It’s truly a love ’em or hate ’em topic today as we critique recliners. Upholstered chairs-in-motion that lay back, spin, rock and tilt – would you welcome them into your living room or shun them?
CINDY GIVES RECLINERS A THUMBS DOWN
I don’t like recliners. My perception of a recliner is a big, bulky, heavy, sadly upholstered chunk of a chair that unfolds so people can sprawl. Most recliners look like overstuffed chairs on steroids. A leather home theatre chair is a kissing-cousin of a recliner and about the closest I would come to letting a recliner in my house (if I had a media room – which I don’t).
I know my comments seem sacrilege to some, particularly those who love watching endless hours of sports in a semi-recumbent position (there’s a reason some call it a “Lazy Boy”) and other folks who, due to health issues, find a bed extremely uncomfortable to sleep in. If your home sports a man-cave that most family members and visitors won’t be subjected to, that’s the perfect place for a recliner. For those able to sleep only in a recliner I say “get one!” But in this instance the recliner is not a chair that belongs in the public space of a living room – it’s a bed that belongs in the privacy of a bedroom.
If your spouse is pressuring you to buy a recliner, before spending your hard earned money consider the following:
- The more a chair moves (recline, rock, spin, tilt, arms lift for storing a remote or holding a can), the bigger and uglier they are
- Don’t say “yes” to a recliner thinking you’ll be able to talk him into one of the small, modern recliners – they don’t fit a big guy and they don’t do all the cool things he’s looking for (see #1) – you’ll get stuck with a monolith of a chair!
- A chaise is a cooler way to lounge and a better looking piece of furniture
- For putting feet up consider a chair with an ottoman – then when you have a party the ottoman also provides additional seating for guests
- If a recliner will save your relationship then the choice is clear – but just don’t agree to put it in the living room! It won’t look good with your other furniture and it requires a lot of space in order to lean back and swivel without whacking the walls or lamp tables.
Relax in a recliner? No thanks – I’ll put my feet up on the coffee table before I’ll buy a recliner!
TERRIE GIVES RECLINERS A THUMBS UP
Cindy made some excellent points, and as a designer I agree with most of them. As a wife however, not so much. We only have one ‘great room’, not one room to watch TV and another to be pretty and a showplace. So I had to figure out how to accommodate my husband’s urgent need to be comfortable for a long Sunday afternoon of football but blend it with my designer aesthetic. Remember the recliner Frazier’s dad wouldn’t give up – that lovely rusty color and held together by duct tape? Luckily my hubby has a little better taste than that (I’ve had some influence:))
The real reason most homes have a recliner is … well, they’re comfortable. When you come home from work achy and tired, it’s great to tilt back and relax. The trick is to do it in style. No recliners with cup holders or flip out tables or so overstuffed that a person barely fits. A little diligence in shopping yields great results in style. Yes, recliners need a bit more open space to recline, but fully reclined they take up about the same amount of space as a chaise but offer greater versatility.
We recently added a recliner to our living space (gasp!) and I have to say, I like the look of it. We purchased it at Lane Furniture so I checked out their website to illustrate how stylish recliners can be (all photos from Lane Furniture).
Heathgate recliner for the traditionalist.
Montana recliner for the mountain or Mission style home.
Benson leather recliner for a club chair look.
Rebel recliner for the modernist.
Jill recliner is an even smaller scaled armchair.
Aptly named the Bulldog recliner, here's what NOT to do.
And finally, here’s a photo of our new recliner. I love the open wood arms so it doesn’t feel big and bulky. My husband is 6′5″, a big guy but he still finds the chair comfortable. Even though his feet kind of hang off the end of the recliner, he still manages to watch lots of football in it and my design sensibilities are satisfied.
My new recliner from Lane Furniture.
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON RECLINERS?
Do you love them or hate them? Do you have one? Would you buy one? Let us know your thoughts on the subject.
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I laughed out loud reading this blog about recliners. My husband and I have had that battle for years. In a moment of weakness 13 years ago, I agreed to get a leather recliner and ottoman for the media room. He picked a teal color that went with absolutely nothing but I didn’t care as it was going in his room. The chair never gets used and looks brand new. Well, don’t you know, the forgotten chair reared its ugly head over the holidays as my husband needed to elevate his knee because of a bout of bursitis. It killed me to haul that thing up to the recently redecorated living room with the new rug, media cabinets, etc. Now he’s on a campaign to keep the chair upstairs. I think there should be a law against recliners, especially the ones that look that they have swallowed the family pet. I emailed my husband your column and can’t wait to see his reaction!
Your comment made me smile, Martha. Thanks for sharing!
Cindy
I fought having a recliner for YEARS but eventually gave in and let my husband have a huge, ugly leather recliner we called ‘the big a** chair’ because it was so BIG and because it was designed for someone with a huge behind. His happiness alone made it worthwhile; I’m 5′2″ and he is 6′1″ and I never realized how difficult it was for him to feel comfortable in the furniture I picked out. We since picked out a great sofa that we both love and I’ve realized that our furniture needs to feel comfortable for both of us as well as please my sense of aesthetics. The ‘big a**’ chair has since moved on to larger butts than ours and my husband has discovered an ottoman added to our sofa provides a comfy way for him to sprawl out at the end of a long day.
Thanks for sharing your story, Kathy. Your recliner’s nickname made me laugh! It sounds like you and your husband are doing a great job of making your home a haven for both of you.
Thank you for your comment.
Cindy
I have been married to a function- oriented, tall, needs-to-put-his-feet-up engineer for 32 years. There has been at least one recliner in our living room and or family room for 30 of those years. Although large and bulky, the recliners are the only chair type that has met the swivel, tilt back requrement to allow seeing out the window and then turning to watch the TV. The recliner is the only chair type that can support my hubby’s long thigh and ease his back to the right position. He does not even use the foot rest part, so we have recliners AND ottomans in each room. When redecorating last year, the recliners stayed and as a bow to my desires, I personally reupholsteredhe two matching Flexsteels in solid, royal purple velvet. Some might say they look like twin Barneys, but with a black grand piano, light bamboo floors, and Fall straw colored walls, it is quite nice.
Thanks for your comments, Lori. I’m so impressed that you tackled reupholstering a recliner – let alone two of them, and with velvet too! Sounds like adding your personal touch to your husband’s favorite chairs works well for both of you.
Cindy