There are about a million things that could go wrong, or right, when you’re buying a recliner, especially if it’s your first time that you’re doing this. Recliners can be quite expensive and that’s why you want to make sure that the one you’re getting is just about perfect for your needs.
We have prepared a list of things and some advice that you may want to know before you make the final decision. Make sure to check them all out and to take notes if you have learned anything new. Let’s go!
Measure Your Body
This is a tip that usually goes over people’s heads easily, especially if they’re buying the chair online. We’re not all the same, so neither is our height or our weight. Some people require more heavy-duty chairs, while others could use a plywood recliner.
Make sure to know your measurements when you’re buying a recliner chair because most of them have a little section in the product description where they say how much weight they can hold up. Other than that, you don’t want your chair to be too short for your body, do you?
If you have the possibility to sit in the chair and try it out before you buy it, make sure to do that as well. Chairs are like clothes, not all suit everyone, and they need to be tried out before you buy them.
Choose The Size
Many people think of recliner chairs as sofas only. However, these can actually be bigger as well – grand sizes and standard sizes are also available. Make sure to visualize where you want to put these chairs in order to know which size is going to be compatible with your room.
Check The Pressure Points
As we said, not everyone’s anatomy is the same, but there are some common issues that we share. Humans have weak spots when it comes to our head and neck, our shoulders, our lower back, our knees and our feet.
These are just the parts of our bodies that hold up the most pressure and do all of the really hard work. That’s why we need to focus on them when we’re buying a recliner chair. It would be best to really take a seat and see how these areas feel when you’re moving the chair around. There is no secret formula to perfect movement, but you’re going to see how it feels for you personally.
Measure The Place Where The Chair Will Be
This one we have mentioned before on our website, but we tend to not „eye things out“ only. When you’re estimating sizes, things can go very wrong very quickly. Because of that, you want to be as specific as one can be and measure things, take notes and buy the perfect chair.
What Type Do You Need?
Depending on your needs, the health of those who will use the chair, your personal preferences and the spots of your body that need the most care, you will need to choose a type of a recliner that you feel like works best for you.
We suggest you make a list of the types and then see which ones seem useful to you. Prioritize them and don’t go crazy when you see all of the possible features you could have – choose ones that would be really useful, rather than cool.
Check The Price
You need to have a budget. Recliner chairs can cost anywhere between $250 and $5000 which is not really a specific range. Because you want to make your „possibly buying“ list shorter, we suggest you to decide how much money are you okay with spending.
Don’t go over your budget, there is always a cheaper product that could be a dupe to the one you’re looking for. Also, don’t go crazy for an ultra-cheap piece, because there is always a catch to the price!
Place It Upside Down
This is something many people don’t do, but the catch can be in this step! If you’re buying the recliner chair in person, make sure to ask the seller to flip it to the side so you can see the bottom. If they say no right away and they seem disturbed by your question, this means that there is probably something wrong with the chair.
It’s probably not anything too dramatic, but sometimes the seller switched materials and uses cheaper ones for the base because it’s not visible. This will shorten the lifetime of your chair significantly and therefore isn’t something that you really want to do.
If the seller places it on the side, take a look at the frame. You should see 4 sides of the frame. If there are 2 or 3, that means that the seller decided to go the cheaper way. The base material is important as well – look for hardwood instead of plywood.
It’s also useful to look for the mesh. If there is a mesh between the springs and the soft part, this means that your chair is doing great! This will significantly help when it comes to weight distribution and you surely won’t break the chair as easy.
Must-Have Checklist
Okay, so what are the things that you really shouldn’t compromise on? What does the essential list look like? Well, let us tell you what you really need to have.
- Hardwood frame. Plywood just doesn’t provide the much-needed support nowadays, especially when it comes to „unperfect use“. You see, not all people are really able to move properly. Because of that, many use their recliners in not-so-correct ways and they wiggle around a lot. Hardwood is the only base material that can really „suffer“ all of those and still end up doing a great job.
- Great cover material. Don’t compromise on the material that covers your recliner chair. If you do, you’re going to end up having to change this material all of the time and, in the end, you’ll pay even more than real, high-quality leather costs.
- Proper support. Don’t settle for a chair that doesn’t feel perfect. If you do that, you’re going to end up not helping the most important parts of your body and this will result in you basically spending the money on something that doesn’t work.
- Armrest or footrest. Maybe both? If you get a recliner without armrests and footrests that are comfortable, you might have gotten a sofa as a much cheaper alternative. The point of a recliner is that, when reclined, it provides support for all parts of your body, especially the arms and the legs. How uncomfortable would it be to be reclined but have your arms and legs just hanging around?
Style Preferences
Let’s not forget that recliners are, besides being therapeutic, also beautiful pieces of furniture. Depending on the look of your home and the style that you usually want to implement in it, you’re going to have to search for certain materials and colors.
This is usually not a problem because most sellers can provide you with different options of the same mechanism, but make sure that you see your recliner live before you buy it, or at least have the option to return it. Not all colors really look the way you want them to when you see them live, right?
How To Make The Right Decision?
The big question… How do I actually know that what I did is the right thing? How can I be sure that I’m making the decision that I’m supposed to do? Well, that’s a really tough question, but we will walk you through our process of buying just so you know what you need to do or maybe detect the things that you’re missing.
- Take personal measurements. See how much space your recliner can take up in your home. Check your height and weight, but also make sure you think about your household as well.
- Decide the type of recliner you want to have at home. Make a list of the types and see which ones seem to be interesting to you. Because we all have different needs and preferences, we suggest you come up with about 3 or 4 types max.
- Decide what your budget is. That way, you can easily eliminate pieces when you’re searching.
- Make the must-have feature list for you. We’re all different and that’s okay. Make sure to check our other posts where we have written about the specifics to see which ones seem to be important to you. Those that aren’t really „your type“ are just extra money you don’t need to spend.
- The search begins. Once you know what you’re looking for, you need to do a bit of investigation and see how you’re liking the ones that you’re working with.
- Finesse the product. Can the style be altered? Could you check the bottom? Try it out and see how your body feels when you’re sitting in it. Let other members of the household sit so you see whether they agree with you or not.
- Make sure you’re getting a good deal. Ask the seller does the product come with a warranty, do they explain the maintenance, what is the return policy and to they have their own repair shop. Also, check the name of the product online to see whether you can get it cheaper!
This is pretty much it. It is a longer process, but going slow and steady is the right way to go when you’re spending this much money on something!
Summary
As we said, there are many tips and tricks we have, and now that we have presented them to you, we are sure that you know something you didn’t know before. We suggest you be really careful and take things slow if possible. That’s the only right way to go, is it not?
If you have any questions, check our other posts and see whether the answer lies there! Make sure you’re equipped with knowledge so no one can sell you something that isn’t 100% in place.
