Modway Eon Natural Elm Wood Kitchen and Dining Room Chair in Black - Fully Assembled

I wanted to buy a pair of original Thonet #18 chairs (the classic chair these are based on) but the are $200-250 a piece. I decided to give these a try and I am pleased. The only con is that the wood is not the MOST solid. Doesn't feel cheap per se, but I did have to send one back since it arrived with a cracked leg. Satisfied nonetheless.

First, I want to start out by saying I have been a loyal Amazon Prime member for many years. I have never rated a product less than 5 star. This chair gets a 1 star. Packaging and shipping were great. Style and design is great. But the chair absolutely REEKS of chemical spray paint. I’ve never experienced anything like it in a furniture delivery. It’s been airing out on my porch for 6 hours and still SMELLS like it could catch on fire at any minute. I’ve wiped it down twice with soap and water, and it makes no difference. I’m still not sure whether I’m going to have to throw it away entirely.

Used this for dance as a prop and it was perfect. Very stable and durable.. minor problems with the paint peeling but other than that it was great!

The chairs look nice and seem to be good quality. They came already together. However, they smell terribly of chemicals or paint. To the point that I had to put the chairs in the basement because they made the entire house smell like chemicals. Shipping also took 3 months but the seller did communicate during asking if I still wanted them. Hoping the seller gives me money back for them because these chairs are useless with the way they smell. Also, it seems like the black chairs are the ones that smell bad and the reviews.

Fortunately for my intended use, the “Walnut” color is lighter than expected, a close match for what’s called “Acorn” at [word 1: point of compass, starts with W; word 2: type of tree, starts with E].I liked it so much I bought a second chair. Arrived safely. No detectable odor.

These chairs seem to be for decorative use only. Within 2 months of purchasing these the backrests on both chairs ordered have cracked from normal use. They also do not match the image from the product listing, however, I did still like the style so I did not mind at the time.

I am satisfied generally, except that the Bentwood chair I bought doesn't look like walnut, as advertised. It has a reddish cast. But it blends well enough with the others I have at the table, so only I notice the difference.

First, it's important to understand that these are not true bentwood chairs. Rather than one shaped piece, the curvy backs are made from separate pieces of wood that have been joined together. On one of the chairs I received those joints are very smooth and not even noticable, but on the other you can clearly see the glue and seams (see picture). I think it's up to luck on what you get, since manufacturing seems inconsistent in that regard. We got them to be theater rehearsal chairs because they are lightweight and a neutral classic style that can work for many periods. So the joined back pieces, rough patches on the wood and places where the spray paint didn't quite get into the cracks on the leg joints really don't matter to us and won't show under stage lights. If I'd bought them for a high-end dining room I'd be way more bothered by those things, and $100+ is kind of pricey when you consider the quality issues. (Although true bentwood antiques go for WAY more money, so if it's the look you're after and you can live with a few rough spots these may work for you.) I will echo other reviews that say the chairs really do smell bad out of the box. Left them outside overnight and wiped them down with lysol and that helped. They are definitely a mass-produced item, with some obvious flaws, but do seem sturdy and will work well for our purposes.