How to Choose an Armchair: A Living Room Guide

How to Choose an Armchair for Your Living Room

By Alexandra PetterssonReviewed by Alexander TjernströmUpdated 27 September 2026

Short answer

Use: first: reading, relaxing or guests
90 cm: Walkway, as a rule of thumb
20 min: test we recommend before you buy

Start with how you will use the armchair: reading and long evenings call for a deep seat and a full-height back, conversation and guests for a more upright chair. Then check that it fits the room, allowing about 90 cm of walkway around it as a rule of thumb, choose a fabric for your household and a frame for the room: solid oak for warmth, black steel for a slim line. We recommend trying it for 20 minutes before you commit.

An armchair is the one piece of living room furniture most people choose for a single person: the reader, the one who falls asleep in front of the fire, the guest who needs a seat of their own. That makes the choice personal, and easy to get wrong in a showroom, where every chair feels comfortable for a minute. This guide works through the decision in order: what you will use the armchair for, how much room it needs, what makes it comfortable, which fabric and frame suit your home, and how to test it. Every figure is in centimetres, with the measurements of our own armchairs, Kent and Einar.

What should you look for when buying an armchair?

Look at how you will use it first, then the size, the seat, the fabric and the frame, in that order.

An armchair that is right for reading is wrong for a quick coffee with guests, and a chair that looks perfect online can swamp a small room. Deciding the use first narrows everything that follows.

The chart below turns the main uses into what to look for.

What to look for in an armchair, by how you will use it
Use	Seat	Back	Which chair
Reading and long evenings	Deep, 50 cm or more	Full height, supports the shoulders	Kent, Einar
TV and relaxing	Deep and low	Leans back slightly	Kent, Einar
Conversation and guests	Medium depth, higher seat	Upright	A dining chair with arms
Bedroom or corner seat	Compact footprint	Any	Kent, 67 cm wide

How big should an armchair be for your room?

Most armchairs are 65 to 85 cm wide and 75 to 90 cm deep; as a rule of thumb, allow about 90 cm of clear walkway around the chair on top of that.

Measure the floor space before you look at chairs, and mark the footprint with tape. A chair that fits on paper can still block a door or a route through the room.

Our Kent is 67 x 82 cm and Einar 71 x 81 cm. Our armchair dimensions guide covers every measurement, including seat height and depth.

What makes an armchair comfortable?

A seat deep enough to lean back in, a back that supports you to the shoulders, arms at a height where your forearms rest naturally, and cushions firm enough to hold their shape.

Lounge armchairs sit lower and deeper than dining chairs, which is what lets you relax into them. Kent and Einar have a 38 cm seat height, a 53 cm seat depth and arms at 49 cm, with full-height back cushions.

A low, deep seat is wonderful for reading but harder to get up from. If that matters in your household, read what makes an armchair comfortable before you choose.

Close-up of the Armchair Kent featuring a soft ivory bouclé cushion and sleek black frame. — Kent's deep bouclé seat on a slim black steel frame.

Which fabric is best for an armchair?

Vegan leather is the easiest to clean, velvet the softest and richest, and bouclé the warmest and the most forgiving with pets.

The fabric decides how the armchair ages. A chair used every evening needs a weave rated for heavy wear; all three of our fabrics are rated at 50,000 Martindale or more, above the 30,000 rubs usually specified for commercial seating.

Our guide to the best fabric for an armchair compares them for children, pets and cleaning. You can order fabric samples to see and feel them at home.

Should an armchair have a wooden or a metal frame?

Choose solid oak for warmth and a classic Scandinavian look, and black steel for a slimmer, more graphic line; both carry 200 kg and our 10-year warranty.

The frame is what you see most of on a lounge armchair, so it sets the style. Oak brings grain and a softer mood, steel draws a thin outline that keeps a room feeling open.

Einar is our solid oak armchair, in Oak, Dark Oak and Black Oak; Kent is the same seat on a welded black steel frame. Our guide to oak or steel armchairs compares the two in detail.

Armchair Einar in greige bouclé on a dark stained oak frame in a minimalist concrete interior — Einar in dark oak with a greige bouclé seat.View Kent

Kent ArmchairFour frame colours · from 6 595 krView Kent

How do you test an armchair before buying?

As a rule of thumb, sit in it for at least 20 minutes, the way you actually will: with a book, with your feet up, leaning back, and then stand up without using your hands.

A quick sit tells you how soft a chair is, not whether your back is still happy after an hour, or whether the seat is too low for you to rise from easily.

That is why we let you order a single test armchair with free returns, and samples of every fabric and wood, before you decide. Browse our armchairs to choose one to try.

Choosing an armchair in three steps

Use: decides the seat depth and the back.
90 cm: Walkway around the armchair, as a rule of thumb.
20 min: in the chair, our recommended test before you commit.

Decide the use first: deep and full-backed for reading, more upright for conversation. Check the footprint and, as a rule of thumb, leave about 90 cm of walkway around it. Then choose the fabric for your household and the frame for your room, and we recommend sitting in it for 20 minutes before you commit. Kent and Einar are made in our own factory in Malmö, Sweden, delivered fully assembled and covered by a 10-year warranty.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important thing when choosing an armchair?

How you will use it. Reading and relaxing need a deep seat and a full-height back; conversation and guests need a more upright chair with a higher seat.

How much space do you need for an armchair?

The chair's own footprint, typically 65 to 85 cm wide, plus, as a planning guide, about 90 cm of walkway around it.

Is a low armchair comfortable?

For reading and relaxing, yes: a low, deep seat lets you lean back. It is harder to get up from, which matters for older people or anyone with stiff knees.

What is the best fabric for an armchair with children?

Vegan leather, which wipes clean. Our Valencia vegan leather is rated at 300,000 Martindale and carries an easy-clean finish.

Should I choose an oak or a metal armchair?

Oak for warmth and a classic Scandinavian feel, black steel for a slim, graphic line. Our Einar and Kent share the same seat, so it is purely a question of style.

Can I try a by Crea armchair at home?

Yes. Order a single test armchair with free returns, or samples of every fabric and wood, and decide in your own room.