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Thread: Recliner vs. Lounger

  1. #1
    dr56 Guest

    Default Recliner vs. Lounger

    Hi Duane,

    I finally decided to join the forums. Thank you for the wealth of information you provide!

    In looking at the H&M Website there are recliners and loungers. What is the difference? Also, are the loungers and/or recliners 3-way or would that only apply to recliners?

    I know this may seem obvious to many but not to me and can't seem to find the answer.

    Thanks again!

    DR

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,890

    Default

    There used to be distinction between recliners and loungers, but pretty much it no longer exists and they are one and the same. Years ago, a Recliner was a motion chair that required a handle to operate, either exterior or one hidden in the edge of a seat cushion. A Lounger had no trip mechanism, one just pushed back on the arms to make it go back. Nowdays all the H&M pieces use the push-on-the-arm method and all are three position range (except for power units, which can be stopped anywhere in the whole motion range)..

    Only tilt-back chairs are still switch-tripped, as the internal cable operates a gas strut.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  3. #3
    dr56 Guest

    Default

    Thanks Duane for the explanation! I have sat on some "recliners" that are not three-way and wondered why wouldn't you want such a chair so I knew you would be the one with the answer!

    Many thanks!

    Diane

  4. #4
    Marjflowers Guest

    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    Quote Originally Posted by drcollie View Post
    There used to be distinction between recliners and loungers, but pretty much it no longer exists and they are one and the same. Years ago, a Recliner was a motion chair that required a handle to operate, either exterior or one hidden in the edge of a seat cushion. A Lounger had no trip mechanism, one just pushed back on the arms to make it go back. Nowdays all the H&M pieces use the push-on-the-arm method and all are three position range (except for power units, which can be stopped anywhere in the whole motion range)..

    Only tilt-back chairs are still switch-tripped, as the internal cable operates a gas strut.
    So I'm still confused. If HM recliners and loungers are the same thing, why do they use the two different terms?

    Because of my location, I'm probably going to be buying a recliner that I haven't actually sat (and reclined) in. It's very important that I get one that reclines to a nearly flat position. I really wish their website showed photos of recliners (and loungers) in the fully reclined position.

    Given that this is important, will I be safe with any HM recliner, or are there some I need to steer clear of?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    "Because we've always done it like that"

    Why is soda called "pop" or "Coke", or why is facial tissue called "Kleenex" no matter what the brand? Like that.

    I do have some photos of chairs fully reclined posted here in the forum. Most the recliners WILL go back as far as you need them to be. When they go back to far, your feet stick up too high, they become unbalanced and a little unstable as well.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  6. #6
    Marjflowers Guest

    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    Thanks so much! I will try to hunt those photo down.

    I have never spent as much money on a recliner as I am planning to this time, and it's making me a nervous wreck!! :-) since there won't be any do-overs, I've really got to get it right! And every time I think I have a bit of a handle on it, new questions arise.

    I'll be posting them from time to time -- thanks in advance for all your help!

    I really wish I had a local furniture dealer I felt was knowledgable about all these issues and whom I could trust. But living where I do, there simply isn't a large market for investment quality furniture. The one extremely highly respected furniture store in town sold me a Barcolounger recliner that fell apart in lass than a year. One arm fell off, and the lever fell off in my hand. The store was willing to do nothing. So besides being in over my head as far as knowledge, I'm not as trusting as I once was.

    I really appreciate the service you provide with this forum. Thank you!

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    if you're on a budget, get a Bradington Young in a Married Cover as there's a lot of bang for the buck in those pieces. My current favorite is the # 4017 Wisner in the 9829 leather. It looks great, sits extremely well, the hide is decent and its just a little over $ 1,300 + delivery fees based on where you live. It's a heck of a deal and I always try to keep these on my sales floor (just got two in this week). I have photos of that piece here on the forum in the picture database.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  8. #8
    Marjflowers Guest

    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    It's so hard to know from looking at a picture. My first reaction was that this is not me at all! But I might like it if I saw it in person. My style ( in all of my rooms is most definitely eclectic -- a real mixture of fine hand-made cherry reproductions, more modern pieces, contemporary original art, and accessories that take their cue from nature -- leaves, twigs, etc. and a very funky cat tree made by an artist in Georgia from recovered tree limbs. Like I say, very eclectic, but it works. My first impression of the Wisner is "waaaay too traditional and masculine looking for me" But it might fit in just right. Hard to know without seeing it in person.

    So here's the thing about the budget.. I should probably be more budget-conscious than I am on this, but I have been spent as much money on inferior recliners in the last 8 years, that I'm ready to sond whatever it takes. And since I'm going to be spending so much, I've decided not to let the cost persuade me to compromise on getting exactly what I'll be happy with. Ah, if I only know what that is!!! I am absolutely committed to paying cash, and I'm willing to scrimp and save until I have what I need. Hopefully, I'll be working with a budget of &200-$2500 by late summer. Which is not to say that I want to spend any more than I have to! But I want to get the best I can. I want to be sensible, but I want this recliner to last a long, long time.
    Although this may come under the heading of too much information, there is also an emotional factor to this purchase. My dad died in October, and after a lifetime of working very hard to provide well for me and my siblings, he spent his final years in a nursing home, exhausting his savings. We each received a small amount from his estate, and I made a decision that however I use the money, it must be something of lasting value that will honor his memory and his love for having nice things and working hard to get them. A good, sturdy leather recliner seems just right.

    So the bottom line is I'm willing to save until I can afford the best I can get (within some reason,mod course). I'm concerned about the fact that BY now uses plywood rather than solid hardwood. And I'm totally turned off by the idea of the married covers. Maybe if I could see them side by side, I wouldn't have the reservations I have. There is only one store within 50 miles that carries BY and HM, and they have only 3-4 recliners on their sales floor made by each at any given time. I asked the designer whether the ones I saw had married covers, and she had no idea what I was talking about. Frustrating!

    I might even consider making a road trip if there were some place I could go and see a wide selection in person, but I'm not sure where that would be. Any suggestions there? Driving to the DC area is a bit far, but North Carolina could be quote doable. If I did this, I would most likely come back and order the chair from the dealer here (40miles away). Of course,this would add another month to my savings schedule, but of a place exists, it would be worth it to me before making this major a purchase.mmdoes this make sense?

    I hope I am not trying your patience. This is just so new to me, and I want to get it right. I hope that I don't exhaust your patience.

    Peace to you, and thanks--

    Marjorie.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Location
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    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    Best place to see Hancock and Moore in North Carolina is at the H&M factory! I arrange tours for a lot of folks, its quite fun and you learn so much. Monday through Thursdays in Hickory NC. Its a long tour, be prepared to spend half a day there but when you come out of it you will know more than 95% of all salespeople in any furniture store you walk into as to how a piece should be built, and you can see all the leathers. Note they do not have a showroom, its a working factory but there are usually 200 or so pieces in final stages of build that you can try out.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  10. #10
    Marjflowers Guest

    Default Re: Recliner vs. Lounger

    Awesome! Thanks!

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