Maybe if yous stained the wood on the chairs dark like the other woods in the room? They look like Maple and that always says Early American. Its something you could do yourself and it would not cost much.

Sorry I'm not seeing a problem at all. Maybe a small oval rug to bring the chairs together. You home is very nicely decorated. You also have a lot of different woods. Like they say all the trees in the forest are not the same.

I see you have minimal window coverings. Are you going to leave them that way. I have natural pine and I don't have any coverings except a couple of shutters. But I have always thought I need more to make things feel warmer.

Oh, I like them! I think they're a very nice complement to your other furnishings, and I like the punch of blue. Maybe you just aren't quite used to them yet?

I can't believe your upholsterer got them finished so quickly. Wow! That was fast!

Boy, I was prepared for something really terrible and it's not! I'd take dilly's suggeston one step further and VERY carefully paint the wood black to pull in some of the other black you have in the room. Then I'd get/make lumbar pillows with black, cream and blue - maybe a fabric with a bit of a tribal feel. I might also get 4 large black buttons and put them in the centers of your big blue pillows, one front one back - pull them tight so they meet in the middle.

I like them. But then I had a sofa reupholstered in a nearly solid dark blue, and I'm a bit blue obsessed, so I may be biased. :)

Here's how I made it work: carry the dark blue throughout the room, so that there are pops of blue in each area -- this helps make the blue look like a planned color. I also carried blue into other rooms of the house, even in small amounts, so that each room transitioned neatly to the next.

Here's what I mean:

living room with dark blue sofa (contrast piping matched the orange-red of the chairs; notice the dark blue valance over the side window that had orange-red contrast piping; red drapery panels were pinstriped with golds and blues as well, and the dark grey on the chalkboard also helped with the illusion of carrying the color through the room):

Accent wall above the dining room painted a dark blue, and notice the repeated dark blue valance in the dining room:

Slate tile design in entry open to living room also picked up the blue, and we carried the color into the stairwell:

The dark blue valance reappears again in the window of our loft upstairs, which was open to the living room below. We also painted the cap on the half wall dark blue, and used a countertop that had some blues to it.

I don't have a picture of this painting in situ from our old house, but we used to have it hanging in the stairway so that it was visible from the living room, again carrying the blue from the sofa through the main parts of the house through artwork (this photo is from our current house):

By repeating this color throughout, the dark blue became a neutral in our decorating, and the rooms had a unified feel. I was very happy with the result, although it is not to everyone's taste.

By the way, I chose those colors to try to keep the original flavor of the pieces, since we were going for a mid-century/art deco eclectic look. Here is what the sofa (and the little slipper chairs) looked like when I first brought them home. Boy was DH skeptical:

The chairs are just beautiful! You could do as suggested and darken the legs to give them a more contemporary feel, especially since you have them sitting next to a contemporary wall shelf. Me thinks you are undecided as to what your style is. You have a mix of cottage and contemporary, which can be mixed successfully but takes some skill. You might start a thread asking for help with that.

The quilt is hung too high and the wall color does nothing for it. It needs to be on a bolder colored wall to make it stand out - or put it in a bolder colored frame.
Diane

I LOVE them!!! -- their classic lines suit your timeless round tables; rug and the blue and white lamp (would LOVE to see that inbetween them!)

I think that the blue makes a statement -- very timeless and VERY classic!

Jan

They aren't bad looking -- Think Ralph Lauren and pile on the fabric. The throw pillows on them are very wimpy. You can go warm w/ dark paisley & floral & tapestry or go lighter w/ a nautical stripe & boat prints (maybe for the summer?)

I love them. I think you've done well.

Here is a link that might be useful: RL home site for your inspiration

I'm not really seeing too much of a problem either. If you have a problem with the button tufting (which I like) use larger, brighter pillows to draw the eye toward those instead of to the buttons. I also think you just need some time to get used to the intensity of the color, because it IS very strong, but it doesn't seem at all inappropriate to me given your other possessions you show. I just don't think they're in the right place.

The quilt is too small for that spot above the couch unless you're going to flank it with something like sconces, but it also fades away into the wall. I think you need something more colorful, and definitely bigger. 2/3 the width of the couch back, give or take a bit, is a good target. The quilt might work above the fireplace if there are plenty of colorful things on the mantel - make sure to get some red over there as well as blue and black.

Have you considered moving the leaning ladder shelf to the left of the fireplace in the dining area and bringing both of the blue chairs into the living room? You have quite a bit of strong blue there already so it'll tie in better than in the dining area anyway, I think. Place one so that it shares the drum table with the loveseat and the other next to it with a small table between, with both chairs at a 45 degree angle to one another. Put the red embroidered pillows on the chairs and get another few red, interestingly textured pillows for the couch and loveseat. I hate throws but if you like them a red, blue, and black patterned throw - maybe something knitted/crocheted rather than the too-generic chenille thing - would look nice on the back of the loveseat. I'd use a square or rectangular table between the chairs since you're heavy on round tables already; perhaps a little bitty antique table with a floor lamp (I can see something in wrought iron there) behind it.

If you absolutely must have a chair by that window in the dining area, I'd use one smaller-scaled chair along with the ladder shelf to occupy that corner. You have an Arts & Crafts dining table which I love BTW, so a small Mission armchair (not a Morris chair, that's too big) would coordinate well - maybe something in this general vein - with a seat cushion in a nubby khaki fabric, like a very heavy slubby linen, with a substantial accent pillow in the blue from the striped chair covers.

I love, love, love them! If you don't want them, just send them to me. They are gorgeous! I do agree with Dilly Dally that darkening (try Woodsheen by Minwax) the wood would probably be all you needed to be happy with them yourself.
If you don't like the buttons, ask your upholsterer if they can be clipped off. As far as I know of it's just a needle hole and the fibers could easily be rubbed back into place.
~Becky

I love them too. They make your room pop!!! Perfect.

Thanks, everyone, you're all very nice to be so supportive. I guess I thought the blue would be more navy, more understated, than this bright blue. I'll try to work with before I get all crazy and attempt to recover them myself. :)

I will try darkening the wood on the chairs, as suggested. I appreciate the Minwax suggestion and will give it a try. If that doesn't work, will maybe try black paint.

What do I have that is contemporary? I didn't think I have any contemp stuff! See how much I know about design?

Johnmari, thanks for the suggestion about the ladder shelf and chairs in the living room. I will try that tonight.

Thanks also for the quilt comments. I've been TRYING to find a place for it to go, as my mother made it for me, but maybe it'll just be nicely folded in a basket for use as a lap quilt.

I will try to find something with red and blue for over the mantle.

Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions. Will be back with an update! :)

I love the blue. They are beautiful.

The chairs can work well and with some tweaking to the room. It is going to look fabulous when you are finished. I think if you match the wood tone to that of the other upholstered pieces it will help bring it together. Maybe someone can photoshop it first for you so you can "see" the results before you attempt it? I think if you remove the solid blue pillows from the couch it won't accent the brightness of the blue chairs. Sometimes less is less. You have enough blue in the carpet, and there is even a bit of blue in the dog painting, and with the little blue lamp, to make the bright blue chairs seem like they were planned and become a focal point. The solid blue pillows bring in too much blue and too much contrast. With a deeper wall color it will all snuggle up nicely together.

I have not taken the time to read past your post, and the photos, so I don't know what the others are saying or advising, However, I can honesty say that I like your chairs and they look good in the dining area. :) I was expecting something really bad looking. Beautiful color of blue...I thought it would be navy.

I'll come back when I have more time and read what others are suggesting. :)

I agree with Bella--pile on the fabric. Those throw pillows are undersized, and I'd find another fabric that incorporates the blue and the browns and make lumbar pillows, pillows that use a needlepoint front with the fabric back, etc.

The quilt is nice enough, but too small for the space. I'd find something bigger that has the blue in it, and a lot of other colors besides. I doubt that you want red white and blue, but some sort of huge vintage (or faux-vintage) signage with flag colors would look great.

And put the oriental rug straight. I want to reach into the photo and tug on it.

I think they are going to work and I like them. I would get rid of the blue pillows from the sofa and try to get something else that combines the blue with the other colors. I can see that the chairs might fit in better if the wood was darker.

One thing about vintage style, if that's where you might be going, is that it gets better the more you add to it in terms of other colors and styles. In the beginning it can look a bit disjointed because it isn't "full" yet.

Ralph Lauren does it best, and the link from Bellaflora is a great one. The more you look, the more colors and odd styles you see him combine. He's a master at that. I get a lot of inspiration from his site.

I have lusted after this wood Pottery Barn flag for years. (Link below.) I think it might be perfect over your sofa or fireplace. It's quite large---50" x 27" I think.

ps. I would straighten the rug too. It seems off. If the sofa is slightly angled, you could run the rug along the same angle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pottery Barn Wood Flag

I also like this Ralph room, Hudson Valley. There's A LOT going on in there, but the juxtaposition of quilts, patchwork, hooked rugs (thank you, Sister Parish!) give a lot of inspiration.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hudson Valley

Your chairs look very nice! I was expecting something awful to be honest. Don't cover them please.