As seen in The English Home, Homes & Gardens, Homes & Antiques

Interior designer or business owner? Apply for trade and get an exclusive trade discount

Visit our US branch, click here

Your cart

Your cart is empty

How I Would Style A Dining Chair As An Accent Chair by Alicia Wainhouse

Chairs are undoubtedly a crucial element when it comes to interior design. A chairs purpose is to add comfort and practicality, but when styled correctly, chairs can also be statement pieces that capture your audience's attention. Here are a few of my favourite tips for styling dining chairs as accent chairs.

 

Use fabrics that add texture and character, these elements add interest to a room.

While I find our chairs comfortable, the addition of a seat pad and cushion certainly help. When choosing fabrics, I wouldn't choose a plain one, just because you miss out on the perfect opportunity to add different textures and colour ways to the overall aesthetic of the room. Let these simple accessories dictate the vibe of your scheme.
With seat cushions or pads, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to add quite playful patterns. I adore those offered by Alice Palmer, notably one of my favourite London based fabric brands.
In addition, I've recently found a popular shop called FabricSnug on Etsy, who handmake frill cushions. It's no wonder why they have been gaining popularity on the platform as of late, their products are well made and great quality - and very good value too!

Pair the dining chair with a small side table

If space allows, you can style a dining chair as an accent chair by complimenting the chair with a small side table or bench. I like to do this with dedicated reading chairs, as it adds quite a nice touch and also has some practical benefits. If space allows, I would style the side table with a lamp, tissue box and other accessories which play with proportions. Experiment with different sizes and shapes - these characteristics add visual interest. You also want to make sure that you have space to put any of your drinks down while seated, this is a great tip for increasing functionality in a room. When styling a dining chair as an accent chair, it's useful to add elements which accentuate the primary object to make it seem more important and bigger than it actually is.
The dining chair above is an antique version of our Traditional Windsor carver, I've had this arm chair for quite a while. As you can see, we've kept a lot of the original design in our version - it's almost identical. The bench on the right was a prototype that one of the carpentry team made a few months back. It hasn't evolved into anything more yet, but we're hoping to introduce these in the near future. Finally, the lamp is from our table lamp collection, and is called the Darlington Table Lamp.

Choose a colour that breaks up the scheme of the rest of the interior

Ever heard of the theory where if you place a solitary red object in a blue room, it ties in quite nicely? This is a theory that I have been interested in as of late and I think it's such a good rule to apply to objects that you want to stand out in the room. Choosing a painted option for your chair is a great way to begin to apply this theory. One of the many things I love about the Wainhouse Co is the ability to choose any Farrow & Ball colour you'd like, whether that's on the current colour chart or not, our team can make arrangements for your order to accommodate your needs.
Previous post
Next post