Article:
Finding the perfect chair
By Shelley Anderson
December 2008
Many times over the years that I have been helping clients with their interiors, I have been challenged to find the perfect “comfort” chair for the man of the house. Of course, he says, “Recliner!” and she says, “No way!” I was always able to find a mutually satisfying solution to the need.
Now I find myself personally in a similar situation. We need a new seating solution for the television viewing and newspaper reading activities. The options are a chair and ottoman or the dreaded recliner. The challenge is size and dimension. The chair needs to have a high enough back in order to rest your head without ending up looking at the ceiling. The seat height needs to be such that your knees aren’t up to your chin when you sit down. The chair has to have comfortable height arms and a firm seat cushion. The firmness of the seat is usually something that can be changed as an option upon ordering, but the rest of the needs are generally non-negotiable.
So, the search begins. As I am looking at floor models and then through catalogs, I start really analyzing what the need is, and the sitting habits of the chair’s future inhabitant. I start with recliners, thinking that’s what I’ll have to bring home. I see motorized recliners that recline and unrecline at a snail’s pace. At this point I realize that the chair’s new owner gets up and down from the chair multiple times in an evening — a motorized chair will never do. This fact could also possibly nix the recliner idea totally, based on the amount of ease or effort needed to operate the chair.
In the end we have decided to look for a pair of chairs and one ottoman, since the total arrangement of furniture in the room will be more balanced. However, we found several recliner options that would be right at home in our contemporary-style interior. There are several local retailers who have recliners available in styles ranging from traditional to contemporary. If you are shopping for a recliner, look online first. You will be amazed at the variety of styles available.
A few of my favorites that really have a great “chair” look are the Carlyle recliner from La-Z-Boy, the Boone from Room and Board, and the Mesa recliner from Crate and Barrel.
Shelley Anderson has been creating interiors in the greater Seattle area since 1990.You may contact her at (206) 719-6814 or email her at
shelley.anderson@shelleyandersoninteriors.com.