Here's my dilemma, my hubby insists on keeping this in our home and I just don't know what to do with it...
okay, it's really not that bad, my hubby's chair actually looks identical to this one:
only it's almost 10 years old, so it's not all new and shiny.
I don't mean to offend those of you who own reclining furniture. I swear there are only two camps on this issue- those who love reclining furniture and those who hate it. Actually, there may be a third camp. Those of us (like me) who are closet recliner lovers. I've never been crazy about the way most reclining furniture looks but when my hubby and I joined our belongings the chair appeared and I haven't been able to get rid of it. The thing is, as much as I wanted to hate everything about it I must admit it is extremely comfy and I do enjoy sitting in it. That said, our particular chair is a bit of an eyesore at this point and I would really like to replace it with something a little nicer looking.
My hubby on the other hand doesn't know how you can call a place "home" if there isn't one of these somewhere inside. I think it was written somewhere in our marriage vows that I get to decorate however I want as long as he gets a comfy recliner. It really is his only request as far as furniture/decorating is concerned so how can I deny the founder of the feast his one seemingly simple request of a "daddy chair"? I can't. So, I really need your help in finding a suitable compromise.
This may seem like a simple task, but my hubby's needs in a recliner are three-fold.
- It must recline
- It must rock or glide
- Since he's 6 feet tall the back needs to be high enough to support his head in the reclined position.
To my knowledge such a chair doesn't exist, so I'm not holding my breath for the perfect solution, but maybe one of you lovelies knows of a solution??
I've considered trying to come up with some kind of slipcover solution, but because of the open design of the arm, I can't come up with an attractive design. I may keep working on this idea though.
I really love the look of this chair from ballard- never thought I'd say that about a recliner! I don't however like its $1400 price tag. Ouch! Unfortunately, even if I had $1400 to spend on one chair ( I don't!) I'm pretty sure this chair doesn't rock or glide and I think my hubby's head would come up higher than the top of this chair, so as pretty as it is it's out of the running.
Ideas? Suggestions?
Love,
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I think I can help on all points but #2. In the early 90's when we bought our furniture (yea, it's time for it to be replaced!) my husband was/is like yours. A recliner is a must. But I don't like the look of recliners. But, we lucked out. We found a recliner in a wingbacked style that you wouldn't even know it's a recliner unless it's in the reclining position. It's attractive, comfy and it reclines! It's old now, but I'm sure there's still something like it being made. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNancy
Before I recognized the Fraser chair, I was like "Oooh, girl, I feel badly for you." I still feel badly for you, but not quite so badly as if you had that first chair. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhy do men insist on these things?? I'm not the biggest fan of recliners, but they ARE soooo comfy. If you can't work out a slip cover (and I bet you can, b/c you are brilliant), then I really like the look you have here from Ballard. Have you shopped around at all locally? You may find better quality...you never know!
Thanks for linking up. :) If I see anything that fits the bill, I'll let you know!
This is kind of a tough one! But I bet you could make a slipcover, and underneath use batting to wrap around the arms and beef them up so you couldn't tell it was an open arm under there.
ReplyDeleteI think I fought your battle about ten years ago. We came to a very nice compromise when my husband found a leather chair and ottoman. It doesn't recline, but it looks nice, so I didn't open my mouth.
ReplyDeleteI really like the option you posted and hope that you can one day get one of those. No one would ever know it is a recliner! Have you ever been to Greenfront in Farmville, VA? It's worth the drive if you are looking for a particular piece of furniture and there are great bargains to be had there for high quality items.
There is nothing like a recliner that looks like a club chair..for that is what we have...well the hubby has...I refused to allow anything but....and he ended up liking it a lot better then anything else we looked at....you never know it reclines...well unless he is reclining in it! ;o)
ReplyDeleteI sold furniture for many years. You are going to be stuck with a recliner-looking recliner...sorry. If hubby wants comfort and all the other goodies, the only way to get it is to buy the ugly recliners. Unless he's willing to compromise, then stop looking elsewhere and go to the nearest La-Z-Boy Store and start trying them out.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but I am recliner lover. I have a wingback recliner that I got in mid 90's that I love. It looks like it's just a wingback chair. It's made by Lane. It needs to be recovered, but even I love it. The rest of our living room furniture is from La-Z-Boy and they do have some decent looking recliners. I hate the look of a "recliner" too, but I love how comfortable I am when I put my feet up at night.
ReplyDeleteCheck this out. It may not be tall enough, but it's a nice design. http://www.la-z-boy.com/product/62/Faris-Stationary-Recliner/ I know the pretty ones may be expensive (they do have layaway), but ours was so worth it and you can pick your fabric at La-Z-Boy too. Gosh, maybe I should do their commercial.
Before we had this furniture, my hubby had a big leather club chair, which was great with an ottoman. Would he compromise for that or must it actually lean back?
Have you looked on Overstock? Sometimes they make slipcovers for recliners as well.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, your poor chair looks like a first class seat on a Continental flight. Okay sorry, your post just cracked me up and I CAN TOTALLY RELATE. My husband would have the whole darn reclining Barcalounger couch if he had his way....with cup holders! Men!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Jan, who sold furniture. We had the same dilemma last year when we went to buy a new "tailored" sectional for the family room and Mr. FYN wanted a "man" chair (his way of not saying "recliner" which would have sent me into a tizzy!) We compromised on a really cute reclining (2 position) kind of mission style chair with dark wood arms and a geometric pattern in chocolate and blue. It's super cute. But he sat in in exactly 1 hour at home and proclaimed that this was NOT a "man" chair and shuffled away pouting. It's now "Mom's" chair (in fact I'm sitting in it as I write this!) and I love it. The LazyBoy will not enter my house. Perhaps I will consider getting one for his "man cave" if we ever put that together!
This is tough because the chair you want probably does not exist. Thought of a new couch with a recliner in it????
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love your blog header! I actually covered two Goodwill chairs in that fabric not too long ago.Love it!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, amen. My husband seems to think that comfort and style can't go together. He insists on picking out the ugliest furniture one could possibly ever find because it's comfortable.
To start off, here's an affordable leather one: http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3633511
Probably way too expensive but this is super chic in many great colors and worthy of inspiration: http://www.dwr.com/product/living/chairs-recliners/recliners/flight-recliner-fabric-1.do?sortby=ourPicks
Another very expensive one but also worth showing for inspiration: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1362011&navAction=jump
I'm thinking, though, that if you find one that looks enough like a regular chair in its upright position, you could get a button making kit, tuft it yourself and maybe (if necessary) add a cute pillow or too. I think a little creativity can disguise its reclining nature.
Good luck!
I love your reference to your husband as the founder of the feast. :)
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about one chair. His chair may not be nearly as unsightly as it seems to you, particularly if it has a cute throw pillow on it. I've seen your sewing skills--you could probably create a wonderful pillow that says "King ____" (filling in the blank with "Dad" or your husband's name or something.
But if you want to shop for a new chair, I'd suggest checking out La-Z-Boy. Long ago, they sold only recliners. Now they have a complete line of furniture that's excellent quality but fairly reasonably priced. And they carry recliners of all kinds. We used to have a recliner of theirs that just looked like a regular wingback chair, but it was a comfy recliner. In fact, we'd still have it, but we moved it five times and it broke. (Our fault, not the chair's!)
Good luck!
My Dad is a recliner guy - and he's taller than your hubby. He found a clean-lined (as clean as possibly with a recliner) leather La-z-Boy that is very comfy and can sort of pass as a club chair. I have no idea how mush it cost...
ReplyDeleteI think your other option is to add a throw and a pillow to disguise the chair. Good luck!!
Oh girl...we all feel your pain, I'm sure! I wish I had the solution for you, but I've got nothin. Let me know if you come up with any good ideas!
ReplyDeleteGood Luck
~Amanda
Same issue here at our house. Last fall after begging for a different focal point in our living room - because no matter where a recliner is no one can stop looking at it, poor things - my husband and I went to a high end furniture store. He wanted to buy a new recliner. Even after I told him that they were the ugliest chairs on the face of the earth! He figured that if it was new it would be fabulous and I'd come around. We walked into the store. It was so dreamy. All the beauties...sitting there. No not the recliners. They were in their own room way in the back of the store! The other furniture was dreamy. I love the way new furniture smells. Sorry. I'm writing like this is my blog.
ReplyDeleteThe short of it. We didn't buy a new one. They were like thousands of dollars. Imagine! I researched and bought a slipcover on Overstock for $60, cream colored. It's this crazy stretchy thing. Bought a throw at JCP for $10 on clearance. And fell in love! Now the focal point is something that everyone talks about! It's quite nice!
Good luck,
~Kolein
Hi, me again. I just posted about the chair on my blog.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm such a dope. The party was yesterday. Gosh. I feel like such an idiot!!!
Oh, well.
Have a good night!
~Kolein
I think you should try making a slipcover! I believe in you. You are so amazing at sewing, I bet you can come up with something awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Jen
Thank YOU for participating. :) Did the lifehacker people give you a hard time???
ReplyDelete