Leather for kitchen chairs

My wife and I are looking to buy a new kitchen table and chairs. I prefer solid wood, but my wife would like to have fabric or leather on the seats. My concern with leather is how it'd hold up since the chairs would be in direct sunlight, and also how it'd survive since it'd be used every day, not only for eating but kids doing homework there. With other fabric, I have concerns about stains. With just wood, I like the look better, and then we wouldn't have the durability issues.

Does anyone have experience with leather chairs in the kitchen? Thanks for your help.

If we're talking really good dining chairs with upholstery only on the seats, I would be thinking "If I make a mistake, I can always reupholster." With kids, I might go for a less expensive protected leather, a decent quality fabric and some cans of Scotchgard (testing on a fabric scrap or non-visible area before general application), or one of the new super fabrics that resist most stains.

You can't beat a wooden seat for all around durability, but if that is not what your wife wants then I suspect you will lose out on that one! Fabric can and will stain and also absorb spills and has a higher wear rate. Leather is pretty tough and durable and should do much better. EVERYTHING fades in the sun, even the all-wood chairs.

Yes, you're right, I think I'd definitely lose that one! Thanks for your reply.

Me wife likes swivel chairs but I don't. Have you ever sold 6 chairs in which 4 were one kind and two were another? The ends of the table would have regular counter-height chairs and the sides would have swivels.

Certainly....I've sold hundreds of sets over the years where the end chairs were different from the side chairs, that's very common. But I've never sold a set of counter-height barstools around a dining table before. That's going to be tall dining table! Are you really going to go with a mainstream dining table that is 38" or higher off the floor? Perhaps I don't have the right vision of what you are considering?

The table would be 36" and in our kitchen, and all chairs would have backs. Is it unusual to have swivel chairs around a kitchen table?