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A Good Accent Chair Can Tie the Room Together. Here Are 20 to Know

Sometimes all you need is a standout chair to spruce up a room.

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By Tyler Chin and Johnny Brayson

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Once you’ve scored your perfect sofa, mattress and coffee table, you can set your eyes on an accent chair. “Accent chair” isn’t a catchall term for a single style of chair, rather it’s a chair that acts as a standout piece in the room. They allow a person to add a touch of flair through a single piece of furniture, and they’ll probably get more action than your sofa. From an armchair that costs a few hundred bucks to a near-$10,000 icon of mid-century modern furniture, these are 20 of the best accent chairs to buy right now.

Products in the Guide

Accent Chair 101

So, what should you look for in an accent chair? As already stated, there is no real strict definition for what an accent chair is. Essentially, it’s any chair you choose to place in a room to “accent” your other furniture. It can be a lounge chair, an armchair, a wingback — it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it sets the vibe you’re looking for. Maybe your living room needs a dash of leather for some classic sophistication, or a touch of bouclé for a change of texture. Maybe what your room is lacking is a splash of color, or perhaps a striking silhouette that really makes a statement. Regardless of whether you’re looking for something to blend into your existing decor or a seat that turn heads, the right accent chair can deliver exactly what you’re looking for. These are the ones we like best.

The Best Accent Chairs

Parachute Leather Sling Chair

Bedding favorite Parachute has only been in the business of making furniture for a couple of years, but they seemed to have figured out what they’re doing pretty quickly. Released in 2023, the brand’s Leather Sling Chair is modeled after 1950s Spanish designs and is built to last with a solid oak frame and some of the finest leather hides you can get.

Castlery Paloma Bouclé Armchair

However you feel about bouclé, the nubby fabric isn’t going away anytime soon. And few brands provide a better showcase for the cozy upholstery than Castlery. The DTC company’s fan-favorite design boasts a sturdy three-leg design and a sculptural curved back, with airy cutouts that give the chair an almost ethereal vibe.

Burrow Pica Chair

Burrow introduced a line of chairs in 2022, and while the outstanding Vesper Lounge Chair got most of the attention (deservedly so), we’d like to shed light on another Burrow seat that’s particularly suited to be an accent chair. The Pica is compact enough for practically any space, comfy enough for any body and versatile enough in its styling to match any decor. And since it’s from Burrow, it’s a total breeze to put together.

Herman Miller Eames Molded Plastic Armchair Rocker

If you’re looking at a chair and it’s got Eames in the name, you know you’re on the right track. Slightly less iconic than their legendary Lounge Chair, Charles and Ray Eames’s series of molded shell chairs are suitable to use for everything from an office chair to a dining chair. But in this particular guise — the armchair seat and rocker base — it makes the perfect accent chair, providing the ideal mix of cozy and dynamic.

Industry West Penny Lounge Chair

You’ve definitely seen this chair before, as the Z Lounge Chair is one of the most iconic mid-century modern furniture designs there is (and probably the most mysterious). Dozens of furniture brands make their own versions of it, but we’re especially into Industry West’s interpretation. The Penny boasts a solid walnut frame while still keeping its price under four figures (unless you opt for leather upholstery), and the angles of its silhouette are razor-sharp.

AllModern Leroy Accent Chair

Inspired by mid-century cane chairs — like Marcel Breuer’s ubiquitous dining chair, the Cesca Chair — the Leroy Accent Chair brings warmth to any space with its woven cane back and seat, its naturally-finished light wood frame and its Scandi-inspired armless design. But if it’s all a little too light for your space, fear not, as there’s also a black version.

Revival Rugs Aide-de-Camp Chair

Editor’s Note: The Aide-de-Camp Chair is currently OOS but will be restocked again.

Apparently, a rug company knows a lot about making furniture. Ben Hyman, cofounder of Brooklinen, started Revival Rugs as a rug company, and its first furniture collection had us enamored. The brand connected with Turkish designer Gizem Yuce for the design of the Aide-De-Camp Chair, and it improves a classic camp chair through luxury materials. Although the chair can fold away for storage, we don’t recommend hiding this beauty.

Safavieh Arlette Velvet Accent Chair

safavieh home collection arlette retro glam grey velvet accent chairAmazon

Safavieh Home Collection Arlette Retro Glam Grey Velvet Accent Chair

It’s hard to deck out a room with in velvet without looking tacky, so accent chairs tend to come upholstered in the flashy fabric. The Arlette is a plush and inviting chair, suitable for nearly any room. The touch of gold at the bottom of the legs are also a nice touch to an otherwise affordable chair.

Urban Outfitters Edith Velvet Arm Chair

It’s hard to pick a single velvet chair from Urban Outfitter’s incredible furniture section, but you can’t go wrong with the Edith. Its rustic oak wood frame is accompanied by velvet upholstery, and the back cushion looks like it’s floating, so it’s magical in a couple ways.

Article Regis Lounge Chair

The Regis is all about playing with conflicting ideas. Its dense upper seat contrasts the sleek metal frame, and the industrial-like shape is counter-balanced by the use of velvet. This is one chair that is sure to get a conversation going.

Inside Weather Latte Edgar Lounge Chair

Inside Weather’s Usonia collection, made in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, is inspired by the architect’s most famous works. The Edgar chair, part of the the first drop of Usonia pieces, takes design cues from Fallingwater, and looks like it would fit in perfectly there, too. Plus, the handy storage area under the Edgar is appreciated for those who like to tuck away their reading materials.

The Citizenry San Rafael Safari Chair

Mexico City-based San Rafael Workshop made this safari chair with a haya wood frame and caramel-colored leather. The chair has clean, straight lines accompanied by a slingback seat, which is much like sitting in a hammock. Anyone can acknowledge the simplistic beauty of this chair, especially the way in which the wood and leather complement each other. Grab the accompanying ottoman ($375) for a true lounging experience.

Hay Can Single Seater

Hay is all about being playful through its designs and colorways. The Can is made from a tubular steel frame, which is used to support a canvas sling that then supports the oversized cushions. There’s a conflicting design aesthetic between the delicate frame and the super-plush cushions, but that makes us what to sit in the Can that much more.

Knoll Wassily Chair

Marcel Breuer’s Wassily Chair is often imitated, but none is as good as the 1925 original. Most probably lose the tautness in the seat unlike the real McCoy, which can stay good-as-new for decades. Regarded as the first chair to be made of bent tubular steel, the Wassily chair will forever be a Holy Grail piece of furniture.

Blu Dot Neat Lounge Chair

Minneapolis-based Blu Dot has no shortage of fun and whimsical designs in their catalog, but the Neat Lounge might just take the cake. Fully upholstered, including the four fat legs, this compact lounger almost looks like a kids’ chair for grownups. It’s a whole lot more comfortable than that, though, thanks to a gently-contoured back and seat.

Carl Hansen & Søn Shell Chair

The Shell Chair riddles the backgrounds of numerous Instagram pictures. It’s like the calling card for minimalist-obsessed design-and-streetwear enthusiasts with a penchant for taking mirror pictures. For a three-legged chair, it maintains incredible stability, and the wide curved seat has granted Hans Wegner’s classic design the nickname, smiling chair.

Herman Miller Nelson Coconut Chair

Credited to George Nelson but likely designed by his then-employee (and the brains behind Plycraft’s Mr. Chair) George Mulhauser, Herman Miller’s Coconut Chair remains one of the most notable mid-century modern chair designs. Fashioned after a slice of a coconut shell, the quirky chair was designed so that anyone could move about freely and sit comfortably with their legs in any position they want.

Fritz Hansen Egg Chair

If you want your chair to make you feel like a supervillain — or, more practically, if you just want it to envelop you so that you feel like you’re in your own secluded cocoon — then there’s no beating the Egg Chair. Originally designed by Arne Jacobsen in the late 1950s for the then-new SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, the Egg Chair is one of the most recognizable chairs ever created. Its curvaceous fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane foam shell hugs your body, and the chair even swivels and tilts, too, for a dose of functionality.

RH Drew Swivel Chair

RH’s ’60s-style Drew chair is the sort of chair few will see in real life, much less own. Drew is essentially a cube that’s been carved out to become a chair. And it’s pretty damn cool, especially with that 360-degree swivel action. Though it comes in leather, we say go velvet or go home.

CB2 Bozzi Mongolian Sheepskin Accent Chair

Is this chair absurd? Yes. Does it look like it might come to life and try to eat you in the middle of the night? Definitely. Do we care about any of that? Not in the slightest. If you’re looking for an accent chair that makes a statement, no one will accuse you of phoning it in with this. This monster of a chair is covered head to toe in shaggy sheepskin, meaning it’s as cozy as it is crazy, and its glowing reviews tell us that CB2 may be about to start a whole “shaggy chic” trend.

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