Finding the Perfect Accent Chair for Your Living Room

Think of an accent chair as more than just a place to sit. It’s the final, perfect accessory that pulls your living room's whole look together. This single piece can introduce a splash of color, create an instant reading nook, or simply offer a welcoming spot for guests, turning a nice space into one you genuinely love.

Your Living Room’s Secret Weapon

Ever look around your living room and feel like something’s just… missing? You’ve got the sofa, the coffee table, maybe even a great rug, but the room still feels a bit incomplete. More often than not, that missing piece is an accent chair. It’s the secret weapon for taking a room from functional to fabulous, perfectly aligning with our philosophy to help you "Love Your Home."

Since our family started this journey back in 1946, we've seen time and again how one thoughtfully chosen piece of furniture can completely transform the feel of a home. An accent chair is a true workhorse, playing several roles that go far beyond extra seating. It’s your chance to show off your style without the commitment of a full room makeover.

More Than Just a Seat

A great accent chair is a powerhouse of both style and function. It can solve common design dilemmas and add a layer of sophistication that truly reflects who you are. Whether you're in Bellefontaine or anywhere in Logan County, the goal is to find a piece that just works for your family’s lifestyle.

A well-placed accent chair can:

• Introduce Color and Pattern: Bring a pop of vibrant color or an eye-catching print into an otherwise neutral space.
• Create a Focal Point: A beautifully designed chair naturally draws the eye, anchoring the entire room's design.
• Improve Traffic Flow: You can use a chair to define a cozy conversation area or gently guide how people move through the room.
• Add Functionality: Carve out a dedicated spot for reading, sipping your morning coffee, or just unwinding.

Customization Is Key

At Tanger’s, we know the perfect chair isn’t something you just find in a box. It’s a piece that should feel like it was made just for you, which is why we’re big believers in customization. With incredible brands like Flexsteel and Smith Brothers of Berne, you’re never limited to what you see on the floor. You get to choose the exact fabric, finish, and style to bring your vision to life. You can dive deeper into how to use an accent chair in our guide.

We believe furniture should be a personal expression. An accent chair is the perfect canvas to showcase your style, whether that's through a bold, modern design or a classic, comfortable piece that feels like an old friend.

Our commitment is to help you find that perfect fit, all backed by our Low Price Promise. And with flexible Financing options available, that dream chair is always within reach. We handle all the heavy lifting, from design advice to our local Service & Delivery, making sure you have a no-pressure, neighborly experience from start to finish.

Finding the Perfect Fit: Scale, Style, and Function

Choosing the right accent chair for your living room is about more than just finding a pretty design. To make sure your new piece feels like it truly belongs, we need to think like a designer. It all boils down to three simple but critical elements: scale, style, and function.

Get these three right, and your new chair won't just fill a space—it will complete it. Think of it like putting together a great team. Your sofa is the star player, but the accent chair is the indispensable supporting actor that makes the whole scene better.

Balancing the Room with Scale

First things first, let's talk about scale. It’s just a designer’s way of talking about size and proportion. The goal is to find a chair that feels balanced with the other furniture in your room, especially your sofa. A chair that’s too big can completely overpower the space, while one that’s too small can get lost and feel like an afterthought.

Here are a few neighborly tips to get the scale just right:

• Seat Height Harmony: Look for an accent chair with a seat height that’s within 4 inches of your sofa's. This little trick creates a more cohesive look and keeps everyone at a comfortable eye level during conversations.
• Depth Matters: As a good rule of thumb, pick a chair that isn't dramatically deeper than your sofa. This helps keep the sightlines clean and makes the whole layout feel more intentional.
• Consider Visual Weight: A chair with slim legs and an open frame will feel much lighter and take up less visual space than a bulky, fully upholstered club chair, even if their actual footprints are similar.

Getting your measurements right is the first step to success. If you're not sure where to start, our guide on how to measure furniture can help you prep your space.

Defining Your Personal Style

Next up is style. This is where your personality really gets to shine! Your accent chair doesn't have to be a perfect match with your existing furniture. In fact, choosing a contrasting style can add a fantastic layer of visual interest and character to your living room.

Are you drawn to the clean lines and warm woods of mid-century modern? Or does the cozy, welcoming vibe of a farmhouse design speak more to your Logan County roots? Maybe a classic wingback chair would add just the right touch of timeless elegance. This is where the fun of customization comes in. With trusted partners like Smith Brothers of Berne, we can help you create a piece that perfectly captures your unique taste, from the leg finish down to the last stitch.

We’ve been helping families in Bellefontaine design their homes since our design services began in 1964. Over the years, we've learned that the most beautiful rooms are the ones that truly reflect the people who live in them. Your accent chair is the perfect opportunity to tell your story.

Deciding on the Chair's Function

Finally, we have to answer the most important question of all: "Why do I need this accent chair?" Your answer defines its function. A chair’s purpose will guide every other decision you make, from its shape to its upholstery.

Think about the role you need it to play:

• A Cozy Reading Nook: You’ll want a chair with comfortable arms, a supportive back, and enough room to curl up. Pair it with a floor lamp and a small side table, and you’ve created an instant retreat.
• Conversational Seating: If the chair is mainly for entertaining, you might choose an armless slipper chair or a swivel chair. Both make it easy for guests to turn and join different conversations.
• A Purely Decorative Statement: Sometimes, a chair’s main job is just to look beautiful. This is your chance to go bold with a sculptural shape, a vibrant color, or a dramatic pattern that acts as a piece of art.

The trend toward multifunctional furniture is only getting stronger. The living room furniture market, which hit an estimated $200 billion globally in 2023, is seeing more and more people invest in pieces like accent chairs that can do it all. Here in North America, shoppers often set aside a good portion of their budget for pieces that can serve as a reading spot, extra seating, or even a mini-workspace.

Here at Tanger's, our job is to help you find an accent chair that checks all three boxes: scale, style, and function. And with our flexible Financing options and Low Price Promise, you can invest in a quality piece you’ll love for years to come.

A Guide to Accent Chair Fabrics and Materials

The fabric you choose for your accent chair is more than just a finishing touch—it's the chair's personality. It sets the tone for everything from how it looks in your living room to how well it handles movie nights, morning coffee, and visits from the grandkids. Think of it like picking the right coat: some are built for everyday wear and tear, while others are all about making a sophisticated statement.

This is where your vision for the room really starts to take shape, and it’s why we believe so strongly in giving you options. With incredible brands like the renowned Flexsteel, you aren’t boxed into just a few choices. You have hundreds of fabrics and leathers to explore, ensuring your chair is a perfect match for your family's lifestyle.

Performance Fabrics for Everyday Life

For a busy Logan County household, performance fabrics are an absolute game-changer. These aren't your grandmother's delicate textiles; they are modern materials engineered to resist stains, fading, and wear. They're the ideal choice for families with kids or pets, proving you don't have to sacrifice style for durability.

You get all the beauty with none of the worry.

• Stain Resistance: Most performance fabrics are treated to repel liquids, which means spills often bead up right on the surface instead of soaking in. A quick dab is all it takes.
• Durability: They’re built for high-traffic life, resisting the pilling and fraying that can happen over time with standard fabrics.
• Easy to Clean: The best part? Most messes come right out with a little mild soap and water, keeping your chair looking brand new for years.

The Timeless Appeal of Leather

There's a reason leather has been a cornerstone of furniture design for generations. It’s tough, classic, and only gets better with age as it develops a beautiful, rich patina. A leather accent chair brings an instant sense of warmth and sophistication to any room, fitting in just as well with modern decor as it does with a more traditional look.

While it's an investment up front, a quality leather chair is built to last a lifetime. It's also surprisingly simple to care for—usually just needing a quick wipe-down—making it a practical yet undeniably elegant choice for any home.

Classic Textiles: Linen and Velvet

If you're looking to bring more texture and character into your space, you can’t go wrong with classics like linen and velvet. Each one has a completely different feel, allowing you to fine-tune your design.

• Linen: This fabric has a light, airy, and relaxed vibe. It's breathable and brings a touch of casual elegance, making it a perfect fit for a farmhouse or coastal-inspired living room.
• Velvet: Nothing says luxury quite like velvet. Its incredibly soft texture and rich, deep color saturation make it an amazing choice for a statement piece that just begs you to curl up and get comfortable.

We've found that the best way to make a final decision is to see and feel the options in person. That’s why our Bellefontaine showroom is filled with a huge array of swatches. Our team is always here to offer some friendly, no-pressure advice to help you find the material that’s just right.

This decision tree helps visualize the process of narrowing down your options based on scale, style, and function.

As the flow chart shows, once you answer a few key questions about your space and needs, you can confidently zero in on the perfect chair.

Accent Chair Upholstery Comparison

To make things even simpler, here's a quick comparison of the most common materials to help you decide based on durability, feel, and maintenance needs.

Ultimately, choosing your accent chair's upholstery is about finding that sweet spot where your home’s look meets its real-life demands. For a deeper dive, check out our complete guide on everything you need to know about upholstery materials.

No matter what you choose, our Low Price Promise and flexible Financing options make it easy to bring home a quality piece you’ll love. From there, our local Service & Delivery team will handle all the heavy lifting, making sure your beautiful new chair arrives safely and is placed exactly where you want it.

The Art of Accent Chair Placement

You’ve found the perfect accent chair—the fabric feels just right, the style is a perfect reflection of you, and it’s beautifully made. Now comes the final, and maybe most important, step: deciding where it’s going to live.

Placement isn’t just about filling an empty corner. It's about using your new chair to enhance the entire room's flow, function, and feeling.

Think of your living room like a good conversation. You wouldn't want everyone shouting from opposite ends of a huge room or crammed so tightly they can't breathe. The same idea applies to your furniture. Great placement invites connection and makes the space feel intuitive and welcoming—a cornerstone of our "Love Your Home" philosophy.

Creating Functional Zones with Your Chair

A single accent chair has the power to define purpose within a larger room. It can transform an overlooked spot into one of your family’s favorite places to gather, relax, or simply connect. You don't need walls to carve out new "rooms" within your main living space.

Here are a few classic arrangements that our Logan County neighbors have come to love:

• The Cozy Reading Nook: This is probably the most beloved use for an accent chair for living room layouts. Nestle your chair by a window to catch the natural light, add a small side table for a cup of tea, and finish with a floor lamp for those late-night reading sessions.
• The Conversational Pair: Try flanking a fireplace or a large window with a matching pair of accent chairs. This creates a beautiful, symmetrical look that naturally encourages face-to-face conversation, completely separate from the main sofa area.
• The Open-Concept Anchor: In a large, open-concept home, an accent chair can help define the boundary of your seating area. When placed just right, it creates a visual "stop" that separates the living space from a dining area or entryway without closing it off.

Getting the Spacing Just Right

Once you have a spot in mind, let’s talk about spacing. It's the invisible element that makes a room feel either comfortable or clumsy. Keeping a few simple measurements in mind can make all the difference, saving you from bruised shins and awkward layouts.

A good rule of thumb is to allow at least 18 to 24 inches of walkway around your major furniture pieces. This ensures you and your guests can move freely without feeling hemmed in.

When you’re placing chairs for conversation, aim for a distance of about 4 to 10 feet between them. That’s close enough to chat comfortably but far enough to give everyone their personal space.

Your furniture should work for you, not the other way around. Proper placement ensures every piece in your room, from a custom sofa to the smallest accent chair, contributes to a home that is both beautiful and effortlessly functional.

Our Local Delivery Makes Placement Perfect

This is where our commitment to being your local furniture partner really shines. We know that getting the placement perfect can be a bit of a puzzle.

That’s why our professional Service & Delivery team does more than just drop off your new furniture at the door. Our Bellefontaine-based crew will bring your new accent chair right into your home, carefully unwrap it, and help you position it exactly where you want it.

We'll help you check the angles and make sure it looks just right, helping you nail that perfect balance from day one. It's just one more way we help our neighbors "Love Their Home" without any of the heavy lifting. If you're looking for more inspiration, you can explore our detailed living room arrangement ideas in another guide.

Beyond the Living Room: Accent Chairs in Professional Spaces

An accent chair’s power to transform a room isn’t just for your home. For our fellow business owners here in Bellefontaine, the right chair can be a game-changer, turning a sterile, forgettable office space into a warm and welcoming one. It sends a clear message: you value comfort, style, and your clients' experience from the moment they walk in.

At Tanger's, our expertise goes far beyond the living room. Our Commercial Office division is dedicated to helping local businesses create spaces that are both impressive and practical. We get it—a chair in a waiting room or executive office has to work even harder than one at home. It needs to stand up to daily traffic while perfectly reflecting your brand’s professionalism.

More Than Just Waiting Room Furniture

It's time to think beyond the rows of stiff, uninspired chairs you see in most offices. A single, well-chosen accent chair can completely redefine a commercial space, carving out functional zones that improve both workflow and client perception. This is where we bring in our deep knowledge of quality brands like the expertly crafted Smith Brothers of Berne, which offers commercial-grade durability with that residential comfort everyone craves.

Just imagine what a few great chairs could do for your business:

• A Welcoming Reception Area: Swap out that rigid bench for a pair of comfortable, upholstered chairs. It’s a small change that makes a huge first impression.
• Informal Meeting Spots: Create a collaborative nook in an open-plan office with two chairs and a small table. Perfect for quick team huddles.
• An Executive Suite Upgrade: A sophisticated leather accent chair in a private office adds an immediate touch of authority and polished style.

The Tanger’s Commercial Advantage

As a family-owned business serving Logan County since 1946, we offer a level of personal service that the big-box office suppliers just can’t touch. We’re here to help with professional space planning and selecting pieces that are truly built to last, all backed by our Low Price Promise. The living room furniture market is projected to hit $314.43 billion by 2031, and that focus on comfort and style is spilling over into professional settings. You can dive deeper into market trends with this detailed report.

Your office furniture is an investment in your business's image and your team's productivity. We help you choose pieces that are not only stylish and comfortable but are also built for the demands of a professional environment.

With our flexible Financing options and local Service & Delivery team, we handle the entire process from start to finish. Visit our showroom in Bellefontaine to see our custom options in person or browse our collections online to start your journey. Have a specific design question? Contact our design staff today or join our Love Your Home Club for expert tips delivered to your inbox.

Your Perfect Chair Is Waiting at Tangers

We've covered a lot of ground in this guide, from the why to the how of choosing the perfect accent chair for your living room. Now for the fun part: finding the one you’ll love for years to come. Here at Tanger's Furniture, we're not just in the business of selling furniture. We’re here to help our neighbors in Logan County build homes they’re proud of, one beautiful piece at a time. It’s the heart of our "Love Your Home" philosophy.

Our family started this journey back in 1946, so we know that buying furniture is a big decision. We stand behind every piece with our Low Price Promise, making sure you always get exceptional value. And because great design should be within reach for everyone, we offer flexible Financing options to help you bring your vision home without the wait.

The Tanger’s Difference: From Start to Finish

Our commitment to our community is about more than just what happens in the showroom. We provide white-glove Service & Delivery to handle all the heavy lifting, ensuring your new chair arrives safely and is placed right where you want it. If you need anything down the road, our in-house service team is just a call or click away—local reliability you can actually count on.

This customer-first approach is what sets us apart. We’re not some anonymous big-box store; we’re your neighbors. We want to be your trusted resource for everything, from finding a custom sofa in Ohio to finding the right accent furniture for your home.

Customization: Your Vision Brought to Life

That final, perfect touch in a room is so often an accent chair, and the demand for these stylish pieces is on the rise. In fact, the global accent chair market hit an impressive $6.8 billion in 2024 and is expected to climb to $11.2 billion by 2033, fueled by a new wave of home improvement projects.

Just imagine a cozy Bellefontaine living room where a chair from a quality brand like Flexsteel becomes the focal point. Through our design services, we can customize it to match your exact vision—from the fabric right down to the finish. You can dig deeper into this growing market trend on marketintelo.com.

At Tanger's, our showroom isn't just a store; it's a place for inspiration and collaboration. We invite you to experience the difference firsthand and let our family help yours create a space you’ll love for a lifetime.

We invite you to come see what makes us different. Our showroom is a place to get inspired and find that perfect piece to complete your living room story.

Visit our showroom in Bellefontaine to see our custom options in person or browse our collections online to start your journey. Have a specific design question? Contact our design staff today or join our Love Your Home Club for expert tips delivered to your inbox.

A Few Questions We Hear All the Time

Choosing a new piece of furniture can bring up a lot of questions. As your neighbors and Logan County’s go-to furniture experts since 1946, we've heard just about all of them. Here are a few of the most common things our customers ask when they’re looking for that perfect accent chair.

Can I Mix and Match an Accent Chair with My Sofa?

You absolutely can! In fact, that's the whole point of an accent chair—it's meant to stand out and bring personality to a room. The goal isn't to find a perfect match, but rather to find a piece that coordinates beautifully. Think of it less like buying a pre-packaged set and more like curating a thoughtful, layered look.

The trick is to find a common thread that ties the chair and sofa together. Maybe it's a complementary color, a similar leg style (like a tapered wood leg), or a shared design era like mid-century modern. A great starting point is to snap a few photos of your sofa and bring them into our Bellefontaine showroom. Our design team can walk through the Living Room section with you and help you find its perfect partner.

How Do I Care for My New Accent Chair Upholstery?

This really comes down to the material you choose, but modern fabrics have made upkeep easier than ever. Performance fabrics, for example, are incredibly durable and often just need a quick wipe-down with a little mild soap and water to handle spills. If you go with genuine leather, a little conditioning now and then will keep it soft and prevent it from drying out over the years.

No matter what you choose, we’ll give you specific care guidelines with your purchase. And because we’re a local, family-owned store, our in-house Service & Delivery team is always just a phone call away if you run into a bigger issue. We make maintenance simple.

What if I Can't Find the Exact Fabric I Want?

That’s when the fun really starts! It's the perfect reason to explore our custom order program, where we move beyond "out of the box" furniture and help you create something that’s one-of-a-kind. With top-tier brands like Smith Brothers of Berne and Flexsteel, you get access to literally hundreds of different fabric and leather swatches.

You get to be the designer, creating a unique piece that fits your home and your style perfectly. Our team is here to guide you through all the choices, making sure you end up with something you'll absolutely love.

Is an Expensive Accent Chair Really Worth It?

A well-built accent chair is an investment in comfort, style, and durability that pays for itself over time. While a cheaper piece might catch your eye at first, it often hides a lower-quality frame and foam that will start to sag, creak, and wear out far too quickly. We are committed to lasting value, and our Low Price Promise ensures you get enduring quality that still fits your budget.

With our flexible Financing options, we make it easier for your family to invest in beautiful furniture that will stand the test of time and truly help you "Love Your Home."

At Tanger's Furniture, we believe the perfect accent chair isn't just another piece of furniture—it's that final touch that makes your house truly feel like a home.

Visit our showroom in Bellefontaine to see our custom options in person or browse our collections online to start your journey. Have a specific design question? Contact our design staff today or join our Love Your Home Club for expert tips delivered to your inbox. Find out more at https://tangersfurniture.com.