Chairs aren’t normally the first item that comes to mind when thinking about art. But when we saw a few of the entries for an upcoming furniture design show in Milan, it piqued a whole new line of thinking. Should we stop hiding chairs under the table and start making them focal points of our dining room furniture?

We know that chairs are a key component of every dining room furniture ensemble. So let’s think outside the box here. What if your chairs played as big a role in your dining room’s interior design as your curtains and paint choices do?

Pick a chair, any chair

There are a few ways to instantly jazz up your dining room chairs. Think about different materials, such as leather chairs accompanying a solid-wood dining table, which produces an ultra-modern look. Another option is wrought iron chairs, which can add a whimsical look to any dining table. If traditional wood chairs will suit your dining room décor best, then shakes things up with interesting chair backs. A good example is Dinette.com’s Carey chairs, which feature a quirky grid-like design of nine small squares.

The seats of most dining room furniture chairs are covered in fabric, and therein lies an opportunity to run with any artsy ideas. Re-covering chairs is usually pretty basic—you just need a staple gun and a few household tools. The harder part is the vision: what kind of look are you going for here? Velvet-textured prints can add elegance to your dining room, whereas bright retro prints can quickly modernize your dining area. Grab a few magazines and design books to gather ideas about what look will be best for your dining room chairs.

A glimpse of the future?

We don’t expect you to take chair art quite this far, but wanted to offer a visual of one of the coolest exhibits at the upcoming Milan furniture show. We might just be peeking into the future of dining room furniture here.

Japanese furniture designers Nendo will be exhibiting a chair made of thin steel rods that they’re calling Wire-chair. There’s speculation that this is the thinnest weight-bearing chair in the world.

Wire-chair has 15mm diameter legs of stainless steel. The chair has multiple layers of powder coating that was hand-polished, giving it a finish reminiscent of Japanese lacquerware. The finish is durable and water resistant, so the chair can be used outdoors or indoors.