• Whether at the table or by the wall, a side chair is essentialold sewing machine / mini chair image by Rog999 from Fotolia.com
  
  The side chair is any chair used in a seating arrangement--at a table, a wall or a focal point such as a fireplace. The purpose of the side chair is to provide seating in a space without filling the space with arm chairs, upholstered chairs or other seating that would leave room for nothing else.
  
  

Chippendale Side Chair

• A favorite Chippendale style is horned with pierced slat. This chair is solid wood with an upholstered, ample seat. The upholstery may sometimes extend over the front rail. Look for the raised end like a blunt-ended horn. Chair specialists call this the “ear." The open-splat back is constructed of solid wood. Look for a decorative motif.
  
  

French Gilt Side Chair

• The French have long been famous for their gilded furniture. The gild work many times resembles small splatters on a white or off-white ground. A favorite French gilt chair is the shell-backed French chair. Besides the gilt work, the chair employs the typical shell motif. Look for soft elliptical curves at the top rail which run toward the seat while diminishing the overall width of the shell base. Look for a wall in a lady’s boudoir where this chair can feel really at home.
  
  

Parsons Side Chair

• The Parsons side chair is a straight-lined chair with a somewhat backward slope. The Parsons side chair may or may not have an upholstered back. However, the typical Parsons chair has an upholstered seat. The seat upholstery covers the seating frame. Straight, tapered legs without feet run out of the upholstered seat. Look for front legs that are slightly splayed and back legs that run in the same line as the stiles.