What kind of chair? I'd check out Big Lots, for low priced furniture. You might come across a chair that would do just fine.

I'd look on Craigslist. You sometimes find lightly used decent furniture for a song.

I was thinking something maybe club chair-ish? Or along the shape of a Bergere style but with fully upholstered arms so the wood doesn't get all scratched up. I want comfortable (because we will use it occasionally also, I'm sure) but not a big over-stuffed type armchair, and not too big in the space (like a wingback can be) so it doesn't overpower things visually.

Our style is basically transitional as much as it can be with mostly inherited pieces - we're gradually working towards something harmonious but sometimes there's rather a lot of debate about what that is, so it is slow going. (My SO is far too fond of very modern striking looking things that are completely impractical for our lifestyle.)

I'm a little nervous of second hand upholstered stuff because of the risk of bedbugs. I would never have thought of Big Lots, though, thanks. :)

I should add the house is 1930s so we are attempting to be sensitive to that somewhat - we end up at transitional between the age of the house and the SO's tendency to like more modern stuff.

Are you near a Raymour and Flanigan? I helped my youngest buy a sofa bed there. I was surprised at how comfortable the chairs were! If you can catch a sale, it's worth a look.

High end consignment stores.

There are high end consignment stores for furniture?

I have had good luck with pier one furniture. It is very affordable and has held up to kids and pets. I also have had inexpensive living room furniture from pilgrims and Bobs that has faired well in the seven years the have been heavily used.

Yes, high end consignment shops do exist. There are a couple of them in the Boston area.

I'm going to go looking for consignment shops of that sort now, just to see what they have even if it doesn't solve the chair problem. :)

I just want to say THANK-YOU for wanting to buy your new dog a chair! My 3 rescues only use the floor to get from whatever chair or sofa they're in to another one.

It's not great decor, but I cover mine with Sure-Fit covers or (horrors!) sheets. Riley likes my office chair (I work from home) and is either in it with me, or by himself. It's a wonderful Craigslist find - the Hancock Moore Berwind chair.

I have to admit Riley has great taste.....

Riley is also a cutie. :) Vinny is allowed on the sofa and other furniture also - he only hangs out on the floor by the kitchen, and he has a squishy mat there to lie on. But he gets a little anxious sometimes so I figure having a few places where he can go and be with us but not on top of people is good, plus he seems to like the coziness of a chair sometimes. (He also has a crate in the living room that he does enjoy, but he can't see the TV from there. Or into the dining room and kitchen, or out the windows. So at the end of the school day, a chair from which he could watch the kids go by would be much preferable.) (He adores children. I think he wants his own human infant, but I refuse to get him one of them. :D He will have to settle for the 12 year old.)

The crate is a whole different problem, since most places don't seem to want to make more attractive crates in larger sizes. We'll probably see if we can get someone local to build us something - crate on the bottom and hutch with shelves on top or something along those lines. Or we might build the crate into the coat closet and just have closet above for shorter coats and jackets. (We have another space that is a little further from the door that could be used as a secondary closet for longer stuff. We're thinking to make that closet kind of a mudroom type finish anyway - more water and mud resistant - so if stuff comes in wet or boots are muddy they can be set there to dry.)

Vinny and his parents may want to look at these furniture-like dog 'crates'. :-)
HERE.

This one is from Wayfair.

We need the opening on the long side, ideally, and the ones I was looking at you get s-m-l and he's xl. I'm going to think about it and see what we come up with if we have something made - maybe with a couple of shallow drawers right above the crate and then shelves or a display area.