Fabric. Legs. Build. Yours.
Every chair we make starts the same way: with you. No showroom shelf, no take it or leave it upholstery — just a chair built to your choices, from the ground up. Here’s what that actually looks like, step by step.
Step 1 — Choose Your Chair
Start with the shape. Our range spans classic wing chairs, tailored armchairs, tub chairs and bobbin frames — traditional silhouettes with a contemporary edge, each one built to be sat in for generations, not just looked at.
Not sure which suits your room? That’s what the studio is for — come and sit in a few before you decide.
Step 2 — Choose Your Fabric
This is where the chair becomes yours. We hold hundreds of fabrics in the studio — weaves, velvets, linens, checks and prints — and if you already have a fabric in mind from a brand you love, in most cases we can work with that too.
Order a swatch before you commit. Fabric always looks different in your own light than it does on a screen, and we’d rather you fall in love with it at home than have second thoughts once it’s built.
Step 3 — Choose Your Legs
Every chair comes with a choice of wood finish for the legs, from pale natural tones through to deep ebony, so the base can match — or contrast — with your fabric.
Most of our customers are happy with the standard leg style for their chair. If you have something more specific in mind — a different leg shape, a castor, a particular height — give us a ring. It’s not something we can show for every option online, but it’s very often possible, and we’d rather talk it through than have you assume it isn’t on offer.
Step 4 — We Build It
Once your order is confirmed, your chair is handcrafted in Nottingham by upholsterers who’ve been doing this for a long time. Nothing is pulled from a warehouse — the frame, the fill and the fabric all come together for your chair alone. That’s why lead times run to several weeks rather than several days; it’s the trade-off for something made properly.
We supply private homes, but also interior designers, hospitality spaces and commercial projects — the process is the same whoever it’s for.
Step 5 — Delivery
When your chair is ready, it comes to you via two-man white-glove delivery across the UK mainland — carried in, not left on the doorstep.
The Short Version
Chair, fabric, legs, built in Nottingham, delivered with care. That’s the whole idea behind Occasional Chairs — proper bespoke upholstery, made accessible, one chair at a time.
Ready to start? Book a studio visit or order a free sample to begin.