Take A Seat: Ten Of The Best Statement Chairs
I have to admit that I've got a slight chair obsession. I go through stages of scouring eBay for the perfect mid century living room chair, always bottling out at the last minute as the bids soar through the roof. The other week I blogged about my pink velvet Andrew Martin theatre chairs which were both my best and worst ever eBay buy. Too beautiful not to bid on and too big to fit, they were always the ones that got away whilst costing me a bloody fortune in shipping and fees.
THE DREAM. I have lusted over the Ligne Roset Togo for 15 years. Photography: Ligne Roset
Recently, I picked up what I thought was an original 1970's lounge chair with matching foot stool for £30 at the Community Furniture Warehouse. I was super pleased until I posted it on Instagram and someone told me that it was from IKEA. My most successful all round chair purchase is a Pieff brown leather armchair which I won for £120. I've had it for six years and it's starting to look a bit battered (my family have caused more stress to the chair during this time than previous owners have managed during the 40 years prior). I'm using it in my Revamp Restyle Reveal room this month and it's totally timeless retro cool.
Chairs were big in the 1970's. If you were born in the 1970's, the chances of your parents owning this exact encyclopaedia collection are very high.
I'm sure that size wise, chairs and, indeed, houses, were much bigger in the 1970's. My family had a brown velvet three piece suite that was hugely cool at the time and the armchair used to engulf even my Dad who was over 6ft. My Dad always had 'his chair' that only he sat in. The idea of my Dad sitting on the sofa was akin to blasphemy. Joe has in recent years attempted to bring this tradition into our family, but even the dog will stare him out rather than remove himself from the sofa.
This was before the 1980's when Barrett Homes became the largest house builder in the country, shrunk floor space, halved the size of the windows, made gardens into postage stamps and created as standard the en suite bathroom. I hold our starter home Barrett Homes en suite back in 1999 purely responsible for my aversion to toilets being within a metre of a your actual bed.
My absolute goal has always been the Ligne Roset Togo. Designed by Michel Ducaroy in 1973, it's iconic design is my absolute dream. It's a statement chair (and sofa) and a half. I've sat for hours on eBay trying to work out if I could afford to go higher and higher, never quite having the balls to see it through. And more pertinently, never quite having the money to pay even if I had. I've seriously considered selling a kidney in order to get my hands on one.
So as I plan out my revamped room, I thought I would do a run down of what's currently hot on the market in the statement chair arena. I've gone for both Keep To Budget and Blow The Budget but they've all got one thing in common. They are all gorgeous. Here we go.
Tisno Wool Chair, Habitat £695
Let's start with a beauty. Influenced by 1970's design (all the best things came out of the 70's), it's a wool mix, ergonomic and comes in six colours including two leather options. A fab investment buy that won't date.
Plus there's a matching footstool for £295 that's big enough to use as extra seating. Very practical and a timeless design that will look fab in any space.
Hygena Fabric Pod Chair, Argos £89.99
This cool little chair is big on style. It comes in two fabric colours and is perfect for a corner. Nice steel legs and a classic design, it's a good buy.
Out of all the budget brands, Argos are really good at producing pieces like this. It's very hard to get past the abundance of tub chairs when looking at most of the High Street offerings.
Butterfly Chair, Oli & Grace £265
The Butterfly Chair, also known as the BKF chair, is a classic shape. Fascinating fact number one: It was designed in Buenos Aires in 1938 by Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy who had met as assistants in Corbusier's Paris Atelier. Thus the name BKF. Yay for Wikipedia.
Knoll picked it up and added it their line in 1947 but stopped producing originals in 1951 after countless legal battles with manufacturers producing unauthorised replicas and nowadays the design can be found all over the World. This one is a good priced option.
Cloud Directors Chair, Sweetpea & Willow £683
Okay, now I don't mean to get over excited but how gorgeous is this? Mongolian fur and gold. It's perfection and would look totally at home in any cool space.
The design of the directors chair goes back to the coffer makers chairs of the 15th Century and eventually to the crossed leg Roman curule chair sat upon by political and military heads. Fascinating fact number two. You can thank me later after the pub quiz.
Pearl Leather Armchair, Maisons Du Monde £751.50
Again, loving the cool 70's vibe of this brown leather cushioned beauty. It reminds me of my Pieff purchase but with a static seat. It's got a black wired frame which gives it an edge.
It was the hardest choice to pick just one from the extensive selection at Maisons Du Monde. A close runner up was the glorious Joyce blue velvet number at £290.50. Check out their site to see what I'm talking about.
Frame Chair In Blush & Rose Gold, Made.com £599
It's totally impossible not to love this chair. Blush and rose gold, the perfect combo. It's sculpturally beautiful and laid back stylish and is definitely a keeper.
It's got an industrial edge mixed with the luxury of velvet and also comes in Grass Green. A winner every time.
Dark Brass Wire Armchair, Rockett St George £145
This is one of the lower priced options I've found but it's definitely one of the most versatile. Pad it out with cushions or throw a luxurious sheepskins over the seat, it adds a cool industrial edge to your room.
Perfect for a reading corner or to create a focal point in your space. Again, it was hard to pick just one from Rockett St George. Have a look at the black wicker lounge chair at £375, a statement chair that's adaptable to your look.
Envy Vintage Swivel Patchwork Chair, Kelly Swallow £1,500
If you're talking statement chair, this certainly fits the brief. Each piece that Kelly produces is an antique, vintage or one off. She reinvents them in a mix of fabrics that she's put together over the years. The inspiration for this particular chair was from a small piece of green and gold fabric she had in her collection.
This one has added drama with the Zoffany fabric featuring a tiger on the backrest. Gorgeous. Kelly can also make to order as well as producing ready made pieces such as this one. And best of all, she's offering a 20% discount to you lovely lot valid until the end of October 2017. Just quote code LISA0917.
Merano Armchair, Blossom, Swoon Editions £579
Listen, you can't beat a pale pink armchair. This colour way is Blossom in a weave fabric, but it can also be ordered in velvet, brushed linen and soft wool. In total there are 36 fabrics to choose from and three leg types, a selection from which even the fussiest home owner would be to find their perfect match.
I particularly love the low back style of this one with the oversized side cushions.
Wilbur Fluffy White Armchair, Graham & Green £995
Okay, so I've saved the best until last. This wonder is statement chair gold. Swathed in sheepskin with black metal legs, it's the ideal textural combo and the King of Chairs.
Who doesn't need a fully covered sheepskin chair? It's definitely a budget buster but am already wondering what I would have to say or do for Joe in order to get this beauty into my newly revamped room. Let's not think about that one too hard. Oops, unintentional double entrendre. Am stopping right now.
So that's my current Top Ten in the statement chair charts. I think it's quite clear that buying a statement chair can often be a pretty big investment but there are some excellent budget friendly buys out there too if you look hard enough. Statement chairs are an excellent way of adding a focal point to your room and as you can see from the examples above, they can really transform your space from conventional to cool. Right, now I'm off to buy a lottery ticket and keep my fingers crossed for the Ligne Roset.
Thanks to all of your votes, I've been shortlisted for Best Newcomer in the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2017. Thank you SO much everyone who took the time to read and vote, I really appreciate it. Fingers crossed for the Awards Ceremony on 25 October!
