Does a recliner need a high back?

There is a firm that will design a chair to your measurements and personal requirements. Not cheap but they often have discounts. Goes by initials, the first two being high seat. Not sure what the l stands for. I have no connection with this company. Other makes are available.

I think you mean HSL chairs, Cabbie
www.hslchairs.com/

Thank you both. I was thinking more a normal chair that reclines rather than a riser recliner - although I guess I could need one eventually! I guess there is a reason most of them have a high back though - probably aids getting up from the chair.

I quite like the idea of the normal armchair with the rising foot rest as I'm not bothered about reclining particularly - just having my legs up. And a footstool doesn't work for me - puts pressure on the back of the legs where the gap is.

Except the armchair isn't a high back chair! So maybe a different sitting angle.

I'm thinking about a chaise longue instead of a recliner now. If I can find one the right height.

I'd want a high back.
I'd be worried about tipping out otherwise!

I would want a high back because on the odd occasions I wanted to recline I would not want my head and neck dangling.

M0nica

I think you mean HSL chairs, Cabbie
www.hslchairs.com/

Exactly, MOnica, but I did not want to seem to be advertising them overtly to the exclusion of others for fear of falling foul of any rules.

Has anyone got one of those parker knoll armchairst with a powered footrest? It's just like a normal armchair - no reclining - but there's a built in foot rest that comes up when you press a button. Just wondering how it feels. They look good.

Still thinking about a chaise longue :-) As long as the seat is high enough. All I want to do is sit with my legs up really without having to go and sit upstairs on the bed.

We recently bought a 2 seater, with two recliners and high independent nect support that can be moved to comfortable position. Perfect.

HSL are brilliant

It is quite normal to see commercial suppliers recommended in GN threads for all kinds of items from clothes to cars.

Honestly it's a minefield. Our exisiting two sofas (large and small) are old and far too low for my knees. I've been sitting on a kitchen chair in the living room! Or on top of the bed upstairs with my legs up.

So the plan is to keep the small one for everyone else, get rid of the large one and get two higher seat chairs. The arms help take the weight of the knees when standing. I'm looking around clearance sales online but I'm also being fussy about the colour and style! Right chair but only in cream which will get dirty quickly (with our household). Maybe one standard high seat chair and one with some method of putting my legs up. As long as the seat is high enough it should be ok to get in and out of.

Obviously can't find two matching ones this way either. So trying to find two that look ok together. The recliners/powered foot rest ones are really expensive though.

Our last sofas came from the British Heart Foundation for £250 the pair! Nothing wrong with them - just too low. I don't like the idea of spending money on brand new furniture but when you have particular needs, it's hard to find in the BHF shop! Impossible virtually.

Have you thought of IKEA?

You can often choose the material and get different covers for if you fancy a change.

gentleshores have you looked at Furniture Village?
We had our recliner sofas from there and have been really pleased with them. They fit your height requirements regarding head and seat.
There was a single chair option as well but we had ours from a different range, and had them all covered the same to match.
There was a lot of flexibility available to fine-tune what we wanted to achieve.

I got my manual recliner chair from Ikea and very happy with it.
You can also get electric recliners from DFS, SCS and other retail places.

I understand your inclination to buy second hand, we have a houseful of second hand furniture, but some times there is no alternative to getting something new.

Do not cut your nose off to spite your face. Accept that you have a particular need, and in this case, need to buy new furrniture. Even ebay has very little in second-hand recliners with powered footrests.

I often have an afternoon snooze in the afternoon. If I was in my armchair, my head would not be supported, but as I am usually in my reclining chair, my head is supported. This is a good reason for having a high back, if, like me, you're getting on a bit I'd recommend a higher, more supportive back.

Try before you buy gentleshores. Some have a leaver type handle which can be easier to use and the action on some is easier than others.

I have a recliner with separate footstool, gentleshores. The footstool is slightly curved and I can bring it right up to my chair so that it supports my knees. My feet do dangle over the edge but it is extremely comfortable and there is no pressure on my rather temperamental knees.

I'm looking to buy a riser recliner and this morning looked at the Oak Tree Mobility website. They have Parker Knoll chairs which might appeal to you as they are made to measure.

There are no prices on their website so you'd need to request a brochure. Within minutes you'll probably get a phone call from them during which you'll be offered a home visit.

I was told that someone with a similar postcode to mine was also interested in buying a chair so they could offer me an appointment for 10am tomorrow. When I said that wasn't suitable I was offered Wednesday instead and opted for 2pm.

Apparently they have an offer at the moment of a second item half price and a minimum of £200 for your old furniture.

Thank you so much everyone. It is not easy trying to make these decisions when you can't even sit comfortably! A vicious circle. Cressida I will look at the Oaktree mobility site.

I had to laugh at the minimum of £200 for your old furniture when we only paid £250 for it :-) That would be a good deal.

I'm still mulling it over. I'm not sure about Oaktree Mobility after reading some of the bad reviews. Admittedly most of them are good, but I had a really bad experience with another big company (Careco) over a mobility scooter and it took months to get my money back after almost getting legal and all very stressful. Only just managed to replace it. From that experience I know after sales customer service is important.

They did phone within 10 minutes and wanted to come out the same week for a demonstration. After thinking about it I cancelled the appointment for now and had two or three more phone calls trying to get me to rearrange. I had to be quite firm and say I will call them when I'm ready.

I'm starting to think electric recliners might be too much hassle if they go wrong or need servicing so now just thinking about high seat chair - and maybe some kind of footstool.

Also new prices are just so very expensive and need two chairs to replace a three seater sofa. (Keeping the two seater sofa for others). So just keeping a look out for clearance bargains at the moment.

It would be nice to buy two new chairs and a new higher two seater sofa but that would be thousands! And have other financial commitments.