The 12 Most Comfortable Accent Chairs for Sitting Down With a Good Book

This West Elm swivel chair is roomy enough to sit cross-legged comfortably in for hours. With 360 degrees of swivel and a seat that’s 33.8 inches deep, it’s so inviting that you’re bound to make it your reading nook. Choose from a variety of colors and fabrics, as well as add-on features like stain resistance and high durability.

Target’s exclusive furniture line Threshold teamed up with Studio McGee for a coastal-inspired collection, and this accent chair is one of our favorite pieces from the collab. The cream-colored upholstery and brown wooden frame blend nicely with most living areas—the downside here is that it only comes in one color option, so if it clashes with your space, it’s probably not for you.

It’s an accessible piece at less than $500 at Target, yet it has an elegant look thanks to the braided wood details. The seat cushion is halfway between soft and firm, so it’s a good option if you can’t decide which kind of seat you want.

Now this is a statement accent chair. It works nicely in a living room corner or bedroom where you’ll appreciate its oversized, enveloping shape and plush, tailored look. What makes it unique is the combination of a sculptural, seamless silhouette with an ultra-soft shearling feel (it’s also offered in boucle upholstery), plus the ability to choose either a fixed base or a swivel base depending on how you use the space.

Potential setbacks are the higher price, the extra care shearling can require (it can mat easily and isn’t as forgiving with spills or pet hair), and its large footprint. Also note that while there is a matching ottoman for a full lounge setup, it’s sold separately.

This low-profile lounge chair is perfect for people who like a more reclined posture rather than upright task seating. It takes inspiration from both Scandinavian mid-century design and Brazilian modernism and features exaggerated armrests, rounded wooden legs, and a low, enveloping seat. You can choose from white or beige boucle upholstery and dark stained or natural oak for the frame. Note that there are no returns on oversized items, so make sure the chair will definitely work in your space before ordering.

If you do want a large leather recliner, go with Arhaus’s Rowland chair. It’s generously sized with sink-in cushions and relaxed flanged edges, yet the tailored silhouette and high back keep it from being a giant, bulky man-cave throne. You can park yourself here for a while and stay comfortable thanks to the chair’s solid head and upper back support and easy, smooth recline—two-button motion controls let you kick up the footrest and dial in your lounging angle without wrestling a lever.

Under the hood, it’s built with a solid, reinforced hardwood frame, no-sag springs, and a cozy mix of dense foam plus down/feather padding in the seat, with supportive foam/poly fiber in the back. Not that it’s power-reclining, so you’ll need to plug in to an outlet (it comes with a 10.5′ cord), and you’ll want about 12″ of clearance behind it to fully recline. Also, it’s an investment piece, so make sure to order leather swatches first to make sure the color is exactly right.

This oversized reading chair is relaxed yet polished; it’s large and low-slung with a clean, modern silhouette, plush cushions, and warm wood legs (natural or walnut). You can choose between cream or gray performance fabric, which beads up liquids so you can easily clean it in case of a spill. Its loungey, sink-in build is great for reading—the pocket-spring seat is topped with foam/fiber and feather fill so it feels more like a sofa than a stiff accent chair.

Note that the seat height is on the lower side, which can feel a bit too low for taller people or anyone who wants an easier in-and-out perch, and the super-plush, relaxed feel can be a little too soft if you need firmer back support or a more upright reading posture.

Article’s Ellow chair is a great stealth recliner for readers who want to kick back without turning their living room into a home-theater zone. It nails a mid-century-inspired look with clean lines and solid walnut legs while hiding a simple push-back recline with three angles, so it feels more like a stylish lounge chair than a bulky recliner. We like it for apartment dwellers and anyone building a reading corner; it’s compact at just 28.5″ wide, but still offers that lean-back comfort when you want to settle in.

Customization is more limited than some of the other options here—your choices for upholstery are a gray or blue polyester-acrylic blend or tan leather (which jacks up the price quite a bit).

This boucle accent chair is our favorite budget-friendly option, with the added convenience of being easy to order from Amazon. Design-wise, it leans modern and cozy: a contemporary, oversized silhouette wrapped in soft, breathable boucle, paired with a sleek black metal frame for a clean, minimalist contrast. It’s a great pick for anyone who wants a soft, sink-in reading chair with an extra-wide seat and high-density foam cushioning. Note that the chair’s larger footprint can overwhelm smaller spaces, and lighter boucle (especially cream) may take a bit more care to keep clean.

This slipcovered chair from Pottery Barn is a cozy, classic pick for those who want comfort on a swivel. It combines an elegant, slope-armed look with an easy, approachable slipcovered design, which makes it more approachable than the precious accent chair. It’s especially good for family rooms, nurseries, and reading corners where you want something soft and welcoming, and where being able to refresh the look with different slipcover fabrics and colors is a big plus.

Slipcovers do need some upkeep, since they can wrinkle, shift, and need occasional straightening and cleaning. The overall vibe of this chair is more traditional or coastal rather than modern, so it may not match a super sleek, contemporary space as easily as some of the other options here.

Another great reading chair for a living room, a bedroom corner, or a cozy office, AllModern’s Tyndall chair looks inviting enough to turn a bit of reading into a midday nap. It has a wide, comfortable base, made even more open with those angled arms. The cushioning is firm, but not uncomfortably so. It has a good level of support for anyone whose back or joints ache when they sink into super-soft furniture. As a bonus for the messy, the fabric is stain resistant—and the cushions are reversible.