Hello! (and help choosing reading chair)

[cat@atl]

Hello everyone!
First of all, a massive thank you to Duane for this venue and everyone who's ever posted here. Reading the forum has been incredibly educational. I've been stalking y'all for months.

I'm shopping for a comfy reading chair for me, to go in our living room; am replacing a not-so-comfy rocking chair. I want something that reclines (naptime!!). We have pets, including cats, so I want leather for ease of maintenance. We are average-size folks--nobody has ever called us "tall"

Decor-style: Hobbit transitional? We live in a 1200 sq 1960's ranch in Atlanta. 2 adults, no kids, pets. We have some 1920s-1930's stuff (dining room set, light fixture from granny's house), a lot of books, several "granny era" mirrors, and a fondness for antlers and plants (staghorn ferns = double points ). Years ago, I tried a more minimalist style and it left me cold--turns out I like stuff on the walls and my chairs/couch to have hefty arms. We have pretty good flow through the living room (kind of a figure-8 around the couch, which floats in the middle of the room between a bookshelf-lined entryway and the living room space). The living room connects to the dining room (which has 3 entrances and acts like a traffic circle). Our north-facing living room is painted yellow (Benjamin Moore "Squish squash") to help with the weird and limited lighting; anything other than blue or yellow looks green/dingy. I plan to get rid of the existing TV furniture (too blocky and dark) and install shelves on that wall (see "bad photoshop" photos). The TV will be on one of the shelves, with new and existing (campaign-style) chairs flanking it.

Attachment 9047

I mocked up several chairs, looks like most would fit but some would be visually "heavier" than others. The # next to the abbreviated chair name = space needed to lean back. The icova software was so helpful...

Attachment 9046

I'm leaning (hah hah!) towards a tilt-back chair (for durability) but love the thought of a recliner (would not need an ottoman). I like tufted (I think it adds some needed softness/bling). From my mock-ups, I think Hancock and Moore's Woodbridge or Miller or Sadler would be my best bets. I'm saying H&M because everyone here seems to love the stuff, but I'd also be open to another brand (B&Y?) as long as it has similar build and leather quality. I plan to be buried in this chair (j/k). Of course I am very open to items in the Quick Ship program but also to other leathers that may work.

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Color: We have a lot of "brown furniture" so I'm interested in a lighter-color leather (caramel-type color vs. chocolate brown or burgundy). I don't want an uniform/perfect look to the leather. Pull-up leather and other tone variations would be great (my go-to is bag Saddleback Leather bag in their "dark coffee" color; it gets lots of "character" from daily abuse. At first, it freaked me out but now I love it.).

Thoughts? (1) chair size/model relative to our available space and existing furnishings, (2) recliner vs. tilt-back [do I really need to worry about recliner mechanism durability/replacement?] and (3) suggested leather (capable of surviving the occasional hairball or sloshed cocktail) so I can request samples.

Thank you!!!
EDIT: not sure pictures are showing up? I also put them here: http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/ca...eading%20chair