Grab These Budget-Friendly Low Profile IKEA Folding Chairs For Your Next Get-Together

When we're entertaining, especially during special events or holidays, two factors to keep in mind are budgeting for the whole shebang and, for some of us, space limitations. We want our guests to eat well, enjoy themselves, and sit comfortably. But, when the guest list suddenly swells, we might be caught short without enough places to sit. Most of us don't have the ability — or room — to buy an extra set of chairs before a party, but there's a neat, budget-friendly workaround we like. IKEA's GUNDE folding chairs have a quiet, contemporary feel and are slender enough to slip into small, unused spaces – such as next to the fridge – for storage.

Like a ton of IKEA's designs, GUNDE black or white plastic chairs are simple, streamlined, and can fit in with a lot of current decor. Their appearance is a thousand times more elegant than a municipal-looking set of metal folding chairs, and when you're on a budget, it feels good to score folding chairs that are also cute. They're also skinny, lightweight, and easy to shuttle out of the way.

There are a few ways you can use these GUNDE chairs. At your next indoor or outdoor cocktail party, make sure there are enough places for people to sit once the drinks kick in. Use them for extra spots around a full, gleaming holiday table or for a kids nook. Keep a couple available in a mud room for people to easily take off their boots. The possibilities are endless.

With a price tag of about $12, not only are they inexpensive, but storing them is a snap. If you happen to have a garage, you might place them against the wall or use the overhead storage space. To make sure they're instantly ready to use, cover them with a clean tarp so they don't pick up exhaust or debris from being almost outside. The same arrangement would work well in the basement or attic. Or, an organized coat closet is usually large enough to stack a few of these chairs. 

Another cool way to store them is to make use of vertical space and hang them on a wall. If you have a narrow sliver of available kitchen wall space, for example, you could get a wall-mount storage rack on Amazon for about $40. We recommend you use a stud finder, and mount each end of the rack into a stud for a secure installation. Flip the folded chairs upside down, and place them on the rack where they'll await their next adventure.