Living room accent chair ideas – how to make a perfect choice
An accent chair is a need to-have in just about any living place. Not only are they an more seat, which will make your living space truly feel a entire whole lot much more sociable and cozy, but they’re also a amazing chance to incorporate an additional layer of depth and fascination to your living room scheme.
Just as with any other addition of new furnishings, it’s crucial to consider the time to determine out what will perform in your room. You are going to require to to start with make a decision in which you want to situation the accent chair, and assess the room you have obtainable. ‘Take treatment to make certain they really don’t dominate or litter a place,’ says sought-immediately after inside designer Naomi Astley Clarke. ‘Make sure that they are correctly proportioned for your space, and correspond with the encompassing home furnishings.’
Next, comes the entertaining component pouring above the aesthetic possibilities for your new piece of residing space home furnishings, these types of as colour, design and shape. With so many possibilities, it can be overpowering – luckily we have enlisted the aid of a panel of industry experts to share the most classy techniques to picking an accent chair.
10 dwelling room accent chair ideas
1. Go for a contrasting coloration
(Image credit score: Owen Gale. Layout: Barlow & Barlow)
An accent chair can be the great area to introduce a contrasting shade in your living area. Lucy Sear-Barlow (opens in new tab), co-founder and inventive director of interior layout studio Barlow & Barlow, is a massive fan of a contrasting accent chair and normally weaves one particular into her types.
‘I love to opt for accent chairs in daring and playful colors that distinction with the relaxation of the furniture’, she says. ‘The trick is to make positive that, inspite of becoming a contrasting coloration, the shade however feels in preserving with the all round scheme of the home. I advise retaining just one neutral shade really well known to ground the room, and then toss in anything a minimal more powerful for your accent chair to give the place that more oomph.’
When it comes to choosing the great contrasting shade, Lucy indicates experimenting ‘There’s no proper or improper way to determine it out it fully depends on your style and type,’ she says. ‘So commence gradually, and try out various issues – you are going to soon understand that matchy-matchy is not the way ahead, and really the shocking combos are normally the most enjoyable!’
2. Just take a cohesive method
(Graphic credit: TR Studio)
If contrast and juxtaposition are not your thing, probably you’d desire to select an accent chair that sits in harmony with the relaxation of your scheme. Founder of TR Studio Tom Rutt (opens in new tab) favors cohesion in excess of contrast, and likes to retain items tonal when pairing sofas and accent chairs.
‘When placing collectively a area style, the purpose is to build cohesiveness throughout your plan that appears to be like easily set with each other,’ he says. ‘For this motive, it’s my feeling that the best accent chair must increase a plan and not be as well jarring.’
‘An straightforward way to obtain this, irrespective of whether it be with a basic or patterned cloth, is to opt for a color from the exact tonal palette as your sofa,’ explains Tom. ‘This will even now make a stunning visible effects, but in a curated and regarded way.’
3. Consider texture and shape
(Impression credit rating: Nune)
As effectively as coloration, both of those texture and form are hugely critical factors to consider when it will come to choosing an accent chair. This lovely challenge by Nune inside design studio is not only a masterclass in decorating with neutrals, but it’s also a brilliant example of how to let a room’s unique architecture guide your selection of household furniture.
‘This dwelling was constructed in 1958, so we took cues from the mid-century interval, although retaining some fluidity in our considering,’ says Sheena Murphy, founder of Nune. ‘Mid-century design and style generally has remnants of the deco period of time at enjoy in its architecture and furnishings, so we embraced smooth curves in each the composition, and the ornamental aspects in the household. This accent chair epitomizes our tactic, and it is cocooning form presents a welcoming invitation into the space.’
In the absence of bold and dazzling color, neutral techniques depend greatly on the use of intriguing textures and tactile resources – and an accent chair is a terrific way to up the dose of these in a living room, as Sheena points out ‘The mix of oak and product boucle fabric provides warmth and provides added texture, incorporating just the suitable amount of money of desire into an or else extremely quiet and restrained area.’
4. Source a vintage piece
(Picture credit score: Adrian Gaut. Style and design: Crystal Sinclair)
Browsing 2nd hand is as a great deal about getting kinder to the surroundings, as it is about generating residences that truly feel reliable and characterful. Not only is it the sustainable choice, but it is also a great way to insert an unpredicted twist into your decorating schemes that feels exclusive to your design. In this residence built by Crystal Sinclair, nearly 80{7e5ff73c23cd1cd7ac587f9048f78b3ced175b09520fe5fee10055eb3132dce7} of the household furniture is classic, together with the remarkable accent chairs in the dwelling room.
‘Decorating with antiques allows to determine the character of a area, and also functions to mirror your have private flavor and lifestyle,’ suggests Katie Lion, senior interior designer at Kitesgrove. ‘Balancing antique and modern day home furnishings inside of the place space makes a layered aesthetic that appears additional organically curated above time.’
There is, of course, a knack to sourcing the actual gems – but the hard function is part of the thrill and fulfillment. ‘When hunting for a classic accent chair, antique fairs and flea markets are a fantastic area to start out for additional inexpensive and unique items,’ states Katie.
5. Pick something sculptural
(Graphic credit history: Craig MaGee. Design: Rachel Usher Inside Layout Studio)
An accent chair is a excellent prospect to go for anything a little bit out of the common and make a statement in your residing space. When sofas, on the most element, existing common classic designs and traditional designs, a standalone accent chair can often carve out a significantly far more unusual and stunning silhouette.
Rachel Usher (opens in new tab), founder and artistic director of Rachel Usher Interior Structure Studio, speaks to the attraction of picking the additional stunning designs ‘An accent chair can really support make a place pop with identity, and the elegance of accent chairs is that they tend not to stick to the predictable styles of a much larger upholstery piece,’ she claims. ‘They can be sculptural pieces in their possess ideal, and can be handled pretty much as interactive art within just a place.’
If you’re unsure of where to commence, or are nervous to start experimenting with strange designs, Rachel implies seeking at beloved design classics. ‘I always really like to appear at legendary style and design classics initial when picking out an accent chair,’ she claims. ‘These timeless expenditure pieces can established the narrative for the entire plan, and give a area instant design and style credentials.’
6. Pare back again with a picket layout
(Image credit: Anna Stathaki. Structure: Equilibrium Interior Style and design)
Even though accent chairs are good for supporting to add more coloration, texture and depth to a scheme – you can also use them to dial again the depth of a area and introduce a extra striped down feel. Equilibrium Interior Design and style has a distinctively exquisite and pared back again aesthetic that runs by every single of their jobs.
Founder Gemma Tucker (opens in new tab) usually utilizes accent chairs as a usually means of counteracting other heavier aspects inside of a area. ‘To realize a additional pared back design, take into account introducing a wooden accent chair together with upholstered seating,’ she states. ‘The big difference in type and content brings a lightness, magnificence and contrast to a scheme. Feel spindle back again Windsor or cane items – all the improved if they are classic or a handmade piece.’
If you are not getting much luck sourcing the best 2nd piece or are not equipped to go bespoke, there are lots of other selections. ‘Luckily, there is a fantastic collection of wood accent chairs in superior street merchants, making it an obtainable option for all budgets,’ suggests Gemma.
7. Think about positioning
(Graphic credit history: Nicole Franzen. Design: 1818 Collective)
Really don’t overlook to issue in the positioning of your accent chairs, as this really should feed into the design decisions you make. For illustration, if the chair will be put around your residing room Tv, you may would like to think about opting for a structure with very low arms so as not to interrupt the perspective from in other places in the room. Or, if you are putting an accent chair in the window, steer clear of upholstery in a dim coloration as this could soak up a lot of light – as a substitute decide on a brighter shade to bounce mild into the room.
Interior designer Naomi Astley Clarke (opens in new tab) is a learn at looking at every detail, and the same goes for accent chairs in just her layouts. ‘For rooms where by accent chairs sit absent from a wall and far more centrally in a room, a contrasting fabric on the back again of the chair is a excellent way to guarantee the home furniture format appears deemed,’ she claims. ‘It also allows you to include an excess element of entertaining into the room.’
When it will come to choosing an accent chair, Naomi features some solid assistance ‘I would stay away from mixing different kinds of home furnishings – as an alternative stick to a equivalent fashion as your couch, but experiment with pattern and colour.’
8. Pair it with a side desk and enough lighting
(Impression credit rating: Stephan Julliard. Structure: Humbert & Poyet)
As effectively as all of the aesthetic criteria, bear in mind to consider about the performance of an accent chair. Though they make for a wonderfully decorative contact in any living place, they must also provide a usable region to get pleasure from as well – and this means styling them with a couple of crucial additions.
The to start with is a aspect desk, for the reason that someplace to location a drink or guide is critical for the convenience of any seating, as well as a chance to introduce some facet table decor. Next, be confident to also accompany the established up with ample lighting a wall light-weight is wonderful for accent chairs in alcoves, usually a flooring lamp helps make for the great associate.