How to Buy a Good Recliner

photo of two recliners

 

At the end of a long day, nothing beats coming home and relaxing in a recliner. While they’ve been a comfortable interior design staple for many decades, today’s modern recliners offer so much more than their basic predecessors. What is the best recliner for you?

To help you with your furniture buying experience, we’re taking a look at how to buy a good recliner and some important factors to consider before your next purchase. 

Learning How to Buy a Good Recliner

Learning how to buy a good recliner means taking a look at different available features, considering physical requirements to meet your needs, and ensuring you’re getting high quality furniture for your investment. You want to be sure you’re choosing a recliner that will last and can adapt to different interior design styles. Having a versatile recliner gives you the freedom to change up the look of your home without having to invest in all new furniture each time!

A few things to consider as you learn how to buy a good recliner are:

  • Choose a recliner type
  • Make sure it has durable upholstery
  • Identify a solid recliner frame
  • Consider head, neck, and lumbar support
  • Think about recliner chair features
  • Pick an ergonomic recliner

Choosing a Recliner Type

Kicking off our list of how to buy a good recliner is choosing a recliner type. Are you looking for an overstuffed traditional recliner? Maybe you’re debating between a zero gravity chair or recliner.

Zero gravity chairs, also often referred to as zero gravity recliners, take the traditional recliner a step further by elevating the legs above the heart level. This zero gravity position, as it’s called, is the source of the many potential health benefits of zero gravity chairs such as better blood circulation, enhancing how the body heals itself, alleviating back pain, and improving sleep quality.

Other types of recliners include:

  • Pushback recliners
  • Lever and handle recliners
  • Lift recliners
  • 2 position and 3 position recliners
  • Swivel recliners

While there are a variety of different types to consider when learning how to buy a good recliner, you’ll find they’re not all created equally. Traditional reclining capabilities simply don’t have the same potential health boosts you may experience in the zero gravity position. In addition, traditional reclining positions also focus pressure on the lower back or pelvic regions and may inadvertently contribute to lower back pain or sciatica symptoms

Getting the Most Durable Recliner For Your Investment

When it comes to how to buy a good recliner, one of the biggest considerations on your mind is making sure you’re getting the most for your investment. Part of knowing how to choose quality furniture that will last is making sure it’s got durable upholstery.

Where typical fabrics like cotton or linen may make for a comfortable couch, the best recliners are leather (or faux leather). Once you know how to care for leather furniture at home you’ll have a recliner that may last a very long time! For those seeking more sustainable options for fabric than real leather, the benefits of faux leather recliners include

  • Larger variety of colors, textures, and looks
  • Similar durability to real leather furniture
  • Cruelty-free, vegan fabric options
  • Increasing sustainability as new resources are used to make vegan leather

Pro Tip: Don’t put your leather or faux leather chair in direct sunlight or it could cause damage to the fabric. Instead, find a way to filter the light or move it to a less sunlit location in your room.

What Is The Best Recliner Frame?

We can’t talk about how to buy a good recliner without talking about choosing a sturdy recliner frame. While there are many different types of recliner structures available, the best recliners are undoubtedly those with wood bases.

A hand-carved, hand-stained wooden recliner base shows quality and craftsmanship. You can be sure that any furniture piece with so much care put into its creation is more likely to be a high quality addition to your home.

Neck, Head, and Lumbar Recliner Support Options

When you’re considering how to buy a good recliner, take a look at the neck, head, and lumbar recliner support options each model has available. The best recliners may be helpful for how to relieve a stiff neck, alleviate back pain, and improve posture.

Some recliner models may have detachable headrests or lumbar pillows that allow you to use them when you want or take them off if you choose. Others may have them built in as a luxury feature to assist in your relaxation and to potentially improve your overall health. If the model you’re considering has none of these options, you may want to consider adding these accessories as they’ll certainly help you enjoy your recliner to the fullest.

Recliner Chair Features

Last up on our list of considerations for how to buy a good recliner are the features it provides. We don’t mean support pillows or headrests here, but additional features that elevate your experience and potentially enhance how the body heals itself.

Traditional recliners may offer little in the line of bonus features as many are manually operated. Power recliners may offer a few more benefits, but these, too, often stop short by simply offering power recliner capabilities.

Some of the bonus features of zero gravity luxury recliners take your experience to the next level. You may find models that offer vibration massage or air pressure massage, heat therapy functions, and even smart wakeup features to keep your adult nap from going on longer than you meant to! These features work hand-in-hand with the zero gravity position to enhance bodily healing and relaxation.

Learning how to buy a good recliner will help you gain a furniture piece that will serve you well for a long time. Whether you choose a zero gravity recliner or go with a traditional recliner, be sure you’ve considered all the factors we discussed today like durable upholstery, what type of recliner you want, frame construction, and recliner features. We bet your new recliner will quickly become your favorite place to be!

For more interior design ideas and inspiration, check out these guides to creating your perfect home: