Tall backs, curved wings and hand-tied buttoning define every Chesterfield wingback armchair in the collection. Each wing chair is made to order in Manchester in leather, velvet, wool or tweed, with free UK delivery in six to eight weeks.
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Every other seat in a room asks politely for its place, and then there is the one with the high back and the winged sides that simply takes it. A wingback chair is the piece people notice from the doorway, before they register the rug or the lighting. It throws a genuine shadow up the wall behind it, which no low slung accent chair has ever managed.
The shape began as pure practicality in draughty British houses, where the wings trapped the heat of an open fire and sheltered the sitter from the cold. Very few homes need that now, yet the silhouette has outlived the problem it solved by three hundred years.
Here is the part that surprises people, because a Chesterfield wing chair is not one design at all.
If you are unsure where to begin, order up to six free swatches and they will reach you within a few working days.
A sofa fills a wall while a wingback armchair fills a corner, which is a far more useful thing in most British homes. It works in rooms where seating is usually an afterthought, from wide hallways and landings through to bedrooms and studies.
Choosing is less about the prettiest photograph and more about how much presence you want, since scale changes a room’s mood more than colour does.
THE TRADITIONAL WINGS The Conrad, the Woodstock, the Audley, the Keston, the Montana and the Colwyn carry the classic proportions with full buttoning and generously curved wings. Each comes in three back heights, so one design can suit a small study or a large drawing room.
COMPACT AND EASY TO PLACE The Orkney Short lowers the back slightly and tucks neatly into a hallway, a landing or a bedroom corner where a full height design would crowd the space.
SCALED UP The Grande Woodstock takes the familiar shape and grows it, holding its own in rooms with high ceilings and tall windows.
GENUINELY COMMANDING The Goliath is the largest chair we build and the most theatrical, while the Barwell and the Clifton bring a similar authority in quieter proportions. The Warwick and the Belvoir complete the collection, each built in a single size.
A LITTLE MORE CONTEMPORARY The Mistral softens the traditional lines, which suits interiors leaning transitional rather than strictly period in feel.
A leather wingback armchair is the first thing most people picture, since a good hide only becomes more beautiful as its patina develops across the wings and around the buttoning. A single chair is a small enough canvas to be adventurous with, so many people choose something here they would never risk across a sofa.
A wing chair asks very little from the rest of the room, which is exactly why designers keep reaching for one.
Walls that work. Soft white and warm neutrals let the tall silhouette read clearly against the wall behind it. Deep forest green or ink blue behind a tan hide is one of the loveliest pairings there is. Panelling, picture rails and period detailing all flatter the shape.
Textures that flatter. A floor lamp angled over one shoulder turns any wing chair into a proper reading corner, with aged brass lighting and open shelving doing the rest. A Chesterfield footstool completes the lounging position and doubles as extra seating.
The personality shifts noticeably with the scale, so it is worth measuring the room before settling on a design.
Every chair is handmade in Manchester using time honoured techniques, so each seam reflects the care that goes into a piece meant to last generations, with the frame beneath carrying our ten year guarantee.
A wingback chair is a high backed armchair with side panels, known as wings, that curve forward from the back to the arms. Wing chair, wing back chair and winged armchair are all names for the same design.
The wings were designed to trap the heat of an open fire and shelter the sitter from draughts in cold British houses. The high back supports the head and neck, which is why it remains the best reading seat ever designed.
A Chesterfield armchair keeps its back and arms at one low height, while a wing chair lifts the back to head height and adds the wings. Choose the armchair to match a sofa and the wing chair for a reading or fireside corner.
Most designs come in three sizes, so the same silhouette can suit a small study or a large drawing room. Measure the ceiling height as well as the floor space, since a tall back reads very differently under a low ceiling.
Yes. A chair is often the sensible answer where a sofa will not fit at all. The Orkney Short lowers the back slightly and tucks into a hallway or a bedroom corner without crowding it.
Anywhere seating is usually an afterthought, including wide hallways, landings, bedrooms and studies. Angle a floor lamp over one shoulder and the chair becomes a proper reading corner rather than simply another seat.
The shape was built for precisely that, since the wings once trapped the fire’s warmth. Keep a sensible distance from the heat, which dries out a hide over time.
Every wing chair is made to order in Manchester and delivered free in six to eight weeks. Chairs available sooner are listed under in stock Chesterfield chairs.
Yes, you can sit in the designs at showrooms in Manchester, Huddersfield, London and the Cotswolds. You can also order up to six free swatches to check colour and texture at home.
Yes. A matched pair either side of a fireplace creates the symmetry period rooms almost always ask for. Order them together so the hides are cut from the same batch and the colours match exactly.
