I’ll never forget walking into my friend’ continuously inching backwards until half of the chair was in her bedroom. It literally felt like they shoved a living room chair into her bedroom. And it looked ridiculous.
I had always associated recliners with living rooms until my mum developed chronic back pain a couple years ago. She needed a comfy chair to sit/lie down in her bedroom. That’s when I learned that there are different types of recliners – “your average Joe” recliner and “the perfect recliner to place in a bedroom.” Most recliners are made to go in living rooms – giant rooms that allow you to lay all the way back without hitting anything or closing off any closet doors.
Bedrooms require something different, something more specialised, something…. smaller. You want a recliner that compliments your bedroom, not one that makes you feel like you’re sleeping upright in a furniture showroom.
Fast forward through me watching my mother fail time and time again trying to sit comfortably on a normal full-sized recliner that took over her bedroom and actually touched her bed when all the way back… I went on a mission to find the perfect recliner to place in a bedroom.
I found one that looked incredible. Soft leather. Generous lumbar support.
The dog even liked it. The problem was that it looked like a regular living room chair. In her bedroom.
And because it was so big, it blocked about ¾ of her bedroom when placed in the corner. My first discovery was that being “compact” doesn’t mean it’s going to be uncomfortable. I found this gorgeous recliner that was only 28 inches wide (just wide enough to squeeze into corner of most bedrooms without screaming, “HEY LOOK AT ME!”).
What I didn’t realise at first was that I should have been looking for recliners with a low back-to-wall clearance. Standard recliners typically need about 36 inches between the back of the recliner and the wall to lay completely flat. This beauty only needed 18 inches of clearance.
Life changing. Of course I wasn’t clever enough not to make another mistake. After thoroughly researching the newly-founded “bedroom recliner” world, I quickly assumed that manual recliners were superior to power recliners when it came to bedrooms.
SO WRONG. Mum used that manual recliner for maybe 3 weeks before struggling every time she needed to adjust position. She hated pushing on the lever and fighting against the chair to upright herself.
Quite the opposite of what she needed. Once again, back to the drawing board. Power recliners are….
AMAZING. The problem is they open a whole new can of worms. How are you going to manage the cords?
Having an extension cord running across your bedroom floor to reach an outlet seriously kills any ambiance your bedroom has. Trust me, I learned this lesson when I bought my mum the first power recliner and its cord was only 4 feet long. We ended up having to move half of her bedroom furniture around just to plug it in.
To avoid dealing with this cord issue, you can either buy a recliner that comes with a longer cord (ideally 8-10 feet) or you can INSTALL an outlet where your recliner will be placed. Yeah, installing a new outlet probably doesn’t sound like fun and it costs money, but it is worth every penny. Nobody wants to trip over someones iPad charging cord while heading to the bathroom at 3am.
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Yet another problem with power recliners is they tend to be larger than their manual alternative. Again, not by much. Maybe an extra 2-3 inches but that could be the difference between fitting perfectly into your bedroom or being TOO big.
Learn from my mistakes and cheque the measurements on the freaking recliner BEFORE you buy it. I did this exact thing with my aunt’ bedroom last summer. Everything was perfect until we slid it in place and had a miniature sofa suddenly take over her bedroom.
OK, now for what I have discovered that DOES work. After purchasing 5 separate recliners and placing them in 3 different bedrooms (yes my family thinks I’m a recliner freak), here are my findings: Wall hugger recliners are absolutely necessary when shopping for a bedroom recliner. Let me explain.
Standard recliners, when all the way down, can usually only sit about 12 inches away from your wall. A wall hugger recliner, however, can stay nearly flush with the wall while you sit on it. Most only pull back about 6 inches when reclining.
HUGE difference if you have a smaller bedroom. When selecting your material, try to remember that bedrooms are much more susceptible to the recliner’ or accent chairs, stick out like a sore thumb. Once again, stick to the basics.
Match your recliner material to the rest of your bedroom for a seamless look. Don’t be tempted by add-ons such as side pockets and cup holders. Sounds nice to have a place to keep your reading glasses and water bottle when lounging in your chair, right?
Wrong. All that does is create clutter and distractions. Remember, LESS is more when it comes to bedroom furniture.
Matching colours is tough. I didn’t realise how hard it was until I bought my sister a recliner that MATCHED her bedroom. Don’t get me wrong, they both looked beautiful on their own.
But once I placed the chair in her room, it reminded me of my tan recliner I had back home. It is much easier to keep your recliner colour neutral or find colours that coordinate with other furniture in your bedroom. Placement, I believe, is personal preference.
Everyone is going to tell you where they think you should place your bedroom recliner and they’re all going to be right.
Our first inclination was to place them in front of the beds. This makes sense because now you have easy access to read in bed.
However, my wife noticed it made for awkward conversation placement. Now we have them positioned where my mum can look out the window while reading (great natural light) and where I can sit and look at both the bedroom door and the window while reading. Eliminated that flat-on-your-back look.
My last piece of advice is probably foolish, but make sure you test the recliner during different times of the day before you buy it. You could be in the perfect position to read in the mornings, but your body casts shadows across the room by night autumn. The sun might shine directly on your furniture at noon causing light to reflect off your glass coffee table onto your face.
Mum and I spent an entire weekend testing out her final decision at all different times of day and even adjusted the placement of the chair two more times after we brought it home to make sure we positioned it exactly how we wanted. A good recliner that fits well in your bedroom can truly make it your sanctuary. Wrong recliner though, and it’ll be a gigantic waste of money.
Measure twice, analyse how you’ll actually be using the chair, and don’t be afraid to return that chair if it doesn’t feel right.
