Chair Seat Pads

I'm a rather plain-Jane myself, and tend to go for muted colors and solid fabrics. My colors come from the art work and family photos in my home. Therefore, I prefer solid fabric chair seat pads and currently, with three boys at home, black is my favorite color at the moment. A damp washcloth wipes away any visible dirt or crumbs and a regular wash of the chair seat covers gets them clean without much effort on my part.

Faux Suede Chair Pads - Natural

Eco Astor Recycled Cotton Chair Pad

Black Suede Chair Seat Pads

I might not be able to do patterns as well as others, but I know the ones I like. Combining them is the challenging part. For those of you who can do this (my sister, for example), I've found a few designs I like best. Gray, blue, or black mixed with white is a favorite.

Chair Seat Pads in Bright Colors

Brown and Blue Floral Tie Chair Seat Pad

Purple Floral Soft Chair Pad

Toile is always a popular choice - especially with rich, classic colors. Prints like these will work in either a kitchen or dining room.

Red Toile Chair Cushion

Blue Toile Chair Cushion

Green Toile Chair Cushion

Both my mother-in-law and my best friend have done their kitchens in a Victorian style. Floral patterns are a very popular kitchen theme and you can easily find matching curtains, canisters, plates, glassware, and kitchen rugs.

Shabby Chic Blue Floral Chair Seat Pads

Shabby Chic White Floral Chair Seat Pads

Shabby Chic Victoria Chair Seat Pads

Braided chair seat pads are both durable and available in soft colors. They're thin enough not to over-pad a chair and yet still provide comfortable seating.

Braided Tan Chair Seat Pads

Braided Red Chair Seat Pads

Braided Camel Chair Seat Pads

Your furniture or your personal preference might call for thin cushions for your kitchen or dining chairs as compared to the thicker, fluffier pillows often used more for outdoor furniture or cozy kitchen nooks. These thin pads provide a bit of cushion, a bit of style, and a bit of color all at the same time.

Coffee Pattern Kitchen Chair Pad

Non Slip Vinyl Chair Cushion

Mustard Check Chair Seat Pad

As you've likely seen, chair seat pads come in many thicknesses. Some are as thin as a half an inch and provide protection for the wood of the chair seat, but not much protection for the bones of the person sitting in the chair. Perhaps that's all you need, but if, instead, you're trying to provide a more comfortable seat for those at your table, a thicker pad with pillow-like inserts provides that extra cushion.

Thicker chair seat pads, however, also can drastically change how high one sits in the chair itself. Before selecting a chair seat pad, take a bed pillow, place it on your chair and sit on it to gauge the affect of a thicker pad. If it's too much, reconsider the size cushion you want for your chair.

Photo used under Creative Commons from madame.furie.

I'm convinced that we were not built to sit on hard objects for an extended period of time. Let me rephrase that - I'm convinced that adult bodies are not meant to sit on hard objects for an extended period of time. Our bones start to feel sore, our backsides feel bruised, and, suddenly, we're dying to get up and move around.

I spend a lot of time on airplanes and what they have for seat cushions does pretty well for only about 3 hours. After that, I'm shifting balance from one hip to the other attempting to ease the pressure of having sat so long. Once that happens, I can hardly distract myself from counting down the minutes until I will be released.

Imagine having company over to play a game of bridge and having your guests spending their time constantly moving around in their chairs or having to stand up to take a break from a hard wooden chair. Chair seat pads take all the sting out of uncomfortable chairs.

Photo used under Creative Commons from It's Greg.