A side chair is a chair without arms, originally designed to stand against the wall of a room when not in use and to be drawn forward as needed. The term is now used broadly for any armless dining, bedroom, hall or occasional chair, as distinct from an armchair or carver.
In the eighteenth-century house, furniture was arranged formally around the edges of a room, and sets of side chairs lined the walls of drawing rooms, saloons and dining rooms beneath pier glasses and between windows. As a result, many side chairs were made in long sets, sometimes with a pair of matching armchairs. Their design followed the fashions of the day, from the vase-shaped splats of the Queen Anne period to the pierced, carved backs of Chippendale chairs, the shield and oval backs of the Hepplewhite style, the rectilinear Sheraton designs and the balloon backs of the Victorian era. Collectors value good sets highly, and a long set commands a considerable premium over the same number of single chairs. Buyers should check that chairs in a set genuinely match, that joints are sound, and that legs have not been replaced or shortened. Single chairs suit bedrooms and landings.
