Bentley Dark Grey Chair: chrome or black legs, and how to choose

The Bentley comes three ways, and all three are listed at the same 48 x 60 x 93cm, so the fit is settled and the only real decision is the finish. This one is dark grey velvet across the back and seat on polished chrome legs. Chrome is the forgiving choice: it picks up whatever is around it instead of adding a colour of its own, which is why it works in a room where the table, the floor and the light fitting do not already agree. The photographs are on the Bentley Dark Grey Chair (Chrome Legs) page.

The three Bentley listings side by side

That is the whole difference, as far as the listings go. They are not all priced alike, so check the page for the one you want. The three figures are given unlabelled: 93cm is the overall height, and the reasonable reading of the rest is 48cm across the front with 60cm of depth, which is worth confirming with us if you are measuring for a narrow room.

Chrome against black, in a real room

Chrome legs are reflective, so they take on the colour of the floor and the light and tend to vanish into a pale room. Black legs do the opposite: they draw a line you can see, which looks intentional against a light floor and disappears against a dark one. The practical points are worth as much as the look. Polished metal shows fingermarks and water spots more readily than a black finish, and a scuff tends to be more visible on it. If your table base is chrome or steel, or the top is glass on a metal frame, this is the version that matches.

How many fit, and the clearance to keep

Work to roughly 60cm of clear table edge per place. A 1.4m table takes four, a 1.8m table takes six along the long sides, and a 2m table takes the same six with more room between places. At 48cm the chairs will sit closer than that if you push them, but a dining room used every day needs the elbow room. Behind each chair leave about 90cm of clear floor so somebody can get out without moving the table, and remember the 60cm depth figure is what the chair occupies pushed in, not pulled out.

What the listing does not tell you

• Seat height. Only the 93cm overall height appears. Measure from your floor to the underside of the table apron and ask us to confirm the chair slides under.
• The velvet. Described as soft velvet on the backrest and seat, with no fibre composition, cleaning code or rub figure. For a table in daily use, ask.
• Floor pads. Nothing states whether pads are fitted to the chrome, which matters on wood or tile from the first week.
• Assembly. The listing does not say whether the legs come fitted or packed flat.

If chrome is the thread you are pulling

Several chairs here share the finish, which makes mixing possible if you want a head chair that differs from the rest. The Chelsea Chair (Ring Knocker/Chrome Legs) is wider at 62 x 60 x 96cm with a ring detail on the back, and the Alice Chair (Chrome Legs) goes much taller at 105cm, which is a statement at the end of a table but needs the wall height. For the same measurements in a quieter palette, the Bentley Beige Chair (Oak Legs) is the plain-backed neutral. Everything is in Dining Chairs.

Before you order

• Settle the number from your table length before you settle the finish.
• Measure floor to table underside and ask about seat height.
• Decide chrome or black by looking at your floor, not the screen.
• Order the set in one go and check every chair before you sign for it.

Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. The current options and all the photographs are on the Bentley Dark Grey Chair on chrome legs page.