how impractical are these chairs?

[mtemm]

how impractical are these

seriously, who can have chairs with seats like these? I just see the kids (ages 4, 2, 2) picking all the straw/whatever it is and make a big old mess of it.

or am I wrong? is the seat sturdier than I am thinking it is?

 

[azgal81]

My parents actually had chairs like that when I was growing up. Picking at the straw was a great hobby of mine. They aren't sturdy at all in fact the seats ended up being completely damaged with holes in the middle where the straw came together. Probably from us kids.

 

[elizke]

Rush seats can actually be very tough, if well made. We had rush-seated chairs growing up, and there were 8 of us kids. I have two of them still, (one I use everyday to put makeup on) and I think my sister has a couple also, and they are still fine. (I guess they're about 40 years old now.)

The straw is more cord-shaped than the Pottery Barn ones though. I've looked at them in person and the straw seems very flat and "stain showing".

 

[Annette_VA]

My parents had ladderback chairs w/ seats like those in their dining room.

We never messed w/ them or picked them apart. The cats were a different story, though!

 

[padams]

We tried those chairs when our kids were the same age as you kids are. I found getting the crumbs and bits of food out of the wicker to be more trouble than the chairs were worth. They looked worn from day one.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

My babysitter had these when I was little. They help up great, but I knew better than to mess with them.

 

[golfgal]

Everyone I know that has this type of chair hates them. They are either always dirty, food getting stuck in between the canes or what ever they are or the canes shifting around and leaving "holes" in the weave. I would hate those chairs with kids!

 

[mtemm]

thanks! I love the shape of them, but will look around to see if I can find some with a solid bottom. even if they don't pick at them, the messes are definitely a problem still around here, so not going to risk it.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

We had one of these, and I picked such a big hole, I fell through the middle one day. My Dad blamed it on my big butt

 

[87Heel]

Wow; surprised that so many have had problems. We have this type of chairs and 3 kids, no problems. And the chairs belonged to my inlaws before us, so they've been in use for years!

 

[tekmom]

I have these chairs. I have a huge pine farm table and the rush seated chairs looked the best. I wanted a casual look because I have two kids. Have had the chairs for 8 years and they still look great. The kids are 9 and 14 and haven't wrecked them yet. We have never had any problem cleaning them. We also have a stool with the rush seat in our kitchen, at an old desk...that seat is fine, too. I've always been happy with Pottery Barn quality.

 

[bananiem]

Well, not everyone has kids. I guess I can't see 2 adults sitting there picking at the seat during dinner.
I have 2 stools similar to this at my breakfast bar. We've had them for atleast 14 years and they're just now starting to show some wear and tear. My kids are 10 and 12 but they didn't pick at the straw.