The year was 2017: Beyoncé announced her pregnancy with her twins with great fanfare. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got engaged. Millions of people participated in Women’s Marches worldwide, protesting the election of Donald Trump and advocating for women’s rights. Emily Henderson rounded up good-looking recliner chairs.
Well, eight years later, Sir and Rumi Carter are now 7 years old, Meghan and Harry have since divorced themselves from their lives in England, we’re still somehow in exactly the same place (actually, worse) politically speaking in this country, and now I’m rounding up good-looking recliner chairs…again. So much has changed. So little has changed.
This post is actually in response to reader Susan (and Karine), who requested a recliner chair roundup on the heels of my recent recliner sofa roundup. It was only then that I saw it had been close to a decade since beautiful recliners graced this blog.
“Wart” recliners have graced taken up space (so.much.space) in our living rooms for decades, but I promise, there is a better way. We are in 2025: there are options, friends.
Here’s what Emily wrote in her original post, which makes me chuckle:
“In life we have the golden rule, ‘treat others how you would like to be treated.’ In design, we have another rule ‘whatever you do, DO NOT put a comfy albiet disgusting recliner anywhere in the house.’ The recliner, although one of the most comfortable pieces of furniture on the market, has seen some pretty perilous days when it comes to design. Typically, they involve bad fabric, overstuffed curves, and a ,too-large, scale for anyone’s living room. But, my friends, it is 2017 and the recliner has come a long way from the terrible versions of decades past.”
Let us review the type of recliner chairs we may all be used to seeing:
Clockwise from top right: Wayfair | Amazon | Home Depot | Living Spaces
Look, if you have something similar to the above in your home right now, I need you to understand something: This post is not meant to judge you. I bet that’s the most freaking comfortable chair in the world. Rip Van Winkle likely slept for 20 years because of one of these things. My dad had something similar in a tan leather when I was growing up, and yes, I often lounged back in one of those things to watch my “Degrassi: The Next Generation” marathons.
But if what you’re looking for is the functionality of leaning back and putting your legs up (not commanding a pillow rocketship to space), things like this exist now:
Clockwise from top right: France & Son | Rejuvenation | West Elm | West Elm
Chairs with a more refined design like this can fit much better into your living spaces without sticking out like a guest wearing a red gown at a wedding. They actually resemble, well, chairs, which should maybe be the target for most furniture, yeah? To look like…what it’s supposed to be.
Trust me that I understand that reclining chairs are often medically necessary. My father underwent numerous health issues a few years ago, and needed a reclining chair to help with swelling in his legs. That need was one of the things that ignited my desire to give them the first floor of their townhome a makeover. Luckily, Article had a nice-looking option for a great price that worked well for my dad’s needs, was comfortable, and, while yes, it was a bit larger than I originally thought it would be, it visually fit into their new living room aesthetic. See below:
This one was manual, operating by simply leaning back, but there are, of course, power motion recliners on the market right now. Keep in mind that while manual recliners like the one from Article will cost you from around $500 to $1,200 depending on build quality, brand and materials, something you plug in with some more reclining bells and whistles can be upwards of $3,000 in fabric and between $1,800 and $4,000 for leather. Yes, for a single chair; not an entire sofa.
In my reclining sofas article, I laid out a few Good to Knows with regards to purchasing reclining furniture, so I’ll go ahead and repeat that here again:
Reclining Sofa FAQs
- They are far more expensive than a traditional non-reclining chair. I covered this just now, but yes, they are pricey. While you may find some for just a few hundred dollars, as I did in the roundup below, keep in mind that the longevity and quality of it likely isn’t top-notch. Keep your eye on the reviews and any warranty information for lower-priced chairs.
- Most are electric now and need a power source, meaning, you’re going to need to have an outlet available. If you’re used to floating your chairs in the middle of your room, I hope you have a floor outlet.
- Are you one of those people in #2 who float your chairs? Well, a lot of them aren’t the prettiest from behind so you’ll want to be aware of that.
- Read the product description closely to find out if it’s manual or power motion because both exist. You definitely don’t want to drop a few thousand on a chair, thinking it’s one thing, and it ends up not being what you expected.
- Again, read closely to see if just the footrests come up or if it also reclines. Be mindful of what you’re looking for compared to what you’re buying.
- Check the warranty because they malfunction/break. Anything with a button simply does not last as long as something manual. It’s a tale as old as time. Buy an extended warranty if you can.
- Make sure you have the clearance for both the fully extended footrest and the fully reclined back, because these babies are BIG and DEEP.
- They’re mostly sold in just a few neutral colors like white, cream, and gray. A few retailers will give you more custom fabric options, but those are likely much pricier.
Now that that’s been cleared up, let’s do some window shopping. Please keep in mind that this is purely a roundup of aesthetically pleasing furniture pieces, and we have not tested these out personally. That would be a very different story, and while I love doing things like that, it can be incredibly time-consuming and expensive with furniture. We’ve long done roundups like these to help you see, at a glance, what’s out there and what we personally “approve” in terms of style. I do stay mindful of reviews and try not to include anything from stores I know are outright crap (note: I know there are mixed feelings about West Elm because they do not post reviews, which feels kind of shady, yes. Proceed with caution).
First up, fabric options:
Our Favorite Fabric Reclining Chairs
1. Better Homes & Gardens Reading Push Back Recliner, Cream | 2. Bedford Recliner | 3. Carise Recliner | 4. Pembroke Swivel Recliner | 5. Kennedy Cream Power Recliner with USB – Wallaway | 6. Luxe Recliner Chair | 7. Inez Recliner | 8. Ekolsund Recliner, Gunnared Light Brown-Pink | 9. Ellow 28.5″ Reclining Lounge Chair – Lennox Blue | 10. Leisure Power Recliner Accent Chair | 11. Chase Power Recliner | 12. Jodie Wing Recliner
I was pleasantly surprised with the fabric, color, pattern, and silhouette variation on fabric recliner chairs out there right now. For instance, that plaid on #2 and the cute floral block print on #4! I’m very into the wood arm detailing on the Carise recliner (#3), and take note, you can customize that one pretty extensively (plus, it’s on sale right now—the price listed is the standard non-sale price). The shape of #7 is really unexpected with the fully upholstered arm and frames, and I could have bet at least $20 that it was not, indeed, a recliner. As for #1, I don’t normally include Walmart picks (for many reasons), but I did happen to find this one for under $300 and wanted to include it for anyone wanting something in a more entry-level range. Oh, and #9 is the same chair I got my dad from Article, but just in blue.
Our Favorite Leather Recliners
1. 26″ Wide Bauhaus Mid Century Waxed Leather Push Back Recliner | 2. Raye Motion Leather Swivel Recliner | 3. Harris Leather Power Recliner | 4. Rowland Leather High-Back Motion Recliner | 5. Thorp Leather Power Recliner Chair | 6. Auren Recliner | 7. Miller Power Recliner Accent Chair – Sonoma Butterscotch | 8. Domingo Leather Reclining Accent Chair with Wood Frame | 9. Milton Large Power Recliner
What would a recliner roundup be without some leather options? It would be incomplete, that’s what. The hide versions tended to be blockier than the fabric ones, that’s for sure, but I am a fan of a streamlined, contemporary chair (and sofa) these days. Some exceptions: The rounded Raye chair from RH (#2), the more sleek manual push-back Domingo from Crate & Barrel (#8). Room & Board offers their Milton power recliner in three sizes (#9), which is nice depending on your room and even body size needs. For French seam lovers, Arhaus includes the detail in their Rowland leather high-back motion recliner (#4). And for anyone who needs something less bulky, check out #5, Rejuvenation’s Thorp (it comes in beautiful leather colors like dark greens and blues), as well as France & Son’s Auren (#6) and Miller (#7).
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There you have it! 21 great-looking recliner chairs any designer or design-minded person would likely sign off on (if you’re after that sort of thing, but you’re here, so I’m guessing that you are). As always, thanks for being here and taking the time to read.
Until next time, friends…
Opening Image Credits: Design by Ginny Macdonald | Photo by Zeke Ruelas | From: Ginny’s Living Room Reveal
