We just did a big switch-a-roo of dining chairs! Yes, I loved our Bertoias but they aren't really comfortable for kids. Gemma (5 months) will be sitting at the dining table in the next two months. Annika (4.5 years) is ready to sit in a regular dining chair. So in the near future we'll be playing musical chairs. The Bertoias are a bit painful to get into for a child Annika's age. Kids use their knees as leverage to get into a chair and the wire hurts. Since Annika is letting go of her Stokke and passing it onto Gemma I want her to be comfortable in her new chair. I was on the lookout for an inexpensive alternative.
Ikea in Burbank had a sale on the Nordmyra chairs, $19.99 from $39.99! I thought they were perfect! Inexpensive, flat surface, clean lines, and they reminded me of something I had seen in Remodelista.
I set time aside the first day they went on sale and drove across the valley to pick up 6. Burbank was sold out and wasn't getting more but Carson had them. The following day I drove to Carson. When I went to pay it totaled $180 instead of $120! Turns out Ikea has different prices at different locations and they won't honor another location's price. A lesson learned and good to know. Next time I'll be calling ahead to verify price and stock. I felt it was so sneaky of Ikea to list a chair on sale at a location that had none. Well, at least they were $29.99. The price of all 6 chairs is half the price of just one of the chairs I really want.
We all love the chairs. Annika can get into it no problem. It's a little harder for her to get out of it, but I like that. It's making her sit still longer at dinner. If you've eaten with kids you know how hard it is to have a child just sit and eat without getting up all the time. My only complaint was the noise they make on the tile floor. I ended up gluing felt to the feet to quiet them down a bit. We'll see how long they last.
These chairs will hold us over for a while. Before spending $350 on a chair I'd like to get to the years when I won't have to worry about artistic designs magically flying off the paper and onto the furniture.
We still have the Bertoias. It was always intended for them to eventually go outside. I'd like to create a seating area that looks like this picture below. I love the hard, modern lines of the chairs mixed with the more organic, softer wood table. And I'd love to have an official dining area outside. We do live in Southern California afterall!
Labels: chairs, dining room, outdoor living
