Say you’ve booked a brick-walled loft for a rehearsal dinner, and every wooden chair you look at seems to swallow the room. So you start saving photos of see-through seating instead. That look comes from ghost chairs, and renting them is simple once you’ve settled three things: the color, the count and how the chairs get into the building.
The short answer
B&B Party Rentals rents ghost chairs in clear, black and smoke, along with ghost bar stools, and handles delivery, setup and pickup across Brooklyn, the rest of NYC, Long Island and New Jersey. Choose the color by your room and linens, plan one chair per guest plus a few spares, and reserve as soon as your date is fixed.
Clear, Black and Smoke Change a Room in Different Ways
Ghost chairs get their name from the see-through seat and back. Shapes vary by model, so check the product photos for arms and back height before you decide how many go around each table. That detail matters later when you count.
Clear ghost chairs
The clear ghost chair is the one most people picture. It lets the table, the linens and the floor show through, so a full room reads as less crowded. It suits weddings with heavy florals, bridal and baby showers, and small spaces where 60 solid chair backs would block sight lines to a head table or a speaker. The catch is that it shows everything, including whatever is on the floor underneath it.
Black ghost chairs
The black ghost chair reads as a solid, glossy silhouette. Against white or ivory tablecloths it gives the strongest contrast of the three, which is why it shows up at black-tie dinners, evening galas and corporate events in modern spaces like a Williamsburg loft. It hides the floor, but the gloss shows smudges under bright lighting, so a wipe-down before doors open is worth the five minutes.
Smoke ghost chairs
The smoke ghost chair has a translucent gray tint. It’s the middle option when clear feels too invisible and black feels too heavy. Smoke sits comfortably with charcoal, silver, navy, dusty blue and blush, and it looks at home on gray concrete or dark wood floors.
What Ghost Chairs Do Well and Where They Fall Short
Ghost chairs are a style choice first. Compared with padded ballroom chairs or wood cross backs, they trade some comfort and forgiveness for a lighter, more modern look.
Most hosts who pick them are happy with that trade. The ones who aren’t usually ran into one of the issues on the right side below, and nearly all of those can be planned around if you know about them before the order is placed.
Pros
- See-through seats keep sight lines open in small or packed rooms
- Clear and smoke pick up the colors around them, so they work with almost any palette
- The smooth surface wipes clean quickly between a ceremony and a reception
- They look finished bare, with no covers or sashes to add
Cons
- The molded seat has no padding, so a long seated dinner feels firmer than on a cushioned chair
- Fingerprints, dust and water spots show, especially on clear and black
- Slim legs can press into soft lawn
- Clear chairs can fade out of photos if you wanted the seating noticed
- The surface can warm up in direct afternoon sun
If comfort is the worry, look at the run of show rather than the chair. A two-hour reception with dancing keeps people up and moving. A four-course dinner with long toasts keeps them seated, and that’s where firmer seats get noticed.
Ghost Bar Stools for Highboys and Bars
The same look works at standing height. We also carry ghost bar stools for highboy tables and bars during cocktail hour. Match the stool to a bar-height surface, commonly around 42 inches, rather than a counter-height one, or guests end up with their knees jammed under the top. Our guide to cocktail table heights covers which height goes where.
You don’t need a stool for every guest. A common rule of thumb is seating for roughly a quarter to a third of the crowd during a cocktail hour. For 120 guests that’s 30 to 40 seats. Ten highboys with three stools each gives you 30, which lands on the low end and leaves the rest of the room open for mingling.
Black stools at the bar with clear chairs at dinner is a common pairing. It keeps one design language from the first drink to the last dance without making every room look identical.
Matching Tables and Linens to See-Through Seats
Because guests can see through the chair, they also see what’s under the table: metal legs, cases of water, the centerpiece boxes someone tucked away. Floor-length cloths solve that. On a standard 30-inch-high, 60-inch round table, a 120-inch round tablecloth reaches the floor, since 60 inches of top plus 30 inches of drop on each side equals 120. Browse tablecloths and linens in the size your tables need before you settle on chair color.
Some pairings that hold up well:
- Clear chairs with white or ivory floor-length linens for a light, airy room
- Clear chairs at bare rustic wood tables, where the wood grain becomes the focal point
- Black chairs with white linens for formal evening contrast
- Smoke chairs with gray, silver or blush linens
- Black chairs at the head table and clear for guests, so the couple or honorees stand out
If you’re still deciding between ghost chairs and something more traditional, our piece on wedding chairs that fit your theme compares the main styles side by side.
Counting Chairs When Every Seat Shows
A 60-inch round seats about 8 guests comfortably and 10 snugly. The table’s edge is roughly 188 inches around, which gives each of 8 guests about 23.5 inches and each of 10 guests under 19. If the ghost chair you choose has arms, it takes more width than an armless one, so plan on 8 per table.
Here’s how the count works for a 120-guest dinner at 8 per table:
- Divide guests by seats per table: 120 divided by 8 is 15 tables.
- Order one chair per guest: 120 chairs.
- Add about 5 percent as spares for late additions or a scuffed chair: 6 more.
- Total order: 126 ghost chairs.
For a smaller crowd, our walkthrough of how many tables 100 guests need uses the same approach.
Ceremony seating changes the math. If the ceremony and reception are in different spots, you can either move the chairs during cocktail hour or order a second set. A second set for the example above means 120 ceremony chairs plus 126 reception chairs, or 246 in total. Moving them means fewer chairs but more hands and time in the middle of the event, so decide which matters more to you before you ask for a quote.
Booking and Delivery Details to Sort Out Early
Popular weekends in late spring, early fall and December tend to book first. Reserve with a rough count as soon as the date is set, then confirm the final numbers once RSVPs close.
Quick checklist before you call:
- Event date, plus the delivery and pickup windows the venue allows
- Exact address and the room or yard where the chairs will go
- Count by color, including spares and bar stools
- Floor surface: hardwood, concrete, patio, deck or lawn
- Building or venue rules on elevators, loading and insurance
- A name and phone number for whoever will be on site
In Manhattan, the building usually sets the delivery terms. Ask management whether a freight elevator needs to be reserved and whether vendors must provide a certificate of insurance, and pass both along when you book so nothing gets held up at the door.
For a backyard party in Nassau County or New Jersey, the surface matters more than the stairs. Slim chair legs sink into soft grass, especially after rain, so set the dining area on a patio, deck or the firmest, flattest part of the lawn. Tell us about gates, driveway width and any HOA or venue load-in rules ahead of time.
Planning chairs and tables on a sidewalk or street in the city, like a block party or storefront event? NYC generally requires a street event permit from the Street Activity Permit Office for that. If you’re also adding a stage, the city notes that structures like stages can need other agency approvals before that permit is issued, so start early and confirm the requirements directly with the agency.
Count, color mix, delivery distance and timing all affect the price. Our breakdown of what sets the cost of renting tables and chairs explains each one.
Quick Answers
Can you get ghost chair rentals on Long Island?
Yes. B&B Party Rentals delivers ghost chairs and ghost bar stools to Long Island, sets them up and picks them up afterward. Mention the surface you’re setting them on, since lawns and patios call for different placement.
Are ghost chairs comfortable for a long dinner?
They’re comfortable for most receptions, but the seat is hard molded plastic with no padding. For a long, multi-course dinner, some hosts put the ghost chairs at cocktail areas or the head table and use padded chairs for the main dining room.
Can ghost chairs be used outdoors?
Yes, on a firm, level surface. Keep them off soft grass where legs can sink, wipe off dew or rain before guests arrive, and check where the shade falls if the event runs through a sunny afternoon.
Do ghost chairs need chair covers or sashes?
Usually not. The see-through look is the point, and most hosts leave them bare. If you want a small accent, a ribbon or greenery on the aisle chairs at a ceremony is plenty.
Can I mix ghost chairs with other chair styles?
Yes. A common setup is black ghost chairs at the head table with clear ones for guests, or ghost chairs for dinner and ghost bar stools at the highboys. Keep the mix to two styles so the room still looks planned.
Start With the Floor and the Linens
If you’re stuck on color, stand in the venue and look down. A light wood floor with ivory linens points toward clear. Dark concrete and white cloths make black stand out, and gray tones or blush flowers usually settle on smoke. Once the color is picked, the count is simple arithmetic, and the delivery details come from the building or the yard.
Send us your date, address, headcount and the colors you’re considering, and we’ll check availability and walk through the delivery details with you.
