No, it’s not just you. Picking the perfect accent chair isn’t easy. For starters, here at Chairish, we stock over 40,000 different accent chairs alone! Thankfully, there’s a trick for helping make your search infinitely easier. Want in on our chic cheat? Read on to find out!
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When searching for an accent chair, start by asking yourself one question: what’s the purpose of your chair? Which is all to say — are you buying a chair purely for functional reasons? Or do you want it to add sculptural interest to the space? Is comfort important or — if you don’t plan to actually be sitting in your chair all that often — not so much? And what about ergonomics?
By taking a thorough inventory of your wants and needs, particular styles of accent chairs will begin to rise to the top of the heap. Need supreme comfort, but also a chair with sculptural clout? Fully upholstered chairs like barrel chairs and tub chairs are good candidates. Prefer an ergonomic chair that delivers high visual marks? Try an upholstered chair inspired by Danish Modern design, such as a Hans Wegner Papa Bear chair or an Eames Lounger.
Sometimes, however, you don’t need a chair to be a ten-out-of-ten in the comfort department. Whether your chair will be stationed in a formal living room that’s only used a few times a year, or you simply need a chair to act as a drop zone in an entry, occasionally comfort’s not king. In these cases, you can consider chairs with little to no upholstery, more upright forms, and impressive art cred. Check out sculptural wood designs such as the Norman Cherner Pretzel chair or the Gerrit Rietveld Zig Zag chair. Are these chairs you’d want to pass a few hours in? Not necessarily. But are they delightful to look at? Insanely, yes!
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Lead photo design by Laura U Design Collective / Photo by Kerry Kirk