Interiors

Sit back and take it easy: nine occasional chairs

Best in Class: No space for a matching suite? Let the occasional chair take centre stage

The Saber print, a very fresh take on animal magnetism, is pictured here in touch-me midnight blue velvet.

Alanna Gallagher's face
Alanna Gallagher
Sat Nov 24 2018 - 00:00

1. LOVE SEAT

As matchy three-piece suites become extinct, the occasional chair takes centre stage in the home with a spotlight on strong shaped seats that add personality to the place. Bloomsbury is a love seat sized armchair that you can curl up in. Its Tibetean tiger motif will make your your heart go boom-ba-di-boom. The Saber print, a very fresh take on animal magnetism, is pictured in touch-me midnight blue velvet. It costs about €3,935 from London-based House of Hackney, a design house co-founded by Dubliner Frieda Gormley. houseofhackney.com

2. FEMININE DESIGN

The Eva chair comes in a myriad of fabric options.

The Eva is a decidedly feminine design that was first made in 1958 designed by Kerstin H. Holmquist as part of her Paradiset collection for Nordiska Kompaniet, NK, in Stockholm. It has been reissued by Gubi and is available to order through Lost Weekend. The chair comes in a myriad of fabric options but is not available in leather. Prices start from €2,149. lostweekend.ie; gubi.com  

3. TURNING HEADS IN TWO-TONE BLUSH

Thea is a neat little occasion chair that pushes the design envelope.

West Elm's Thea is a neat little occasion chair that pushes the design envelope with its innovative form. Its two-tone blush coloured palette offers a tactile texture that is soft to the touch; the main body is upholstered in a yarn-dyed linen weave while the back is finished in distressed velvet. It will turn heads in a small sitting room, a bedroom or in a big bathroom and costs about €790, ex delivery from the UK. westelm.co.uk

4. TO THE MOON AND BACK

The low-set Mayfair lounge chair is spacious and roomy.

If you're tall you need a roomy seat that fits your proportions. The low-set Mayfair lounge chair and matching footstool have been inspired by America's Space Age era and its girth and deep cushion upholstery create comfort levels that will take you to the moon and back. Made by Italian firm Arkitipo, the chair, with fixed back and titanium or brass legs, costs from €5,700 while the matching footstool costs from €2,500 from Bushell Interiors. arketipo.com; bushellinteriors.com

READ MORE

5. WELL CUSHIONED

The well-cushioned Tirella is a cross between a salon seat and a lounge chair.

Bonaldo's well-cushioned Tirella is a cross between a salon seat and a lounge chair. Its pillowy arms give it an elegantly round silhouette and the new design by Paolo Grasselli will freshen up the look of any room. It costs from about €2,400 and can be ordered through Lomi Design in Dublin or from Italian online store MOHD. mohd.it, lomi.ie

6. ACCENT CHAIRS

The Irish-made Studio is a sturdy wood-frame upholstered seat featuring detailed stitching and rounded arm rests.

Harvey Norman lounge chair buyer, Eamonn Harrington, says sales of accent chairs at the chain store have gone through the roof in the past 12 months. His personal favourite is the Irish-made Studio, a sturdy wood-frame upholstered seat that features detailed stitching and rounded arm rests. It comes in cosmo blue, quartz blue or quartz green velour and costs €999. harveynorman.ie

7. SETTING THE TEMPERATURE

Fox is a grey sheepskin slipper chair.

Habitat has some great well-formed seat shapes that will add visual interest to a space. Fox is a grey sheepskin slipper chair and footstool whose textural surface combines a strong shape with a comfortable seat. The minimalist design's shearling upholstery has natural temperature-regulating properties, providing a warm place to park your derriere in winter. The two-piece set costs about €1,685, ex delivery. habitat.co.uk

8. SPANISH INFLUENCE

Spanish furniture brand Missana will bring a very distinctive personality to your home.

If you're bored of seeing the same classic contemporary designs in magazines and in stores, check out the Spanish furniture brand Missana whose seating will bring a very distinctive personality to your home. With its petal-shaped design, the Quetzal chair by Marc Venot is one that has already probably popped up in Instagram feeds and costs from €2,161, ex delivery, depending on the grade of fabric you choose. The Cotton, by Eli Gutherrez, pictured, is more mid-century in form but equally covetable. It costs from €1,236. missana.es/en

9. 1950s STYLE

The 720 Lady Armchair is pictured here in a textural velvet set.

The 720 Lady Armchair was designed by Marco Zanuso in 1951; it is pictured here in a textural velvet set against Crown Paint's Midnight Garden winter colour palette. You can order it through Minima Home, but originals from the 1950s are also available to buy online from sites like 1st Dibs and Pamono. The latter has an on-trend one in burgundy and blue check, about €4,500, ex delivery, from Italy. pamono.eu, minimahome.com