Wing Chair Slipcover

Wingback Chair

What is a wing chair? It's a chair that has special "wings" around the top which would help surround the head of the person sitting there. A hundred years ago it helped protect from drafts and helped trap the heat from a fireplace in the chair so the person sitting there would be warm. It was commonly used in formal settings and also next to fireplaces. Today it's not really needed for draft protection or heat retention, it's used almost exclusively for its aethetic nature and reminder of a more formal time.

We had a couple of these wing chairs in our house when I was growing up. I like them because when you're sitting in it you can lean your head over and rest it on one of the wings. They do look formal and will definitely spruce up a room quite nicely. Some of them are not padded well, so they can be a tad uncomfortable unless you buy one with sufficient padding in the back and seat. There are some that recline now, which makes them more flexible and able to be used in combination rooms that are sometimes formal, sometimes casual.

You can go to any furniture store and find one. They are sometimes part of a larger living room set, but often times they are sold seperately because they are really only necessary in formal living rooms and more people prefer the casual setting. You can buy them from internet retailers, but this is really something you should get from a more local store so you can try it out, get a feel for it, and make sure the color matches your current furniture correctly.

We have pictures on this page to show you the basic style of the chair itself.