BH | Studio Blois Wingback Armchair

The wing chair first appeared in England in the late seventeenth century, its tall back and side wings built to shield a sitter from fireside draughts. In France, the cabriole leg, curving out at the knee and in at the ankle, became the signature of Louis XV furniture, and deep buttoning came of age in the nineteenth century.

This armchair has a tall, deep-buttoned back with small wings at the shoulders, rolled arms and a broad seat, all upholstered in a stain-resistant performance velvet, edged in fine piping, so everyday spills at the table are easy to deal with. Dense foam sits over sinuous springs, a zigzag of wire beneath the seat that gives a gentle, lasting bounce, and the 20-inch seat height suits a standard dining table. It stands on carved cabriole legs in weathered grey wood, with plastic caps on the feet, and is rated to hold 300 lbs.

Sized for the head of a dining table, it also works as a small accent chair: beside the fire in a living room, in a bedroom corner with a reading lamp, at a home office desk, or in an entrance hall where guests take off their boots. The velvet looks rich by candlelight, against a plaid throw, brass sconces and a wall of framed etchings. This listing is for one chair.