Baylen Lane | Home • Splurge or Save
A beautiful leather accent chair has a way of making a room feel instantly warmer, more collected, and more sophisticated.
And while genuine leather furniture can be an investment, creating that timeless look doesn't necessarily require choosing the highest-priced option.
For this edition of Baylen Lane's Splurge or Save, we found two genuine leather accent chairs with a remarkably similar aesthetic at very different price points: the Sand & Stable Leyla Genuine Leather Square Arm Accent Chair from Wayfair and the Modway Impart Accent Chair from Ashley Furniture.
Both offer warm leather, tailored silhouettes, and classic styling that can work beautifully in a living room, bedroom, home office, or reading corner. The question is whether the additional details of the splurge are worth the higher price—or whether the save delivers everything you need for considerably less.
Why Genuine Leather Accent Chairs Have Timeless Appeal
Leather furniture has remained a decorating staple for generations, and there's a reason it continues to work in so many different interiors.
Warm brown and cognac leather bring natural color and texture into a room without relying on a passing trend. A classic leather chair can complement traditional, transitional, rustic, modern, and even relaxed coastal interiors depending on the pieces surrounding it.
It's also an easy way to add contrast to a room filled with lighter upholstery. Against cream walls, linen sofas, natural woods, woven rugs, and soft neutral textiles, warm leather can give a space the depth it needs to feel finished.
For anyone searching for living room accent chair ideas or timeless furniture that can transition through changing decorating styles, genuine leather is worth considering.
The Splurge: Sand & Stable Leyla Genuine Leather Square Arm Accent Chair
The splurge is the Sand & Stable Leyla Genuine Leather Square Arm Accent Chair from Wayfair, currently listed at $879.99. Wayfair describes the chair as having top-grain leather on the seating surfaces, fiber-wrapped foam cushions, piped detailing, sloped square arms, and tapered espresso-finished legs. The exterior back and portions of the arms that aren't contact surfaces use matching PU.
What makes the Leyla stand out is its more substantial, traditional appearance. The generously cushioned seat and back combined with the darker, slightly weathered-looking leather give it the character of a chair that could settle naturally into a room rather than feeling overly new or trendy.
We could picture it beside a fireplace, paired with a linen sofa, tucked into a reading corner, or incorporated into a warm transitional living room.
Why choose the splurge?
Choose the Leyla if you prefer a more substantial chair, appreciate its classic detailing, or simply love the richer character of its design enough to justify spending more.
Shop the Sand & Stable Leyla Genuine Leather Square Arm Accent Chair at Wayfair
The Save: Modway Impart Genuine Leather Accent Chair
Our save is the Modway Impart Accent Chair from Ashley Furniture, currently listed at $488.99. Ashley describes the Impart as a genuine top-grain leather armchair with French piping, dense foam padding, spring-coil support, and tapered walnut-stained rubberwood legs. Its overall dimensions are 35.5 inches wide by 31.5 inches deep by 28 inches high.
At nearly $400 less than the splurge at the prices we checked, the Impart offers something important: you're not giving up genuine leather simply to reach the lower price point.
Its cleaner silhouette gives it a slightly more modern feeling, but the warm tan leather and tapered wood legs retain the timeless character we're looking for.
This is the option we'd consider when the goal is to achieve the overall look while keeping more room in the decorating budget for the rest of the space.
Shop the Modway Impart Accent Chair at Ashley Furniture
Prices were verified at the time of publication and may change.
Splurge vs. Save: What's the Real Difference?
This comparison is especially interesting because the decision isn't simply about paying more to get genuine leather.
Both chairs offer genuine leather upholstery.
Instead, you're deciding which combination of silhouette, detailing, proportions, finish, and price works best for your home.
The Leyla has a more substantial, classic appearance that may appeal to someone creating a traditional or collected interior. The Impart has a cleaner profile that can work especially well in transitional and modern spaces.
Neither approach is inherently better.
That's the point of Splurge or Save.
Beautiful decorating isn't about automatically choosing the most expensive piece. It's about recognizing which details matter to you—and knowing where you're comfortable saving.
How to Style a Cognac or Brown Leather Accent Chair
A warm leather chair can become an anchor piece in a room without requiring everything around it to match.
Try pairing one with cream or ivory upholstery, warm wood tones, a natural woven rug, linen or cotton pillows, soft throws, aged brass accents, and greenery.
For a lighter coastal-inspired room, the contrast of cognac leather against whites, sandy neutrals, muted blues, and natural textures can keep the space from feeling too pale.
In autumn and winter, deeper greens, plaids, warm woods, and heavier textiles can take the same chair in an entirely different direction.
That's one reason we consider classic leather furniture so versatile: the surrounding accessories can change while the chair remains relevant.
The Baylen Lane Verdict
The Leyla is our splurge for the person who falls in love with its richer, more substantial appearance and is comfortable investing more to get those particular details.
But the Modway Impart makes a compelling case for the save.
At the prices we found, there's approximately a $391 difference between the two, yet the Impart still provides genuine leather upholstery, wood legs, and a polished silhouette.
For us, that's what makes this a true Splurge or Save—not a comparison between luxury and compromise, but between two attractive ways to achieve a similar timeless look at different budgets.
Beautiful style doesn't have to fit just one budget.
Which would you choose: Splurge or Save?
Shop the Chairs
SPLURGE — Sand & Stable Leyla Genuine Leather Square Arm Accent Chair
Wayfair | $879.99 at the time checked
Shop the Leyla Chair at Wayfair
SAVE — Modway Impart Accent Chair
Ashley Furniture | $488.99 at the time checked
Shop the Modway Impart Chair at Ashley Furniture
Retail prices and availability can change. Check the retailer for current pricing before purchasing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are genuine leather accent chairs still in style?
Yes. Genuine leather accent chairs have a classic quality that allows them to work across many decorating styles. Choosing a relatively simple silhouette rather than an extremely trend-driven design can also help a chair remain versatile as the rest of the room evolves.
What color sofa works with a cognac leather chair?
Cream, ivory, beige, taupe, gray, and many muted colors pair beautifully with cognac or warm brown leather. The contrast between lighter upholstery and warm leather is especially effective for creating a layered, collected living room.
Can leather accent chairs work in a coastal-style home?
Absolutely. Leather can add warmth and contrast to coastal interiors when paired with lighter colors, natural fibers, woven textures, weathered woods, and subtle blues or greens.
Is the Modway Impart chair genuine leather?
Yes. Ashley currently describes the Impart as having genuine leather upholstery, and Modway identifies the upholstery as genuine top-grain leather.