Understanding Chair Anatomy

Furniture is made of many parts, and the parts chosen can make a big difference. When picking out a new piece of furniture for your space, or working on reupholstering something, you’ll want to make sure you pick the right pieces for the furniture’s usage.

This means that you’ll have to assess what the furniture is used for…

Assessing Your Furniture Needs

Will you be moving this item around? Perhaps a chair, bed, table, or sofa? Then maybe you should think about finding some castors for furniture so that you can switch locations or change the layout of rooms easily.

Will it be a high traffic area? Then you’ll need something solid and sturdy – meaning choosing something with firmer cushions or stronger legs.

Is the piece meant for an outside area? Consider weather resistant, natural materials, and covering to keep things extra safe and clean.

Choosing the Right Parts

In this article, we’ll be looking primarily at the parts that make up chairs, and how a different selection of materials can not only change their look but also their function.

So whether you’re shopping or planning some DIY fixes and need the right upholstery supplies, here’s a guide to furniture anatomy, so you can pick the right pieces for you…

Furniture Styles

There’s a lot of different chair styles out there; dining chairs, armchairs, accent chairs and more. Each with a different intended use, such as eating, relaxing, or just sitting in style.

Each type of chair shares common structural parts between each other chair style, as well as other pieces of furniture. And getting these parts right can greatly affect durability and comfort.

These parts are as follows:

Backrest

Provides support for the back. Height and design varies on the type of chair so consider this depending on the type of chair you’re looking for.

Dining chairs have shorter, firmer backs, whilst armchairs, sofas and recliners will generally have taller, usually padded, backrests for relaxing comfortably.

Seat

The seat takes most of the weight so this is the most important thing to consider in terms of comfort and durability.

Dining chairs and outside chairs tend to have firmer seats and are lighter and easily movable, as they won’t be used for necessarily as long a time as furniture like armchairs.

For armchairs, sofas or even office chairs, more padding will be required due to their extended use. You’ll want to get the right level of firm and softness. Too soft, you’ll just sink, too hard and you’ll soon experience backache.

Legs

Like most furniture, various types of legs are available, and their material, durability, and height all come into play – depending on the item of furniture and its use.

Chair legs are important for providing stability and come in styles such as straight, tapered, or curved. Some modern styles feature sled bases (think school chairs and office chairs) and pedestal bases (bar chairs, some gamer chairs) rather than four separate legs.

In other types of furniture, legs are also important, though more optional depending on style. Legs can be used on tables, sofas, and beds.

Height is an important factor, too tall or too short may be uncomfortable. Office chairs will usually feature adjustable height and wheels, as they may be used by people of different heights that want to get a better angle to view their screen.

Arms

Not all chairs feature armrests, this is completely optional in some chairs but are definitely needed for armchairs, many sofas, and recliners, as they are their main priority is to offer comfort.

Dining chairs, outside chairs, and office chairs are more likely to feature armrests in some form. More old-fashioned styled chairs or dining chairs will feature wooden arms, if these are not comfortable, upholstered material can be added.

Office chairs usually feature padded arms in whatever material that matches what the rest of the chair design uses – be it fabric, faux leather or anything else.

Skirt

These are fabric panels that hang over the leg of certain styles of upholstered chairs, sofas or beds. This is more common on classic or traditional furniture and can give an elegant, vintage aesthetic.

Final Thoughts

The parts of a chair or any other furniture are important to consider, pick the wrong chair for the wrong use and it could lead to frustration, damage, or wasted money. Always research before purchasing furniture outright or materials for upholstery projects.