Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair Review

If you landed here, you’re probably familiar with Pottery Barn and want to know if the kids Anywhere Chair is worth buying. Pottery Barn, now owned by Williams-Sonoma, was founded in 1948 with the idea that home furnishings should be exceptional. Not just in style, but in “comfort, quality, and value”, too, according to the WS website.

These chairs only go on sale once or twice a year, so take advantage of the lower price if you find it. Usually during Black Friday, the PBK Anywhere Chairs are about 20% off. Occasionally in the summer, PBK will discount them again.

Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair Review

Years ago I looked at the very popular Anywhere Chair and decided that it was probably not worth the $100 it cost. I knew that TJ Maxx and other stores sold similar chairs, so why pay that much for one?

Fast forward 4 years… We do have a chair (not PBK brand) that my kids adore. It has gotten SO much use over the past 4 years. The only issue is that if it’s not up against a wall or the couch, it will fall backwards. (We figured that out after a couple of bumps.)

I asked my sister about her daughter’s Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids because I thought it seemed really sturdy. Her 2 year old was always bouncing around on it and it never fell over! So I looked at them again and ultimately decided to get regular sized Anywhere Chairs for my kids. I wanted a sturdier kids chair that I felt good about them using regularly.

I’m sharing some questions I had while shopping that I couldn’t find great answers to – and the answers! Hopefully these help you if you’re looking to buy these Pottery Barn chairs for your kids.

What size Anywhere Chair should I get?

I ordered the Regular and Oversized chairs because the site says that Regular fits most preschoolers and Oversized is good for elementary school kids. (I like to think ahead to get more use out of things where we can.) My plan was to give the Regular sized chair to my nursery school aged child and the Oversized to my preschooler.

Well, the Oversized arrived and it was HUGE. Like the size of a tiny couch. So I returned the Oversized and got 2 Regular chairs instead. To be honest, my 2 year old would probably be more comfortable in a My First Anywhere Chair right now, but he loves the Regular size chair. Oversized is probably good for anyone aged 6 or 7+.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the chairs with their dimensions from the PBK site:

• My First Anywhere Chair is 17.75″ tall x 16.5″ deep x 20.5″ wide
• Kids (aka Regular) Anywhere Chair is 22.5″ tall x 21″ deep x 25.25″ wide
• Oversized Anywhere Chair is 25.25″ tall x 25″ deep x 29.5″ wide

Chair cushions: Can you buy the Anywhere Chair insert by itself?

I learned this kind of the hard way, because it’s nowhere on the Pottery Barn Kids website or in their FAQs or customer service page. YES. You can buy the insert by itself. Some stores stock them too. Currently the chair inserts are $85 plus tax, and they don’t accept promotions or promo codes on those. (So the very rare times that those chairs go on sale, the inserts are not on sale if you buy those by themselves.) You can only buy the insert + slipcover or slipcover only if you buy online.

The cushions within the Anywhere Chair are a very dense foam. MUCH denser than the non-PBK brand chair we have. They hold up well to a child sitting in them, but they bend a bit under an adult’s weight (as is to be expected). If you’re thinking about buying the insert from elsewhere but getting the monogrammed chair cover, just know that it’s expensive to buy the inserts from anywhere else. This is partially because of the sizes of cushions you have to find. You’re better off to buy the insert from PBK directly.

What kind of fabric holds up best?

I asked a ton of moms who have these chairs, and I was told that the twill fabric holds up probably the best. Though they also noted that their kids love the cozier sherpa and faux fur fabrics more than the twill. Households who had a combination of chairs said that the kids fought over the sherpa/faux fur vs. the twill.

We have one Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair in Sherpa and one in faux fur. To be totally honest, the Sherpa one is kind of a nightmare if it gets crumbs near it. The faux fur slipcover is sort of a dream because nothing seems to stick to it. I truly don’t understand why they don’t make the faux fur anymore… I want them to bring it back so I can buy another! The Sherpa seems to create a lot of static. (If I could return it, I would.)

They have a velvet that looks so beautiful, plus a corduroy (chamois) option, and buffalo check in 3 different colors, too! The twill is the most popular, and it is the fabric that comes in the most options for colors and with or without a ruffle skirt.

I was told by a PBK employee that the sherpa chair looks “not cute” when it’s monogrammed because of the fabric. So our chairs are not monogrammed, but we’re okay with that!

New fabric styles for 2024

Personalization: Can you monogram the faux fur or sherpa slipcovers?

PBK will personalize the twill, sherpa, and velvet kids chairs. However… a very honest customer service rep told me that the sherpa monogrammed was, and I quote, “not cute.” You can kind of see on their site that the sherpa covers personalized don’t look too great. If you definitely want your covers personalized, you can always go to a local shop and get them done! That way you have more options vs. just going through PBK.

Shipping

Pottery Barn Kids has the Anywhere Chair classified as “furniture.” This means that you have to pay a delivery surcharge. Those surcharges rarely (if ever?) are discounted. It also means that occasionally, shipping times are a bit longer.

Color Choices

The faux fur is by far my favorite fabric for the Anywhere Chair. The only problem is that it only comes in gray and (occasionally) pink, but both are not available right now. I wish there was a broader selection of colors in faux fur! The twill is the most popular fabric option and comes in a variety of colors, from pink to navy to green, rainbow stripes, hearts, floral… It seems as though a few new twill options are introduced during the year.

Price

The chairs right now range from $125 for the smaller chair (called the My First Anywhere Chair) to $145 for the regular sized Anywhere Chair to $185+ for specialty fabrics.

How to Save Money on a Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair

If you’ve added an Anywhere Chair to your cart, you’ve definitely seen the surcharges and fees that it’ll cost to get you one shipped to your house. Because Pottery Barn classifies these as “furniture” there’s a $10 delivery surcharge. So how do you get a discount on those fees?

If you have a store near you, buy the insert separately and pick it up in the store. That will take the $10 surcharge off of your purchase. Then you can buy the slipcover separately and get it monogrammed and shipped to you. (The store near me used to monogram in-store, but that went away due to staffing so now anything I want monogrammed or with a name on it needs to be ordered online. Check if your local store does monogramming, but a safe bet is to buy the insert in the store and buy the monogrammed slipcover online, which saves on shipping fees because it’s a much smaller box!)

When I try to buy a chair and slipcover together, the delivery fees are $10 extra for the chair plus $27 for both items shipping to me. If I remove the chair and just buy the slipcover, the $10 surcharge goes away and the shipping fee decreases from $27 to just $9. That’s a huge savings for a quick trip to the store!

Is The Anywhere Chair Worth It?

Pottery Barn Kids, an offshoot of Pottery Barn, has some beautiful furniture. From cribs and dressers to loft beds and desks, the quality is far better than what you’d buy at a lot of online retailers. And the company has a safety pledge, using low-VOC paint and testing for lead. They also have a variety of products that are fair trade certified. I usually look at Pottery Barn or Pottery Barn Kids when I’m considering new furniture.

My kids really enjoy their Pottery Barn kids chairs, so I would say yes, they’re worth it. They use them for reading books, watching TV, as a cozy spot during family movie night, and even use them as “cribs” for their baby dolls. The Pottery Barn chairs are not an inexpensive item, so watch out for sales. Usually on Black Friday they’re 20% off, which is the highest discount I’ve seen on them. But aside from the price, I do think they’re great chairs.

The slipcovers are machine washable and can be swapped out, so if your child suddenly has a new favorite color you have options. And it seems like a piece of “furniture” that will be around for a long time. I’m a fan of them! I think the Anywhere Chair would be a great gift.

Do I need a My First Anywhere Chair first?

I got my kids (ages 2 and 4 at the time) the regular sized Anywhere Chair. Like I said above, I like to get the most use out of something as possible, and I thought the My First size looked small. It’s probably great for kids up to age 3, but then they age out of the My First Anywhere Chair and need to move up a size. We have two of the Regular size (you can see the size chart above!) and they’re perfect for up to age 8.