I have rush seat dining chairs that belonged to my parents--and they are over 40 years old and going strong. I have had to repair a couple of them but those were really abused and otherwise they've held up very well. Mine are Tell City, and perhaps they 'don't make em like they used to' but I'd say go for it. Ethan Allen is a reptuable brand.

I do find them a bit hard without a cushion, and cushions also help protect against spillage. So you might want to include those in your plans. But overall, I've found rush chairs to be a great long lasting product.

As long as you put a protective cushion on them during the kid's messiest years and teach the cats to stay away from using their claws on them, they are quite durable. My cousin has a couple of rush chairs that she inherited from our grandmother 30 years ago, and they were probably fifty years old then. She had them redone right after she got them, and they're still perfect.

Wow, much more durable than I thought and hoped for! Thx for the responses - they are both very helpful. Adding the cushions is a good idea. Will investigate.

Ummmmm..... How well behaved are your teenagers? If the kids don't pick at the seats it's not a problem. ;)

They're actually pretty good. Not so concerned with "picking" as I am with spills and general wear and tear.

We have rush seats in the dining room that were made sometime in the 1800s. Have had the rush replaced once or twice in 45 years (some chairs did not need it) and I know my MIL did once too.

All in all, I agree with others who say a cushion for the children helps. Our three grew up with these chairs. Now grandchildren sit on them - but we have some outdoor cushions we put on the chairs to keep sticky things from getting in the rush reeds.

johnnytoronto, I am so glad you asked about the rush seats. I can't help you for longevity use because I've only had mine for 6 months.But I can tell you mine are at least comfortable. I have grandchildren sitting at my table quite often and I was interested to see the responses you would get. I did remember my grandmothers antique chairs she had with rush seats and they looked fine to me. They held up. I don't have chair cushions and am still thinking about them. Good post and I was sure glad to see that they will hold up! Thanks.

Real rush is very durable (it's a natural product), but most "rush" seats these days (and even the repair material used on many replacements) is actually just twisted paper. EA stuff is often made in China these days, so I would be asking them tough questions about the material used for their "rush" seats.

I have some real rush seats on chairs made in Spain about 50 years ago. The ones my wretched cats haven't clawed are holding up just fine.

You can still buy some real rush material for replacements, but it can be hard to find. It is a do it yourself job if you want to tackle it - and it looks as though that will on my winter To-Do list, blast those damned cats!

L.

I've only had problems when my son was very little and would kneel on his chair. His shoes would damage the rush seat. I also quickly learned the value of cushions. cleaning has never been a problem.

I had them in our old kitchen for more than 5 years and they held up beautifully to kids. We are still using one of them as a desk chair and it gets daily use and looks as good as the other 4 in the basement that get little use. Mine were Crate and Barrel. Even spilled vanilla soy milk wasn't a problem. I just took them outside and ran some water through.

The rush seat chairs in my DR are the set my mom bought in the '50s. I don't think she ever had them redone, but I had to after I got them because of my $*%&^ cats! It was not cheap to have themn redone, but they have held up beautifully since then. Cushions would be a great idea as they can be a little uncomfortable for long dinner parties. Otherwise, they're perfectly comfortable and durable. Go for it!

Thx for the additional info. My rush fears are now officially put to rest. Now I just need to find the right ones!

Ethan Allen Rush seat chairs such as the Samuel Chair are made in America in North Carolina and are a great, well made product. As far as durability goes, rush seats last for many decades if they are taken care of. I have taken mine outside and washed them and let them dry and they are like new again.

I have EACLore chairs out of Madison VA. We have had them for 35 yrs and use them every day. Our 3 kids grew up on them. I just took one to have it re-rushed. It is the only one that has worn out and we have never used cushions. The company makes beautiful furniture ! I have a china cabinet from them to match my chairs and I also have a queen bed made by them. I will link below. They are charging me $45 to re-do the rush. It has worked out well as we are an hour from them this month visiting our DS1. You can't go wrong with real furniture :)

Here is a link that might be useful: EAClore sons

CaneFixer - I know this is an old post but I wondered what your thoughts were on rush vs seagrass. Thanks!