Cheap Dining Room Furniture – That Looks Expensive (Parts 1 & 2)

 

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, I said this post was coming out last night. However, I have made a new rule.

No working after 11:00 PM.

Lights out by 1:00 or earlier.

I’m going to give this my best shot to reset my unusual bedtime; although not unheard of, it’s not typical for most people.

 

As promised, I have expanded on the dining room “shell” we’ll call it.

 

This is a 2-part post, and if you’ve already seen part one, below is a link that will take you to part 2. If you’re here for the first time, please start from the top of the page.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Hi Everyone,

Well, I don’t know what to say, so I’m not going to say anything about the news this week.

I prefer to focus on the positive, whenever possible.

And for me, it’s that my son Cale is here! I hadn’t seen him in three months.

He’s here for a wedding gig that just took place. However, he’s been here since Thursday evening.

So, I decided to take off for the Hot Sales. They are up to date as of Friday morning.

 

I’ve also been working on the cheap dining room furniture post, but I didn’t have enough time to finish it.

 

What I am going to show you, however, is the dining room ChatGeniePartTime made for me. I mentioned it in the cheap living room furniture post.

This was taken from a Steven Gambrel dining room, and Chat took out all of the furniture. He also removed a door. However, I wanted the door back.

Below, I made some tweaks, and below is the new shell.

This was the dining room where I put in some furniture for Chat to fix, but he couldn’t do it.

 

So, I found some other images, and ended up with this, below:

 

I could’ve added some shadows, but didn’t.

The lamps, dining, and console tables are from either Chairish or 1stdibs. The Holborn Lantern is from Visual Comfort, and everything else is from Gerald Bland.

 

I have been working on creating a dining room that’s at the same level, but instead of $120,000, it’s under $3,000.

 

However, it’s not ready because I’m spending time with my son.

Since I also didn’t get out the Hot Sales, I didn’t want anyone to worry because I’m missing in action.

 

There will be much more cheap dining room furniture for you to look at on Tuesday evening.

 

The challenge is finding inexpensive pieces that don’t look it. The question remains: Can I do an entire dining room, table, buffet, six chairs, chandelier, rug, art, and lamps for under $3,000?

I’m not sure, but I’ll do my best.

xo,

 

*********************************************************

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Hi Everyone,

My goal for this exercise was to furnish this dining room with cheap dining room furniture that doesn’t look cheap: a dining table, four chairs, a sideboard or buffet, a rug, art, and lamps.

And do all of that for under $3,000.

 

So, let’s look again at the high-end room.

 

There is no way that we can come anywhere near this with $3,000. Hell $30,000 would maybe be only half unless you’re very lucky to find pieces that are being sold by folks who don’t realize their value.

 

Therefore, I am not trying to recreate this space– only the feeling; the feeling of timeless classics.

 

Timeless classics that are cheap, cheap, cheap.

Before we take a look at what I did, there were a few questions regarding:

1.  Comfort
2. Durability

Comfort, of course, is somewhat subjective. Still, I’ve been spec’ing upholstered pieces for decades, and I have a very good idea of what makes for a comfortable seat for most people.

It also depends on whether the seat is for working, eating, relaxing, or sleeping.

In general, most seating needs to have a back that pitches at least 100 degrees. For sofas and chairs for lounging, the pitch should be from 100 to 110 degrees. However, it can pitch back a bit more in some cases. The seat also pitches back about 5-10 degrees.

My favorite seat cushions are soft, yet still supportive. No one wants to feel like a sofa is swallowing them whole.

 

As for durability.

 

Okay, this is when reviews come in handy. Of course, most reviews are written when the piece is new.

The thing is, durability is not necessarily tied to price. It very well might be exceedingly durable.

Most of the cheap pieces require some assembly. However, I think a poor assembly job is why some pieces may fall apart.

This is not something to take lightly. If you are not experienced in putting furniture together, I very strongly recommend that you hire a pro. Wayfair is in partnership with Handy. I have found they do a terrific job, and it is not super-expensive. The thing is, you will get a far better result. Your furniture will not only look better, but last longer, as a pro will know how to make it work even if the holes don’t line up perfectly.

I would consider it part of the price of the furniture, not something extra.

 

Okay, let’s get into into it and begin with the dining table.

 

I’d love to do a round table, but am also including some rectangular pieces as options. In any case, I want to be able to seat at least six at the table. Most of these tables are 48″ in diameter if round. That’s a bit tight for six, so what I recommend is getting an extra-strong table pad that’s meant to extend the size of the table top by six inches, making it 54″ in diameter.

Heartland Table Pads manufactures specialized table pads designed to expand the size of the tabletop.

 

Let’s also do four chairs.

 

The chairs I like best are:

Louis XVI style, either an oval back or a square. The back can be upholstered with fabric or filled with caning material.

A simple Parsons style, but no higher than 38″- tops. These chairs also look great upholstered.

A rattan chair. It can be in the Chinese Chippendale style or a barrel chair style. A barrel-shaped chair could also be upholstered.

 

Below are the styles referenced above. Another widget is coming up with captions. However, these are all clickable images that link to their sources.

 

 

I used a natural fiber rug, either seagrass or jute, in a 10′ x 10′ size.

There is also a sideboard or buffet table. There are many inexpensive options on Wayfair and Bed Bath & Beyond.

On this piece sit two lamps.

Finally, I selected a lantern for over the table.

 

Excluding taxes, installation fees, and shipping charges (if applicable), the total is approximately $2,500.

 

This doesn’t include the art and other accessories. Still, that’s pretty darned good for one dining room. If I had to leave anything out, it would be the rug. And then we’d be down to under $2,000.

Okay, it’s time to view the selections. I did two versions.

I tried it with a lighter wood for the table, but this antique black is more striking. The chairs are the upholstered or slipcovered dining chairs. You could also do a small lumbar pillow with these. I also love an 18″ pillow with the barrel-style chairs you can see in the mini widget, above.

 

Below is option two.

 

I like them both; however, if comfort is more important to you, then option one is most likely the better choice. It’s not that the Louis chairs are uncomfortable, just not as comfortable as the Parsons-style chairs.

If we go back to our condo that we’re trying to furnish for under $10,000, we’d need everything but the rug, and maybe the buffet. Although I think the entry will need some sort of case piece or console table.

In closing, I want to mention that I fully understand that even $3,000 is beyond the means of many of you.

As I’ve often said, until very recently, it was waaaaaaaay beyond my means, as well. In fact, we were so broke, there was nothing left for anything after our basic living expenses were covered. Ten years ago, I never imagined anything I’ve done in recent years was possible.

However, what’s good about these posts is that they hopefully give some of you a jumping-off point when you are looking for timeless furnishings for your homes from non-retail sources.

Please enjoy the widget below, filled with many of my favorite cheap dining room furniture pieces.

xo,

 

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