Wanted: Recliner Recommendations

HISTORY: Many years back, I bought a gently used sofa made by Bauhaus for $500. Used it for 10 years, it was excellent. Had to get rid of it because the fabric got torn and dirty. I hate the current sofa in my living room. Its from FlexSteel. I regret buying it. I will give this away to anyone who will take it.

PRESENT:

My approximate budget is about $1,500, its not set in stone. I want to buy a recliner. Fabric is okay. Expected life expectancy is about 5 years. What are my best brand and recliner options?

Why settle for a 5 year lifespan when you can get 20? If all you really want is 5 years, then almost anything on the market will go that long. But, for your $ 1,500 you can buy a leather unit (the cover will last 4x longer than any fabric) that is USA made. I like the Bradington Young line for that budget. They make a heck of a solid unit (I have (4) in my own home) and will perform consistently and reliably for many years. If you stay in the promotional leathers they offer, you will be right on target for your budget. Look at the 4114, 4017 and 4104 units, those are solid, top sellers.

Thanks much. A few questions:

1. Whats promotional leather and how do I identify it when I go shopping for Bradington Young?

2. There are 3 cushion (more common) and 2 cushion sofas. There are sofas with fixed (more common) and loose cushions. There are deep and shallow cushions. Then there is leather (different grades of leather) and fabric (different types of fabric). Then there is the skeleton and moving mechanisms. What needs analysis should a customer do to determine what will work for him/her?

1) identification: If the piece is within your stated price range,I'd guess that's a decent indication right there.
"promotional" = sales promotion = less expensive.

2) sofas: (need different thread header?)
"What needs analysis should a customer do to determine what will work for him/her? "
You can analyze each feature to death, but in the end you can also bypass a lot of that and just decide which one feels good and looks good to you and then stop. Letting price and brand reputation serve as a proxy for quality.

Here's my brief personal opinions on some of the features you asked about:

a) 2 or 3 cushions. Mostly looks. Though I thought otherwise before I shopped.
Some designs really look better with two cushions. I used to think three would be more comfortable for seating three people. But as I actually sat on two-cushion sofas, I found that not to be the case. You can't really feel the "crack" between the cushions when you sit in the middle. On those we tried, anyway.
There may be a psychological factor though, discouraging a middle seater, faced with a crack to sit on and not a cushion. But if somebody has to sit, they'll sit.
I read someplace of a concern about the edges of a two-seater bulging out at the sides if a sole person sits in the middle. However, people sitting on such sofa won't typically sit in the middle. I think they will more frequently go to one of the sides. Because they have arm rests there, and a cushion with no edge to sit on.

I have a two-cushion sofa now. When I sit there by myself (by the arm) the cushion edge I don't sit on does raise up a bit. But it's trivial. And the symmetry of the design may look better to some people during the 90% of the time when nobody is sitting there.

Or it may not.

During our hunt I saw a number of used two-cushion sofas. The cushions on all of these older sofas still looked fine. They were not "bent" in any way due to someone disproportionally sitting on one side of a cushion or the other.

I guess there may be some differences in work required to make a third cushion, and replacement costs for a bigger vs. smaller cushion. But these factors were in the noise, to me.

b) fixed vs loose cushions.
Decide mostly on comfort. Fixed tend to provide firmer back support. Harder to replace the cushions though, and harder to maneuver your couch into some spaces with them (a concern of mine). Interesting you found fixed to be more common, my impression was just the opposite.

BTW there is also tight back, which is firmer yet.

c) deep and shallow cushions.
Decide based on comfort. But remember you are considering the comfort of the people who will actually sit there. In our case, the sofa was mostly for (probably taller) guests, not (pretty short) us. A fact we didn't get for a long time, which actually simplified our hunt. Also consider how people sitting there should be sitting: eg: upright for conversation, more relaxed for TV watching, taking a nap, etc.

In the end, one has to go to stores and sit on many sofas to iron out such a preference. As well as many of the others.

d) leather
There are whole treatises on this forum about different leather choices.

e) fabric
One can spend a great deal of time researching the different types of fabrics and materials. But in the end, most of the manufacturers do not provide you with enough information to make much sense of the whole thing. So after wasting a lot of time looking into all this, I basically went on looks. I had virtually no choice, the information (double rubs, etc) simply wasn't provided. And there weren't that many fabrics that went so perfectly with our decor. Which, at the end of the day, was a must regardless of other considerations (within reason).

There is plenty of information on the 'net about factors influencing: durability, stain resistance, sun resistance, "pilling"etc. Knock yourself out. Or rely on a good decorator or salesperson, if you happen to find one.
But recognize up front that whatever you uncover via research may be of limited use when you actually get to the store and find you are provided with little of the required information needed to determine the performance characteristics
of a particular fabric, which is almost always a blend .

f) moving mechanisms
Do you want your couch to move, or don't you?

The promotional leathers are 'married covers' and applicable to specific frames, not all dealers have the samples or qualify for the promotion.

Your second question is extremely broad and all that has been covered here in the forum in one post or another. It would take several pages and hours to re-type it all, you may want to browse the forum or do specific searches to find answers to your questions.

Went to a furniture store here. It is supposed to carry quality but high priced furniture.

They did have a few recliners with 'married covers'. The salesman said that Bradington Young comes in two kinds: one made in China and one made in US. The ones made in China were cheaper. They probably have the same reclining mechanism, he speculated.

Also saw a few Hancock and Moore recliners (more than $3000!). Salesman said that these recliners have a mechanism that is better than that of Bradington Young mechanism. These recliners were more comfy than Bradington Young but were about $1000 to $1500 more than Bradington Young.

Salesman says that the store will take care of anything that may happen to the furniture within 1 year. I ask him, "Do you provide this assurance in writing?" He says, "No, we have been in business for XX years and its a verbal assurance". I tell myself "That's BS, courts do not accept verbal assurances just like you don't accept IOU's"

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Originally Posted by needstuff

Or rely on a good decorator or salesperson, if you happen to find one.
But recognize up front that whatever you uncover via research may be of limited use when you actually get to the store and find you are provided with little of the required information needed to determine the performance characteristics
of a particular fabric, which is almost always a blend .

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I went to this family owned furniture store in Cleveland area. Within a few minutes, the store salesman approaches me with his sales talk and soon after asks me, "Don't you trust me? We have been in business for 94 years"

George Carlin said, "Whoever coined the term Buyer Beware probably was bleeding from the seat hole"

That salesman was wrong (gee, I'm not surprised!) All Bradington Young logo product is 100% USA-made and the mechanisms in them are USA made as well (Universal Mechanisms). They do have a line that is 100% made in China and that is sold under the Seven Seas label. Now, there are leathers than come out of Chinese tanneries that every maker carries - if you want the nice Italian hides or the German ones, you will have to pay more - simple as that. Hancock and Moore will be more costly - they use Leggett and Platt mechanisms which are either made in their Mississippi plant or in China, they batch back and forth. As far as mechanism failures, they are both pretty much a non-issue. Between those two companies I might order two to four a year, mostly for recliners over ten years old. Each maker has a written warranty, its in the price book - just ask them to photocopy it for you. I even have them scanned and posted here under the LEATHER category.

Grrr, I am tempted to order a leather recliner for $1100 from Costco that has Leggett and Platt mechanism, good to excellent multiple reviews, and Costco's return anytime policy so that I don't have to deal with these used car, I mean, furniture salesmen. Even if the thing works for 5 years, I would be happy with it.

Might be worth a shot to try the Costco product. If you decide to, please report back when you get it and at the 5-year mark. I've never been very impressed with the furniture I've seen at Costco, however I think the piece you are looking at is an on-line only one and not in the stores.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Might be worth a shot to try the Costco product. If you decide to, please report back when you get it and at the 5-year mark. I've never been very impressed with the furniture I've seen at Costco, however I think the piece you are looking at is an on-line only one and not in the stores.

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Agree, the furniture I have seen in Costo stores is not impressive and the subject recliner is online only which means that no furniture salesman or saleswoman is involved.

I think that the problem is how the furniture salesmen are compensated. When they get a base salary plus commission, they are willing to lie without any inhibitions to make a sale because their livelihood (and of their kith and kin) depends on it. This also applies to used car salesmen, real estate agents, independent medical practices to some extent, etc.

Thinking about driving down to Columbus to check out furniture by Bauhaus this weekend.

I think that in furniture sales, they are not so much being dishonest - moreso they tend to not be well-versed in their product lines. A typical furniture store has (50) lines or so, and each changes every 6 months because we are a 'fashion' industry <rolling eyes> so its a constant struggle to stay on top of them all. In my store, I only carry half a dozen suppliers in upholstery for that very reason. I can then pack my brain with retention knowledge from those six suppliers rather than trying to recall the nuances of fifty. Even so, I can't recall everything - but pride myself in knowing 90% of each line 90% of the time - which is about as good or better than the customer service reps know the product line for their companies.

I am a 'furniture salesperson' as well, but I never lie - EVER - to make a sale because at the end of the day a Man's integrity in himself is all he really has, and is his legacy to the people that know him. I don't need the money badly enough to mislead people. That doesn't mean I don't get it wrong! Sometimes I goof up and I do make mistakes or tell someone something that isn't accurate - but its based on the best knowledge I had at the time, however its never intentional.

If you want a hot deal on a recliner, I have ONE Bradington Young 4114 in a Blue Leather for $ 899 that is still in the box and can be shipped. These were closeouts on leftover hides and I bought a bunch of them - I'm down to the last one. If you want to drive to Youngstown OH to fetch it up, I can put it on the J.L. Treharn Truck which will be delivering to my store next week and have them backhaul it at no charge. Just pick it up on their loading dock Mon-Fri. You can't beat that deal for a genuine B-Y recliner brand new in all top grain leather - but you have to like dark blue. Here's one out in the sunlight...

Attachment 6560

I am considering the "Satchel" in a swivel glider. I have narrowed the color options down as best I can with the limited information and swatches. Please submit any pictures you have of, "Maverick Park Brindle" (9417-88), and "Halona Deer" (9818-88), and "Chateau Walnut" (9058-88). Also, which of these two do you prefer?

Any photos I have of any pieces are here in the forum under LEATHER > RESOURCE PHOTOS>BRADINGTON YOUNG.

Myself, I like the 9055 series leathers from B-Y (GR5). They're pretty nice.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

I think that in furniture sales, they are not so much being dishonest - moreso they tend to not be well-versed in their product lines. A typical furniture store has (50) lines or so, and each changes every 6 months because we are a 'fashion' industry <rolling eyes> so its a constant struggle to stay on top of them all. In my store, I only carry half a dozen suppliers in upholstery for that very reason. I can then pack my brain with retention knowledge from those six suppliers rather than trying to recall the nuances of fifty. Even so, I can't recall everything - but pride myself in knowing 90% of each line 90% of the time - which is about as good or better than the customer service reps know the product line for their companies.

I am a 'furniture salesperson' as well, but I never lie - EVER - to make a sale because at the end of the day a Man's integrity in himself is all he really has, and is his legacy to the people that know him. I don't need the money badly enough to mislead people. That doesn't mean I don't get it wrong! Sometimes I goof up and I do make mistakes or tell someone something that isn't accurate - but its based on the best knowledge I had at the time, however its never intentional.

If you want a hot deal on a recliner, I have ONE Bradington Young 4114 in a Blue Leather for $ 899 that is still in the box and can be shipped. These were closeouts on leftover hides and I bought a bunch of them - I'm down to the last one. If you want to drive to Youngstown OH to fetch it up, I can put it on the J.L. Treharn Truck which will be delivering to my store next week and have them backhaul it at no charge. Just pick it up on their loading dock Mon-Fri. You can't beat that deal for a genuine B-Y recliner brand new in all top grain leather - but you have to like dark blue. Here's one out in the sunlight...

Attachment 6560

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I think you appear to be an exception because you have self respect and more importantly your business model is different. If integrity was introduced in the furniture business at large, it would collapse. From my experience with 4 furniture salesmen and their identical sales scripts (prolly went to the same sales training classes), I have absolutely no doubt that they are at a minimum dishonest.

I am not too crazy about that blue color because it would distract from other living room furniture. Thank you for the offer though.

Interesting, most recliners at Costco have Leggett and Platt reclining mechanism. I, like many other people, am always happy to see a business like Costco make money from me.

A furniture salesman said that Randall Allen recliner is Made in China furniture of Hancock and Moore. Is this correct?

I found this complaint about Randall Allen/Hancock Moore at complaints board dot com

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Don;t buy the leather furniture from either Randall Allen or Hancock Moore. JUNK! Leather looses its color with minimal wear over 8 months. Left with a ugly yellow tan leather base. As if pointed and its rubs off. And worse of all the 7 pieces cost $9000 and the company honors no warranty at all. 0n this awful chinese import product. DON"T buy from them. Garbage!!! and even worse customer service!!!

End copy and paste


Question is what kind of springs is the Randall Allen recliner likely to utilize?

Randall Allen is a brand that is 100 % made in China and that brand is owned by Hancock & Moore, just like it owns Jessica Charles and Councill. It's not H&M logo, and I don't carry that line in my store simply because I don't have any Chinese-made lines. As to that rant...it's the Internet, what do you expect? All recliners have integrated springs into the mechanism, no matter who makes them - that's part of the design of motion furniture.

Be aware that L&P makes different series of mechanisms, they're not all the same. Think of them as Light, Medium and Heavy duty and the stronger and thicker they are, the most they cost.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Be aware that L&P makes different series of mechanisms, they're not all the same. Think of them as Light, Medium and Heavy duty and the stronger and thicker they are, the most they cost.

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From my in-store testing, it appeared that different reclining mechanism also have different smoothness.

1. For example, Hancock and Moore, both China and USA made have the smoothest reclining mechanism, meaning less effort to active the mechanism.

2. Bradington and Young has kind of medium smoothness.

3. Flexsteel recliner mechanism is kinda on the low end, meaning takes more effort to activate.

Have you heard about a brand called Elran? Its made in Canada I believe. I found a recliner by Elran that provided excellent lumbar support.

Also, do you know which brands carry better mechanism and which the lower quality mechanisms?

Deskjockey, as a side note, Hancock and Moore is made in the USA. Period. Hancock and Moore has different companies that hey also own, that are not call H&M, that are made in China, but they don't carry the H&M name and shouldn't be thought of as the same company.

Leather, depending on the leather selected, may come from a Chinese tannery. This is because most of the US tanneries shut down a few years back (sorry I don't remember the year) due to heavy EPA regulation. Even husks from the USA will be shipped over seas to be tanned. There are a few small tanneries still left in the US, but not many if any big ones. Tannery work is hard and dangerous, both to people and the environment because of the chemicals involved. It's actually probably for the best that it went overseas just for that reason.

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Originally Posted by brian

Leather, depending on the leather selected, may come from a Chinese tannery. This is because most of the US tanneries shut down a few years back (sorry I don't remember the year) due to heavy EPA regulation. Even husks from the USA will be shipped over seas to be tanned. There are a few small tanneries still left in the US, but not many if any big ones. Tannery work is hard and dangerous, both to people and the environment because of the chemicals involved. It's actually probably for the best that it went overseas just for that reason.

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This is exactly what I heard from the salesman here. Guy said most people prefer leather nowadays, so they don't carry a lot of furniture in fabric. I think a fabric furniture that is made of quality components can be equally comfortable too.

deskjockey I did look at the Costco recliner you were looking at and noticed the size is somewhat smaller than the H&M Royal High Leg Recliner that I purchased last year.

The Costco Recliner: 30.25" W x 39.75" D x 41" H The H&M Royal High Leg: 36 W x 39 D x 46" H

The reason this is interesting is that my last year's price of the H&M larger recliner was priced within the amount you said you wanted to spend. Now mine was part of the Town & Country promotional program and the Dealer had purchased it in a 6-Pack "at Market" They had three brown and three cordovan. I was able to purchase it and just put it in the back of my minivan and thus no Delivery charge. We did what you have stated you are about to do and that is got in the car and drove to other cities to actually see the H&M Town & Country pieces prior to our purchase. My advice is to go to the H&M Web Site and use the Dealer Locater for stores within a range you are willing to travel. I also recommend actually calling the Dealers to ask ahead of your trip what pieces they do have on the floor. I found quite a difference between one Dealer and another as to H&M inventory in-house. Also be advised that not all Dealers with H&M pieces participate in the Town & Country Program and as such, they won't have the product or the price.

With Duane having both H&M and B-Y recliners, I would seriously consider taking a look at these company's recliner styles and selecting whichever you like and then call Duane at The Keeping Room to determine cost and delivery time-frame. We picked up the H&M recliner within 20 miles of home, but also have purchased an H&M Sundance Sofa from Virginia and received it within about three weeks. The Delivery is based on when the Logistics Firm has a truck loaded and ready to head your way. The actual Delivery Fee was very reasonable.

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Look at the 4114, 4017 and 4104 units, those are solid, top sellers.

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The furniture dealer near me has one of these three units stocks, in the warehouse. Hmm.

I will call and find out which stores, if any, have the Hancock and Moore's Royal High Leg and report back.

I have seen many recliners in furniture stores and it appears to be that about 5% of them have any lumbar support. What's the point in designing a recliner without lumbar support and whats the point in any furniture buyer buying a recliner without lumbar support, however, good they might be?!

I am not certain how you are making the judgement about "lumbar support", but I'm sitting in my H&M recliner as I am typing this post and this one has significant lumbar support. In the event that the number of separate stitched segments visible on each recliner style is how you are judging the presence of or the lack of lumbar support, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Another thing to consider when trying out a new recliner is that I have found the original resistance of the cushioning changes a bit after about a week or so of daily use (I think it is more about air than material changes). In other words, while it is important that you find the chair comfortable if you have an opportunity to try it in the showroom, I find it become even more comfortable after just a short-time of regular use. Best of luck in your search.

Furniture is as much a fashion industry as it is one geared towards utility. Many - MANY recliners have little or no lumbar support because of the styling and the ladies of the house prefer to the look of those in almost every instance to the less-stylish bustle back designs that the men prefer. And in my store, its usually about 50/50 on who wins the day on choice...lol

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Originally Posted by drcollie

Furniture is as much a fashion industry as it is one geared towards utility. Many - MANY recliners have little or no lumbar support because of the styling and the ladies of the house prefer to the look of those in almost every instance to the less-stylish bustle back designs that the men prefer. And in my store, its usually about 50/50 on who wins the day on choice...lol

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Sigh.... LOL

Some of the marital meltdowns in my store over style / cost / leather are Epic! I usually try to disappear in the back until they settle it out on the showroom floor.

I have few options to "sit" in an actual recliner that I hope to purchase, perhaps from the Hancock & Moore collection. Any suggestions? I live in the New Orleans area. Can you send me a PM about your store? Is that allowed? (new to the forum)

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Originally Posted by tpdoody

I have few options to "sit" in an actual recliner that I hope to purchase, perhaps from the Hancock & Moore collection. Any suggestions? I live in the New Orleans area. Can you send me a PM about your store? Is that allowed? (new to the forum)

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I am not sure what you are asking about, sorry. You can link to my store's website at the top of the forum page....