What is an Accent Chair?
An accent chair, also known as an occasional chair, is used to make a bold statement in a room through the use of colour, design, shape, and material. They are used to add visual interest as they stand out from the rest of the furniture in the room.
Accent Chair Vs Armchair: What's the Difference?
An accent chair can be an armchair, but an armchair isn't necessarily an accent chair. So, any chair that has arms is an armchair. If it is decorative and makes a statement it is also an accent chair. If, however, an armchair matches the style and fabric of the sofa, it is not considered to be an accent chair.
Accent chairs come in many shapes and sizes. They could be tub chairs, club chairs, slipper chairs or wingback chairs. They could even be a chaise longue. The size and shape really aren't important and nor is the distinction.
What are Accent Chairs Used for?
As we said, accent chairs are often called occasional chairs. This is because they are often used occasionally. They provide extra seating when necessary and are mainly selected for their decorative value over their functionality. Often they are there to fill a space and to look nice but can be used when needed.
This doesn't have to be the case though. You may have an accent chair that is used just as much as the main furniture in the room, in which case, it pays to choose one that is comfortable and not just attractive.
Do Accent Chairs Have to Match?
The whole point of accent chairs is that they specifically don't match. So, let's say you have a grey sofa and you find yourself wondering "what colour accent chair goes with a grey sofa?". Well, as grey is a neutral colour, practically all colours will work with grey but it may help to take the undertones of the grey sofa into consideration when choosing a colour for your chair. You may also want to decide whether you want a bold pop of colour like orange, yellow or teal, or whether you want to go for something more subdued such as dusky pink, sage green or baby blue.
Think about choosing a patterned fabric or at least one in a different material or finish so that it stands out against the grey sofa.
If you have more than one accent chair in the room, rest assured that there are no rules when it comes to pairing them. You can choose two the same if you want to minimise the impact or you could choose two completely different accent chairs if you'd rather go for a bigger statement.
The thing to bear in mind is that you should choose colours that enhance what is in the rest of the room. There should be a seamless flow between your accent chair, other furniture in the room and the wall colour for example.