Dining Chairs {On the Hunt}

Our dining room chairs (well, really my sister's dining room chairs if you want to get technical) have officially bit the dust. Quite literally. Mark sat in one a few weeks ago and the legs broke right off. They weren't expensive (those Target bentwood chairs that were all the rage a few years back - bought on clearance), but I didn't expect them to break apart quite so soon. C'est la vie, I guess. So now I'm scouring stores and Craigslist to see if I can find replacements. The problem is I really don't know what I want. Shocking, I know. <---- Note the sarcasm.

I could go for something similar to those featured in the above photo, which has long been the general inspiration for the space. The problem is, no matter what the store name is, that kind of design is not within reach pricewise. Please, click the link and check out that ridiculousness. ... Now fan yourself after that shock, and let's get back to business. Amazon has knock-offs that are far better priced, but still more than I'd be willing to spend. Besides, the style just doesn't see very me. Nor very child-friendly. So, moving on...

Another option is what I always planned to get at some point - a classic Eiffel shell chair. While the ones in the photo are probably the real deal, you can find tons of fake options on ebay with wire legs like those in the inspiration image or wood legs. Given that the price on the links is for a pair, and shipping is free, these could be within the budget if I save a bit. But I'm waffling about whether or not white plastic is the direction I want to go. They just seem to take up a lot of space visually and the room is already pretty small.

The last option, and probably the cheapest, would be to find something on Craigslist and paint them. I know I definitely don't want wood-tone chairs (there's enough of that with the table and hardwood floors), and would probably just revert to white, but a color like red might be an option. I like the spindles on these, but Craigslist can be super hit or miss. That coupled with working daytime hours, and therefore missing out on a lot of the good stuff just because of timing of picking things up, means that I might be searching for a while. And I don't necessarily have a while.

Hmmm... decisions, decisions. So, what say you? Which direction should I go? One of the three above or something totally different? White or a color? Craigslist or store-bought? Heck, why don't you just pick them out for me. Just let me know what you find. ;)