I Never Pass Up This Versatile Vintage Chair Style When I'm Thrifting
My weakness is vintage chairs. I’ll fall for any shape or style that seems a little out of the ordinary. It doesn’t matter whether these seats seem practical or if I have a spot to fill in my home. Give me four legs and a good deal, and I’m in.
That’s how I ended up sending my husband across town to a monastery to pick up a $40 chair from Facebook Marketplace in a silhouette I’d never seen before.
I couldn’t not get this chair. It was $40 and made of solid wood! It had a faded blue velvet seat that would perfectly match my dining room. I didn’t know what kind of chair it was — just that it was striking in its ornate carvings and strange sideways profile.
Once I had it in hand, I knew it was perfect not only for the look of my space but also for actually sitting in, since it was supercomfortable. At that point, I started Googling various types of descriptions of it to try to figure out its story — this was a time before Google Lens changed the game in antiquing. I discovered it’s what’s called a corner chair, and now I flock to these clever chairs every time I spot one in an antique shop because they’re still relatively affordable.
What Is a Corner Chair?
Thanks to a diagonally oriented seat, four legs, and two slightly curved sides that meet at the back, corner chairs are designed to perfectly hug the body. There is some belief they were created to efficiently use space in — you guessed it! — corners, but the shape could also have been informed by what suited a human body best at the time.
Because of its rounded edges, you can easily sit in the chair while socializing and turn around at a moment’s notice to join a conversation to the side or behind you. Prop your elbow up, and you’ll find you have full movement around the chair. For this reason, they’re sometimes referred to as roundabout chairs or elbow chairs.
Traditional corner chairs are often made from solid wood, like mahogany or walnut, with an upholstered seat, and, whether they have Georgian, Gothic, Victorian, or Chippendale roots, they’ll typically have some iteration of ornate carvings. Cabriole legs — curved and tapered in silhouette — are common.
It turns out corner chairs are the 18th century version of the lounge chair, and their popularity lasted well into the 1930s, if this article in a 1931 edition of Popular Science Monthly is any indication. These pieces may have an imposing stately look, particularly when rendered in mahogany with ornate scroll-like carvings, but the silhouette is actually designed for relaxing. Apparently, a corner chair is what you’d plop down in if you were a late 1700s gentleman ready for a pint of beer and a pipe. Patrick Henry is said to have had one in his home, and Colonial Williamsburg even sells a reproduction version of said corner chair.
Why I’m Completely Taken with Corner Chairs
When I bought this chair, which you can see above in my photos, I had no idea if it was going to be comfortable. I had a small spot to fill near my dining room, and this looked like it would do the trick in an artful way. Was it going to be somewhere I would actually sit? At $40, it felt worth the gamble.
With its ornate wood carvings, it’s not exactly giving off a “Take a load off and sit for a spell!” vibes. But once you actually plop down in it, it’s shockingly comfortable. Because the two sides meet in a curve at the back, it’s incredibly supportive — it’s like it was actually designed to be ergonomic.
The look of the chair stops you in your tracks, though. If you’re not familiar with the shape, you immediately want to know more. And, because they carry more visual weight than, say, a standard wood dining chair, these pieces can stand alone in a seating area. A corner chair is so versatile, a little bit mysterious, and exactly the piece you need when you’re not sure exactly what your room is missing, but you know it’s something old and ornate.
Plus, the best part is, these chairs seem to be in low demand on the secondhand market at the moment — and that’s what I like to see when thrifting. A quick Facebook Marketplace search in my city, Washington, DC, showed several in the $50 to $75 range, which is exactly what you want to spend when springing for a slightly frivolous chair that will most certainly find a home in your home.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space
