How to Choose The Perfect Accent Chair

When I think about what the most important aspect of design is (in my humble opinion) I would say that cohesion is a huge part of my decision making. Now, that doesn’t mean that every item in the house looks exactly the same, but it means that everything should compliment each other in a way where nothing seems out of place or odd in light of all the other design choices you have made. This post is sponsored by Amazon Home, which has so many great options for furniture and decor pieces. I was recently deciding on what accent chair I should get for our front room sitting area (such a Southern house thing for sure!) and I went through a little checklist of questions in my brain to help me find the perfect piece for our space, and so I thought I’d share the tips with you as well!

I ended up choosing this amazingly pretty Rivet pink and gold armchair and it’s perfect for our space! I love that you can find private label brands on Amazon (like Rivet) and use the ease of the internet to scroll through tons of options from the comfort of home. The Rivet brand was a good choice for us since they have affordable mid-century inspired options (perfect for our ’60s home) and a 30-day return policy in case the item doesn’t perfectly fit your space. OK, here are my tips to find your perfect chair for your space!

Consider your color scheme!

This may be the first thing you think of when deciding on adding an accent chair—the color! I know for me I specifically wanted a pink chair to compliment the pops of pink that were already throughout the room and I also knew the pink would set it apart from the grey couch next to it. Think about your room and decide if you’d rather have a color that blends in to the existing color scheme (if so, choose a neutral shade or a color that appears a lot in the room) or have one that stands out as a focal piece (if so, choose a color that appears less often in the room if at all). If you really want a stand out color in a room, just make sure that the color (or a similar shade) appears at least 1-2 other places in the space, even if it’s somewhere small like on a pillow or in a piece of artwork, so the chair doesn’t feel like a total anomaly. And I like to match hardware color throughout the house as much as I can for continuity, so I’ll choose gold legs over silver/chrome, etc., but if you have a mix of all metal types, feel free to continue that (just maybe don’t do one giant gold chair if nothing else in the house is gold). Since I like to play up the gold aspect, I added in a pretty gold pouf and this mid-century gold lamp to compliment the legs of the chair and continue that gold theme we already had going. Also, sometimes an item would work if you just moved something else to a different room that would otherwise clash a bit. We had a multi-colored rug in this space that didn’t go well with the more rose pink of the chair so we switched it for a pretty but more neutral rug option by Rivet and it made a huge difference!

Is your aesthetic eclectic, consistent, or a mix?

Do you have a strictly defined personal style that runs throughout the entire house or is your home a cute hodge-podge of lots of different styles and eras (or somewhere in between)? I personally have a pretty particular palate when it comes to home decor (California mid-century modern pastels with a twist!) and I can quickly sort through items to see what would fit and what wouldn’t, so I like to stay within those design choices to make items feel cohesive in the overall space. If you are more eclectic, then you don’t need to worry as much about if the chair is from the right era of design (or even which part of the world the design is inspired by), so you would choose the item more based on color scheme and proportions that fit your space. If you are somewhere in between, I would suggest having the larger pieces in the room, like chairs, tables, and couches, follow a particular theme and then do decor variations with the accent items in the room. Sometimes even small touches can help add cohesion, like using furry fabrics in different areas of the room similar to the soft fluffy pillow I chose for the chair.

To match or not to match? That is the question …

Some people are super into the matching set idea where you get a couch and then choose the chair that matches the couch in color and style. This is basically a preference thing so you need to ask yourself if the idea of matching items makes your brain super happy that the items are alike, or do you feel bored with too much of the same look in one area? I used to go for the matching set idea because I wanted everything to “go together,” but the past few years I’ve swung over to the non-matching side. I think it gives the space more variation to have different shapes and textures than having just one look (especially if the couch and chair are very large), but I think the matching set can work too when done well.

Do you have any additional considerations?

In other words … do you have pets, kids, or any other specific situational needs that you need to take into account? If you have pets, you may want to steer away from non-friendly pet hair fabrics (like wool!) and choose a chair color that would hide pet fur easier (especially if they like to curl up on chairs for naps). Fabrics that are super hard to clean (and light in color) might be a bad choice for a house with small children (leather is a great option with kids since you can wipe it down easily), but if the chair is in a room where the kids don’t spend as much time or eat in very often like our front room, you may be fine. It’s also good to think about what activity you’ll use the chair for and adjust your chair comfortability score accordingly. If it’s going to be your main reading/TV watching chair, you’ll want a more comfortable option, but if it’s an accent chair for a space that’s used less often, you can get away with more form-over-function in that scenario.

Don’t forget to measure!

This is kind of a big one, but easy to forget about! So you’ve found what you think is the perfect chair for your space, but before you pull the trigger and buy it, look at the dimensions and make sure that it will fit in the spot you have for it comfortably with plenty of room for a walkway around it if needed and any other accents you want nearby (like a side table or ottoman). It can be super disappointing to realize that an item isn’t the right size for your space, but it’s better to find out before you buy and avoid an overstuffed room that makes you feel like the space is smaller than it actually is. It can be hard sometimes to picture the 3D measurements in the space, so I’ve actually made full scale cardboard versions of furniture before I bought an item to make sure it would fit in the room—sounds crazy but it’s SO helpful.

So there you have it! If you consider each one of these components when selecting an accent chair, you can be a lot more confident that you’ll love what you get and it will be something that will keep you happy for years to come. Hope this is helpful for you next time you need to snag a cute chair for your home sweet home! xo. Laura

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.

Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.Photography