The chair that can transform a room, and where to find it close to home.
There’s a corner in almost every lounge that isn’t quite working. Maybe it’s empty. Maybe it has a plant that’s seen better days, or a floor lamp that doesn’t belong. What it’s probably missing is an occasional chair, and once you find the right one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
The occasional chair is one of the most underestimated pieces of furniture you can buy. Unlike a sofa, which tends to be chosen on practicality (size, how many people it seats, whether the dog is allowed on it) an occasional chair is chosen almost entirely on character. It’s the piece that tells the room who you are.
Why an Occasional Chair is the Ultimate Statement Piece
A well-chosen occasional chair can do things no other piece of furniture can. It can pull together a whole colour palette at once. It can introduce a texture the rest of the room is missing. It can create a focal point that stops a space from feeling flat or forgettable. And it can do all of this while also being genuinely useful: a reading chair, a quiet corner, a spot for a guest that feels considered rather than crammed in.
The key design principle is to resist the urge to match. Your occasional chair doesn’t need to coordinate with your sofa. It needs to complement it. Contrast in shape, texture or colour is almost always more interesting than a suite that comes as a set. Go for something that makes you feel something when you look at it. If you walk past it in the store and glance back, that’s usually a sign.
Scale matters too. An occasional chair should feel like it belongs, not like it’s been squeezed in or lost in the room. In a smaller lounge, a chair with slim legs and an open silhouette keeps the space feeling light. In a larger room, you can afford more volume, a generous wingback or a deep reading chair with an ottoman becomes a destination in itself.
Styles Worth Knowing
The curved armchair. Soft, rounded forms introduce warmth and movement into rooms that can otherwise feel rigid. Particularly effective in spaces with lots of straight lines and hard surfaces.
The mid-century occasional chair. Clean lines, slim legs, a slightly reclined seat. This shape has never really gone out of style and probably never will. It works in contemporary rooms, eclectic rooms, and rooms that don’t quite have a defined style yet.
The statement fabric chair. A bold print, a rich velvet, an unexpected boucle. Sometimes the chair is less about the shape and more about the material. A beautifully upholstered chair in a room of neutrals is one of the easiest wins in interior design.
The Swivel Chair. Deeper, more enveloping, often with a higher back and wider seat, designed for actually sitting in for long stretches. The swivel base earns its keep in rooms that do double duty: a living room that moonlights as a home office, or a bedroom corner that needs to face both a desk and the rest of the space. It turns to meet the moment rather than committing to one direction, which makes it one of the more quietly practical occasional chairs you can buy.
Where to Find Your Chair on the North Shore
The North Shore is exceptionally well-served for occasional chair shopping, and every purchase from a North Shore retailer supports local staff, local delivery teams, and the businesses that keep our high streets and shopping strips alive.
A&C Homestore at 7 Enterprise Street, Birkenhead is a wonderful place to start. A New Zealand owned family business, A&C curates a selection of NZ fashion, homewares, furniture and gifts, inspired by natural materials and earthy colour palettes, with a passion for designing timeless products.
City Hall on Lake Road, Takapuna is a beautifully curated design and lifestyle destination stocking considered furniture pieces alongside homewares and accessories. It describes itself as “the destination for your favourite design and lifestyle brands” and stocks pieces like the Alta Chair in Walnut (pictured above) the kind of occasional chair you buy once and keep forever.
Limited Edition on Link Drive, Wairau Valley is for those who want something genuinely different. Positioned just a short walk from other major furniture retailers but a world apart in style and selection this is the store to visit when you’ve done the rounds and haven’t found anything that feels like you yet.
King Living at Wairau Park is an award-winning Australian-designed furniture brand with a strong occasional chair offering. Every occasional chair design is made to order and available in a collection of premium fabrics and luxurious European leathers with a renowned 25-year steel frame warranty behind every piece. If you’re making a long-term investment in a chair you’ll sit in for decades, this is worth serious consideration.
Nick Scali on Target Road, Wairau Park stocks an extensive range of occasional chairs and armchairs. Available in a range of colours, fabrics and leathers, their pieces are comfortable, elegant and available in configurations including armchair and ottoman combinations — designed to be more than just a corner of a room. Highly regarded for quality and value, with a clearance section at the rear worth exploring.
Ornament in Birkenhead is a well-curated Auckland homewares and furniture store with a strong eye for considered, characterful pieces, making it a good stop if you want accent furniture and the rest of the room sorted in one place.
Hunter Home on Link Drive, Wairau Park is a North Shore favourite for those who want something a little different without going full boutique on the budget. They offer a wide selection of stylish furniture across lounge and occasional categories, with a customisation service allowing you to tailor a piece by size, colour or combination to suit your home.
Main image: Milah armchair from Nick Scali, Wairau Valley.
The Drift is your guide to living well on Auckland’s inner North Shore.
