How to Choose the Perfect Recliner for You and Your Space

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So, you’ve decided to buy a recliner. Smart choice!

Soon you’ll be spending your evenings reclining like a first-class frequent flyer and ordering your family about like flight attendants. Bring me my cheese plate! Where’s my chardonnay? I’ll have my extra blanket now, thank you!

All that remains is to select your designated seat of honour.

With the array of modern recliner designs to choose from these days, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding something that complements your space and personal tastes. But aesthetics are just the icing on the cake. What you’re really after are all the great benefits of recliners that may not be obvious at first glance.

To ensure you choose a recliner that actually delivers on the full package—giving you all those bonus benefits while hitting all the right notes for personal comfort, style, practicality and durability—you’ll need to have a clear idea of what to look for (and what to look out for!) when you head to your favourite furniture store.

So, grab your bag of peanuts and read on… We’re going to escort you down the runway of everything you need to know to pick the perfect recliner for you and your space—so you can get to enjoying your personal cloud 9.

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Know your options: types of recliners

No one walks into a car dealership and picks the first car that comes with 4 wheels and a set of keys (at least we hope they don’t). You obviously want to go in with a good idea of the options available and the features you’re actually looking for, so you don’t get talked into buying a Landcruiser when all you really needed was a hatchback.

While the variety of recliners on the market today is truly impressive, thankfully the basic choice criteria are not nearly as complicated as shopping for a car!

For starters, recliners are classed according to the type of recline mechanism they have on board. These are the different types you’ll find:

Traditional / Lever Handle recliner

The traditional recliner has you pull a lever or handle to spring into recline mode (best not to do it while balancing a full cup of coffee!). Some can be put in a semi-recline or full-recline position, while others only go from upright to full recline mode. These old stalwarts don’t come with many bells and whistles, but according to dads and grandads everywhere, they get the job done!

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Pull Handle Recliner

The pull handle is a slight update on the classic lever handle, making the recline feature a bit faster and easier to, well, pull off. It also gives you more freedom to choose your preferred recline angle—pulling the handle simply ‘unlocks’ the recline function, which you then control by pushing back on the backrest. Unlike the lever handled variety, these recliners offer a ‘bonus quad workout’ since they require you to push the footrest down manually to return it to a locked position.

Push-back recliner

Push-back recliners recline on a glide track, allowing you to easily push back into recline mode when the mood takes you. In fact, it’s pretty much the ‘secret agent’ of recliners—with no visible handle or lever, it blends in seamlessly among the other armchairs, waiting for anyone ‘in the know’ to make their move and call dibs!

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Electric recliner

When you just want to sit back and have anything resembling ‘effort’ removed from immediate existence, the electric recliner is your ticket to ride, literally. At the push of a button, you can go from being a sad upright sap to belly-up bliss (or anywhere in between) in seconds. Seriously, the hardest part of using this recliner will be finding the ideal spot in your living room that’s also close to a wall socket!

Swivel Recliner

Finally, we have the swivel recliner, for when you want to get in touch with your inner villain. Or, you know, just have the ability to easily switch from your convo with boring Oom Pietie to check on the cricket score at will. Giving you full freedom of movement to both recline and swivel, we can’t think of a more fun chair to have in your entertainment area, home office, or evil lair…

*Bonus Features*

If you’re really looking for the first-class flying experience, certain recliners come with bonus features like USB ports, phone or tablet holders, reading lights, and of course, the ultimate luxury— on board massage. And then there’s the ‘cinema recliner’, which comes with built-in cup holders, storage consoles and extra wide seats on some models, ensuring you have everything at your fingertips for the ultimate home cinema experience.

Now that you’ve started building an online catalogue in your head, let’s look at some of the key factors that will help you narrow down your choices.

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Know your seating needs

The obvious place to start is with your seating needs (single armchair or multi-seat recliner set?), and the function you want your recliner(s) to serve. Based on the above categories, you’ll probably already have an initial shortlist in mind based on where the recliner will be and who will be using it most. For example, are you just looking to squeeze one extra comfy recliner armchair into your existing lounge suite? You might want to look at a push-back recliner that can easily blend in. Will the recliner be used by an elderly person with mobility issues? Consider an electric recliner. Any babies or tired parents in the equation? Go for the rocker.

Know your space limit

It’s kind of obvious, but also easy to overlook… recliners in their full glory need more room than your standard armchair or couch, and it’s easy to underestimate the difference a foot or two can make, particularly in a limited space. So when you’re planning where to put your recliner, be sure to calculate the floor space you have available, including a margin of at least 30cm behind the recliner, as well as extra space in front for the footrest and any dangling feet (you can measure from your own knees to the bottom of your feet to get a fair idea). With this total measurement, you’ll still need to add on extra clearance (at least 30cm walking room) from coffee tables, fireplaces and doorways (yup, that last one’s pretty important in avoiding unintended slapstick comedies). Do your math carefully and you’ll know for sure whether you need to go for a wall-hugger recliner to avoid having awkward games of footsie in the middle of the room!

Know thyself (and thy body type)

A recliner can be an amazing way to take a load off and help you relax after a long day—improving circulation and taking strain and pressure off your spine and tired muscles.

When looking for the perfect fit, you’ll need to pay attention to three key pressure points:

Head/Neck

The crest of the headrest should support your neck, allowing your head to rest gently back over the upmost curve of the headrest, without being pushed forward or causing your chin to drop down.

Shoulders

Your shoulders should comfortably ease into the valley just below the headrest, ensuring you won’t be in a hunched position.

Knees

Your knees should extend just over the edge of the chair when in an upright position. In recline mode, your knees should be slightly bent, with weight distributed comfortably over your lower legs.

Know your style (and more importantly, your lifestyle!)

Once you’ve figured out what you’re looking for in the way of functionality, features, and the perfect fit, it’s time to get back to that all important ‘icing on the cake.’

For the best longevity in looks, consider going with a classic style upholstered in a neutral tone that can easily blend with your other décor, even if you change up the rest of your furniture in a few years, or decide to relocate your recliner to a different room. On the other hand, if you’re kitting out a new home cinema or entertainment space with a recliner set, you probably don’t need to worry much about ‘blending’ issues—that racy red set is all yours!

When looking at upholstery choices, think about what will be practical for your lifestyle and family—whether that includes kids, pets, or perpetually snacking teenagers. Leather and high-performance fabrics like industrial grade polyester are a wise choice for most families, offering the best durability and lowest maintenance—after all, we want to keep this all about maximum relaxation and minimum effort, don’t we?

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As with any significant furniture purchase, always follow the golden rule: buy the best you can afford. Because it’s a fact: you get what you pay for. (Just be sure to check you’re actually getting what you paid for when you sign that delivery note!)

We trust this guide has you all set to enjoy shopping for the perfect recliner to give you that first-class cloud 9 experience—you deserve it!

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Why not make Cielo your first stopover and check out our stylish range of modern recliners designed to bring you the best in comfort, quality and durability at incredible value for money. Order online or visit one of our showrooms to find your perfect fit!

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