Some rooms do not need another sofa. They need one chair with a clear shape, placed where it has a job: a reading corner by a window, the end of a long living room, the space beside a fireplace or a bay in the bedroom. A single wingback, bergère or lounge chair with a footstool can give that corner a purpose and balance a room that otherwise leans towards one heavy sofa wall.
This guide covers how to pick the type of chair, where to put it, how to light it and how to choose its leather colour. When you compare shapes in our armchair collection, keep the measurements of the corner you have in mind next to you.
Choose the type by what the corner is for
Decide first what someone will do in the chair, then choose the silhouette.
- Wingback: the side wings shield the head and shoulders from draughts and from the room. It suits reading and quiet corners, and its tall outline, typically 100–115 cm high, reads well from across the room.
- Bergère: a more open chair with an upholstered back and upholstered arms. It is usually lower, around 75–90 cm, and works where the chair must also join a conversation group.
- Lounge chair with footstool: a deeper, more reclined seat for long sitting. With its footstool it needs the most floor space, roughly 160–180 cm in length when the stool stands in front.
The orange wingback with a matching footstool that we showed at CNR İMOB 2020 illustrates a useful idea: when chair and stool are covered in the same leather, the two pieces read as one object, so the corner looks complete rather than crowded.
Placement: give the chair space and an angle
A statement chair loses its effect when it is pushed flat against a wall between other furniture. A few common rules help:
- Leave about 30–45 cm between the back of a wingback and the wall or window behind it, so the outline stays visible and curtains can move freely.
- Turn the chair 15–30 degrees towards the room or towards the main seating instead of setting it parallel to the wall. The angle makes it part of the room rather than a waiting-room chair.
- Keep 75–90 cm of clear walkway in front of it. If the chair sits on the route from the door to the sofa, people will avoid it. Our article on how circulation patterns influence furniture placement explains how to read these routes.
- In a conversation group, keep the chair within about 2.5 m of the sofa so conversation stays easy.
The chair should be the only strong object in its zone. A full bookcase, a large plant and a patterned rug competing in the same corner will flatten its shape. Choose one supporting element, such as a slim side table or a single floor lamp, and leave the rest of the wall quiet.
Light: one lamp, placed correctly
A reading chair needs its own light source. A floor lamp standing slightly behind and to the side of the chair, on the side of the hand that holds the book, avoids shadows on the page. A common rule is to set the bottom of the shade roughly at the height of the seated reader's shoulder or a little above.
Daylight matters as much. Placed side-on to a window, the chair gets even light for reading and the leather shows its grain. Facing straight into a bright window makes reading tiring, and strong sun falling on the same spot every afternoon will fade any leather over time, so a sheer curtain is worth having in a south- or west-facing room.
Leather colour: contrast or continuity
The colour decides whether the chair stands out or settles in. There are two sound approaches:
- Contrast: a saturated colour such as cognac, orange, deep green or oxblood against a neutral sofa and walls. A single chair can carry a strong colour that would feel too heavy across a whole sofa.
- Continuity: the same colour family as the sofa, one shade darker or lighter, so the group reads as related while the shape of the chair does the work.
Sitdesign works with genuine leather only, in 76 colours across 12 colour families, and Italian leathers form our top leather group. The finish matters too: a natural, open finish develops a patina where hands rest on the arms, while a protected, pigmented finish stays more even in a busy family room. You can see the options on our leather materials page, and we send leather samples on request so you can judge a colour in your own light.
Choosing a model and its proportions
Look at the back height and the shape of the arms first, because together they create the outline people see from across the room. Then check seat height and seat depth against the person who will use the chair most. The Lichfield armchair and the Norwich armchair are good starting points for that comparison. If a standard model does not quite fit the person or the corner, custom dimensions are available on request, for example a slightly higher seat or a deeper back cushion.
Every Sitdesign armchair is handmade in our own factory in Büyükçekmece, Istanbul, on a kiln-dried beech frame with high-resilience (HR) foam and sprung seating. Upholstered pieces take 3–4 weeks to produce.
A short checklist
- Define what the corner is for: reading, conversation or long lounging.
- Measure the floor area, including room for a footstool and a walkway.
- Plan the light: window side-on, one floor lamp behind the reading hand.
- Choose contrast or continuity for the leather colour and ask for samples.
- Confirm seat height and seat depth for the main user.
If you have a corner in mind, send us its measurements and a photo through our contact page. We will suggest suitable armchair models, send leather samples and prepare a quote.
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