Barcelona Chair With or Without Ottoman: How to Choose for Your Room

Buy the chair alone (from £475) for hallways, landings and formal reception areas where posture is upright. Buy the chair and ottoman set (£649) for reading corners, bedrooms and living rooms where you want to lean back and put your feet up.

The chair does not recline, and that decides it

Our Barcelona style chair is firm and upright by design. Neither the chair nor the footstool reclines. On its own it is a chair for sitting up in: conversation, a short read, waiting in a reception. Add the footstool and your legs are supported, your weight shifts back, and the firm seat becomes somewhere you will happily spend an evening.

So the real question is not budget. It's whether anyone will sit in this chair for more than twenty minutes at a time.

Chair alone vs chair and ottoman

All figures are from the live product listings.

Room by room

• Hallway or landing: chair alone. It needs only about 20 cm behind it, and nobody lingers in a hallway.
• Reception or home office: chair alone, or a pair either side of a small table (roughly 200 cm of wall).
• Living room reading corner: the set. This is where the footstool earns its £174.
• Bedroom: the set, if it's for reading; the chair alone if it's mostly for laying out tomorrow's clothes.

One thing to know before you decide: the ottoman is not sold separately. If you buy the chair alone and change your mind, you can't add the footstool later. The Tan Brown and Red leathers are also only available on the chair alone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the ottoman with a Barcelona chair?

Only if you want to sit for long stretches. The chair is upright and firm; the footstool supports your legs so you can lean back comfortably.

Does the Barcelona chair recline?

No. Neither the chair nor the footstool reclines, which is why the chair needs only about 20 cm of clearance behind it.

How much does the Barcelona chair cost with and without the ottoman?

The chair alone is £475 and the chair and ottoman set is £649.

Can I buy the Barcelona ottoman separately later?

No. The footstool is only sold as part of the chair and ottoman set, so decide before you order.

How much space does the chair and ottoman need?

Allow about 79 × 130 cm of floor, plus roughly 20 cm behind the chair.

Which colours are available?

The chair alone comes in Black, Tan Brown, Cream, White and Red. The set comes in Black, Cream and White.

Sources

The Museum of Modern Art, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona Chair, designed 1929, on the chair's origin at the German Pavilion.

Written by Kamil, Product Curator at Habitat Furnishes. Kamil checks every supplier listing against its spec sheet and answers customer questions about materials and dimensions personally. Last reviewed: 1 October 2026.

Habitat Furnishes sells Barcelona style, inspired-by furniture and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Knoll or the estate of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.