The Lucille occasional chair, featured here in a grey embossed bonded leather with matte black legs, silver nail head detail, contoured arms, and a decorative chrome ring on the back can be found at Suede Contemporary Living, 303 Richmond Rd. It ranges from $349 for fabric to $410 for leather. It comes in a variety of colours and can be used as a dinning chair, for living room guests and at a desk.

 

Accent chairs are like a silk tie or pair of designer shoes — they’re not the biggest piece of the ensemble, but they add style and interest to the overall look.

The accent chair (also known as an occasional chair) can add touches of colour, texture and shape — all creative ways to draw the eye around a room, says Ottawa interior designer Ulya Jensen.

“A lot of times, we are really safe with furniture because we really want some life and some longevity out of them,” says Jensen. “So we tend to do lots of neutrals and then pop up the colour with throw rugs and toss cushions and that kind of thing. And a chair is the best way to incorporate some pattern and some pop in your room because it doesn’t have to match anything else.

“It can really be all on its own in a totally fun, bold pattern that, if you are tired of in three or four years, you can recover it. It’s not as big of a commitment as say a sofa and a loveseat set.”

And you’re not restricted to the traditional wingback or club chair, she says. Accent chairs come in all forms.

“It could be a really cool cube, and it could be a really cool covered bench that actually acts as a coffee table between your two chairs in your living room.”

Jensen adds that they are also a great way to fill in an awkward nook or extra space on a landing,

Ron Boivin, an interior designer and co-owner of Suede Contemporary Living at 303 Richmond Rd., says he likes to draw information out of his clients to understand their needs.

“It’s all about height of the person, where is (the chair) going to go? What is it going to be used for? Do you want an armchair? Do you want a slipper chair ... it is really a sort of 40 questions (on) how do you want to live in that chair.”

Boivin says the popularity of condos and smaller spaces makes the versatility of accent chairs appealing to buyers.