Accent chairs, or “side chairs”, are perfect pieces of furniture to draw out focal points in your room, add contrast to a monotonous space, spice it up with a splash of colour, or simply complement your decor. Since accent chairs don’t function as the main pieces of furniture in a room, you have lots more room to be creative with them; but the many options for colour, fabric, size and style, can leave you overwhelmed and with a piece of accent furniture that sticks out like a sore thumb.

Don’t worry, with the right considerations you can find the accent chairs that add the best flair of style and sophistication to your home. That’s why, we share 5 tips for decorating your living room with an accent chair!

1. Purpose

What is the purpose of the accent chair in your living room? Is it just for decoration and style – like to highlight an art piece on your wall or add contrast to your interior? Or do you need it to achieve functionality – like providing extra seating beside the sofa, or a place where you can rest your feet on?

The type of chair, fabric and colour you choose for your accent chair depends on the purpose of the accent chair in your home. If you’re going to curl up in the chair to watch television, you want a chair that is comfortable, well-cushioned and has a good backing (instead of a no-backing, non-cushioned accent stool). On the other hand, if the purpose of the accent chair is to bring focus to art on the wall, you can care less about comfort and pick fabrics and styles that you just love, like this statement Texan Armchair that is upholstered with natural goat hide.

Keep the purpose of your accent chair in mind as you consider every other factor!

2. Consistency

Do you love everything in your home matching perfectly or are you into mixing things up? Un-matched doesn’t mean out of place; there are many things you can do to tie your accent chair together with the other furniture while letting it stand out. For example, you can use pattern and colour to weave your accent chair in with the rest of the room, while having it contrast in terms of fabric. Or keep the fabric and colour consistent with other furniture, but choose a bolder pattern for your accent chair. The best way to have a truly accented chair is to keep all elements consistent but one – colour, fabric, pattern, it’s your choice!

3. Colour

Again, you can either choose colours that follow the same colour scheme as the other furniture in your room; or if you want a bolder focal point, you can use colours that contrast or stand out from the other colours in your room.

Contrasting colours are trickier to pick out, but they certainly add a delightful touch to your living room vibe. A golden rule that you can go by is to choose opposite colours on the colour wheel – like dark red to match emerald green, or dark turquoise to light grey. While you contrast the colours of your accent chair, you want to keep them harmonious with the rest of the room, by making sure that the same colours exist in other furniture or accessories in the space. Coordinate the colours of small items like throw pillows, throw blankets or lampshades to tie your furniture together and keep your interior harmonious and pleasant to the eyes!

4. Fabrics

The purpose of your accent chair is a huge consideration here. If the chair is going to be used to sit and eat takeout meals or as a resting space for your messy children, you want to find fabrics that are easy to clean, like cotton or polyester. More difficult to clean materials, like velvet, are great if you’ll only be curling up in the chair to read or if the chair is going to be used as a decoration piece.

5. Size

Always measure size before you make your purchase! Measure the space that you’re reserving for your accent chair to make sure that you don’t come home with a chair too large for your living room. An accent chair looks great around a coffee table; you can either have it diagonally beside the sofa, perpendicular to the sofa on both sides of the table, or diagonally across. Whether one, two or three accent chairs, measure your space and give yourself enough room to walk around the chairs with ease!

All in all, an accent chair is a great way to spruce up your living room space and style it all the way up to its finishing touches. It’s stunning how one piece of furniture can make such a huge difference to the look and feel of your room. Take purpose, consistency, colour, fabric, and size into consideration, and you’ll have the perfect accent chair for your luxury living room in Singapore!

Snow Globe is a furniture shop in Singapore that offers a wide selection of luxury-style furniture and accessories at affordable prices. Check out our collection of luxurious accent chairs on our online store today!