Dining chairs - need advice from parents please!

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Ok, so DH and I are getting our first proper grown up dining chairs (to replace the falling apart pine benches we have at the mo).

We really like some we have seen which are padded and fabric covered - both seat and back of the chair. They are much comfier than wood or plastic ones. Fabric is a kind of medium browny grey colour.

We don't have DC at the moment but we are hoping to have them very shortly (we are TTCing). Will the fabric chairs just get destroyed in a couple of years? The covers are not removeable... the DC will be in high chairs at first but that doesn't last long, does it ...?

What would you do? Compromise on the chairs for the sake of future DC-proofing? Or go with the lovely chairs and reckon on keeping grubby DC away/reupholstering if necessary...

Advice most welcome!

You're thinking way ahead

I had fabric covered dining chairs - didn't last long with kids. I did manage to recover them once, but they never looked quite as good as new - nor did the carpeted dining area floor and the plain emulsioned walls, not just the chairs you need to think about!

Friend has plastic covers that go over the seat of the chairs, but they got ripped fairly quickly.

I now own leather, cushioned, high back chairs (and have a tiled floor) - lovely and comfy and can be wiped over with a damp cloth. My children are older now, but I have wondered whether they might be a bit slippy for smaller children to sit on.

All chairs will be ruined by children So just get the ones you like.

Upholstered chairs got wrecked.Did again when I re-covered them.Plastic covers dangerously slippy.Made 'loose covers' which were off being washed more than on.

Now have wooden ones with tie on pads to get out when being posh.....

They'll be wrecked in no time at all with kids about.

Fabric and my dc did not mix. Had to constantly sponge down and keep tea-towel over the base to try and reduce stains. Baked beans can be removed but the grease from little fingers is a nightmare.

I now have leather look bases and wood backs. ds (severe ASD and Learning Disability) will always to mucky and I dont want to constantly stress and have people looking horrified about sitting on my seats . Now I just babywipe them when they get too grotty!

Dammit, that's what I thought you might all say.

lostlady really - even wooden or plastic ones?

nbee I know, I know - I have a tendency to overplan! Just suddenly thought, we're about to spend quite a lot here, is it going to be thrown away in a few years...

Although, advice on the conception threads is always to buy something completely child-unfriendly and then you are bound to get pg... maybe these chairs can do that for me!

Yes: they will get mysterious stains on them; or scratches; or pen; or generally unappealingly and irretrievably sticky. Enjoy some nice chairs while you can!

If you are ttc now, and take into account the milk/high chair years, they will be good for a few years yet

I guess that is true (mentally does the maths)

Although I've been known to spill the odd glass of wine myself...

And then you'll be able to blame the marks on the children

Brilliant. You have convinced me