Chairs & Seating

From comfortable sofas to reclining armchairs, dining chairs and wooden benches along the table in the kitchen, our homes are filled with places for us to sit and rest – whether it’s a quick perch with a cup of coffee, or settling in for a movie night. Where chairs were once hard backed and based on practicality rather than comfort, we now live in a world where if you can dream it up, someone has probably already created it – with retailers all over the world capturing imaginations with floating seats, bean bag chairs, and so many more.

Of course, when it comes to filling a home with the right chairs and seating, you need to consider a few different things.

How practical is it and who will sit in it?

Any form of chair or seating solution should be purchased with an idea of where it will live and whose seating needs it will serve. For example older members of the family or those with specific bodily ailments may require the use of chairs with different shapes and back support – meanwhile the children of the house will require smaller chairs with less height, and perhaps some form of restraint (for the youngest children!)

In short, as well as deciding on your chairs depending on the room they will be in, you also need to give some thought to any additional requirements that residents and guests may need, and then try and factor in a way for those needs to be met as well.

Does it match the style of the room, and should it blend in or stand out?

In a far cry from the hardback and wooden seated chairs of old, we are lucky that most dining and hardback chairs now come with built in padded seating – providing a comfort somewhere between a wooden stool and a comfortable sofa.

One of the things we love about most retailers today is that they design their chairs with detachable seat pads – meaning that buyers, and those members who love abit of DIY – can remove the pads and recover them with a fabric of their own choosing. This level of personalisation is what elevates a home and lets you inject your own design flair – so is a popular choice with many.

With regards to selecting larger pieces of seating such as the sofa and armchairs, you need to consider both the space you are looking to fill, and whether you want your chair to blend into its surroundings or stand out as a focal point. Leather armchairs for example are a design choice which tend to stand out, whereas a more neutrally coloured armchair which sits in a corner provides the modern vibe that many homeowners are looking for.

For those with smaller homes who are looking for furniture to compliment their space, we recommend opting for chairs with thinner arms and lighter colours, to provide the illusion that the space around them is bigger.

Is it comfortable?

We no longer have to choose between comfort and style, with so many of our favourite retailers and furniture stores now offering their most comfortable sofas and armchairs in a variety of different designs and finishes. The market at the moment is particularly on-trend with corner sofas and block compartmental designs for modern homes, but you will find that most retailers also have more cosy and welcoming patterns and warmer colours as well as the block monochromes seen in modern homes. If in doubt about what will suit your room, head to a furniture showroom for inspiration or else try out a virtual retail experience which allows you to upload an image of your room and input different items of furniture and chairs.