colors for an even number of chairs, but this is not a rule. Placing pairs of the same color chair side-by-side and then alternating pairs works well for a large dining table. Alternating by splitting the colors---one on one side of the table and the other color on the other side---works too.

5

Cover chairs with the fabrics selected in Step 2 and then place chairs around the table in the chosen alternating pattern.