HOW TO: PAIR A SOFA WITH ACCENT CHAIRS

Your living room should make a statement and speak to your unique sense of style. But when it comes to choosing a sofa and accent chairs, finding the dynamic duo that looks perfect together, gives your room personality, and creates a comfy conversation and lounging space can be a bit tricky. 

Our guide will help you break through any confusion and lead you straight to the sofa and accent chair combo that was meant to be in your home. 

What to Look For in a Sofa and Accent Chair Combo

Before you start shopping, there are a few things to keep in mind that will help you narrow down your search and point you in the right direction to options that will work together. 

Scale. Choose a sofa and chairs that are of similar scale and proportion to one another. This will keep one from overpowering the other and give your look balance. To compare the scale between two pieces, take a look at how high the backs are, how deep and wide they are, and how large the arms are. 

Seat height. Select a sofa and chairs with similar seat heights (within 4 inches of each other) so everyone is eye-to-eye -- otherwise, your guests might feel like they’re sitting at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving. 

Pattern. As a general guideline, if your sofa is patterned, choose solid chairs -- and vice versa. 

Color. Because a sofa and chairs are significant pieces of furniture, they will set the color scheme of the room. If you are ready to introduce new hues to your look, your sofa and chairs are a natural way to achieve that.

Leg style. To keep your room from feeling visually out of balance, keep leg style and height in mind.  A chair with long, lean legs can help break up the look of a heavy sofa. 

Style. If your look is classic farmhouse, you can go full-on traditional with vintage furnishings and traditional fabrics. But if you like to mix it up, use your design style to guide you toward the looks that will work well with your style -- like modern or industrial. 

Shape. You don’t have to mirror the shape of your sofa in your chairs exactly, but you can use the form and contours of your pieces as a reference to find furnishings that are of similar shape and will naturally look good together.  

Some of Our Favorite Dynamic Duos

Create Your Signature Living Room Look

Ready to start creating your own look? Get inspired by browsing through our collection of sofas and accent chairs to create a style that’s uniquely you. Don’t forget to add colorful pillows and cozy throws to pull your one-of-a-kind look together.