And now its the chairs making me crazy!

[janycer]

I have found a Bradington-Young Sofa locally that I really like. It is model 524-95 in a married leather. And yes, I can see a difference in the married leather on this sofa, vs a non-married leather on B-Y chairs in the store. But the bottom line is that I like the sofa, it is exactly the right scale and size, and I like the leather and the color. It matches my dog - a fawn boxer! And the price is good for me. But just as important, is that I can buy from my hometown furniture store, I support my neighbors, I support my local and state tax structure.

However, chairs are a whole different story. I would really like a chair and an ottoman, and a recliner for my brother-in-law. He is not at all willing to give up his LazyBoy, but my hope is that if I bring in a really comfortable chair he will come around. The chair needs to be large. He was 6'7", 240 lbs in the days he could stand up straight. Now he is a beat-up old cowboy with an artificial hip, some dementia, and not much strength. He is hard on chairs, he sits fairly hard, and relies on the chair arms to get up. And he sits in his chair several hours every day, watching TV, napping, and just sitting. I don't feel he needs a power chair yet, and he would probably rebel at one anyway. Quite frankly, I also think that mentally he needs to be encouraged to move around, sit in the other chairs, sit in his outside chair, etc. It seems from reading the posts that the Sadler and Miller are the best choices. And I feel they would look nice with the B-Y Sofa. I don't think I want a B-Y chair, I really want the extra touches I feel I would get with H&M and it is worth the extra dollars. And from what I have seen in B-Y locally and on the web, vs the H&M on the web, I like the H&M styling better. Closest dealers are one and three hours away, and not competitive at all in price. Duane will get the chair orders!

So here are my dilemmas. If I purchase a Sadler or Miller and my BIL is unwilling to give up the LazyBoy, will this chair be too large for me? I am 5'9", medium size. I probably have room for two H&M chairs and the LazyBoy, but I would prefer not to have all three. So my thought is to buy the recliner first, knowing it might end up 'my' chair. If I go this route, do you think I will be able to coordinate leather colors between the two chairs and the BY sofa using accessories and rugs? I don't think I would want to try to match the leathers, I am afraid that could be a disaster. I have my heart set on at least one red chair (probably giving up the red sofa) but I am willing to compromise on a more subdued shade to make this all work.

And lastly - any thoughts on the chair and ottoman? Something that is not huge, but that can hold it's own with the Miller or Sadler? And that I can curl up in. I like several and I am feeling overwhelmed. The Howell, the Downes, the Grainger, are all styles I like.

Thanks for reading this long post and for any help!

[drcollie]

Send me a PM off list J, I have something you might be interested in (H&M sofa).

As to the chairs for your BIL, I'd say get a power lift/recliner. If he doesn't need it now, he will need it soon. At his size and weight, he will be very hard on any makers chair pushing himself up from the arms. They really are not designed for that kind of pushing. He may rebel at the power chair initially, but he'll be loving it within a week as long as he can make sense of the button controls on the chair. I was trying several out at Market on Sunday and they really do make a lot of sense for people who have difficulty getting in and out of chairs. They will stand you right up, and make reclining easy as well.

Look at the # 3027 Sullivan with the Power Recliner option and the # 3024 Cody with Power Recline in H&M.

Here's a new chair that just came out this Market. Its the # 2707 Sundance which is a power tilt back AND power lift unit. Needs to be used in conjunction with its matching # 4706 Ottoman. This might be ideal, as its 42.5" high and very roomy. (see photo).

The # 1044 Sadler will easily fit him for a non-power unit, and you'd be fine in in as well. I have that at my house, and my wife who thinks she is 5' 7" fits in it fine and comfy. The Sadler is 45" high, and I find that even when I sit in it (5' 11") there are several more inches above the top of my head available for use. The Miller is not quite as tall as the Sadler, but would probably work as well.

For a chair/ottoman combination, the all-time comfort champ is the Austin High Back Tilt chair with Ottoman. It's the King of the line for comfort.



And if you put a H&M leather chair in a room with a La-Z-Boy, I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll be tolerant of that La-Z-Boy unit for maybe half a day until its dispatched somewhere else!



Something to consider: You don't want to be mail-ordering single chairs if you can avoid it, because you're paying minimum freight charges on each one. If you can, do at least pairs as that maximizes your freight dollars. Its not a huge amount, but to ship a pair vs a single, and following that single 60 days later with a second one, is going to cost you about $ 150 more because of the double ships.

[janycer]

And if you put a H&M leather chair in a room with a La-Z-Boy, I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll be tolerant of that La-Z-Boy unit for maybe half a day until its dispatched somewhere else!

LOL Duane. The LazyBoy was always supposed to be a one year use only, but it's been in use for 5 years now! I purchased him a leather recliner in 2006, moved the Lazyboy to the unfinished basement, and he went with the LazyBoy! And sat in the basement!

On a more serious note, I very much appreciate your answer. I knew in my heart that a power lift was a good idea, but sometimes it is really hard to face things. Your post really hit me in the face, he will need a power lift sooner rather than later. And honestly, I think he needs it now. Watching him get up today, I really think there is a huge safety issue involved when he pushes down on the arms of his chair. It takes a lot of brute force to lift up that 6'7", 250 lb frame. He already sits on a stool at a 36" high table for meals as it is so much easier for him to maneuver those long legs from that height. The dining table is reserved for special occasions.

So - I like the Cody but I wonder if it is tall enough at 41.5". His current chair is 45" tall and there is no chair left over at the top of his head! Although I am not sure that is necessary, 42" may be just fine, it should provide neck and shoulder support. Have you had any feedback on comfort for the Cody? The Sullivan is too small in my opinion. This man lived his entire life relaxing when he could, in chairs that were too small for him after working hard on a horse six to seven days a week. I figure the least I can do for him is provide him a chair that is his size. (at least the Lazy Boy fits that criteria!) I am very intrigued by the Sundance as well and it is a little taller. That is a beautiful chair. Are there other H&M chairs with a power option?

As far as a chair and ottoman for me, I have mixed emotions on the Austin. It looks like the high back is only in a bustle back. I know that is will be very very comfortable, I am just not sure I like the look of it. But it's growing on me!

I guess I might need to give you a call at this point.

[drcollie]

There's a little pride that might suffer amongst a Man's Man the first day a Power Lift chair is brought into the house, but its soon forgotten and he would be saying "I should have had one of these years ago". The thing is, you can't even tell its a power lift chair, and he can push out of it like a regular chair if he wants to, but the power lift makes things SO easy, he would soon like the feature.

Every H&M recliner is comfortable. So it really becomes a matter of a size fit. As far as I know, the Cody is the tallest power lift recliner in the line. The Sadler is taller at 45" but its a manual chair only. That new Sundance may be just the ticket, though it needs to have an ottoman for it to really work.

I know the Austin High Back is not the most stylish of all the chairs, but it wins the comfort award. Check out the # 2047 Bradley Tilt Back only gives up a wee bit on comfort over the Austin and is much more sleek in appearance.

We can get him fixed up - its a nice thing you're doing for your Brother in Law.

[janycer]

I do like the Bradley. What are the advantages of a tilt-back? And how does it work? I am not familiar with that term or type of chair. I have never owned a recliner for myself, and I have never owned a good recliner for my BIL. So I am not especially fond of them, having relatively little experience. But I have owned good overstuffed chairs that I have loved and moved from city to city until they wore out. That is why I thought I wanted a chair and ottoman for myself. I have an open mind though and am willing to be educated! I want to be comfortable reading or watching tv occasionally or curling up to converse with family or guests.

[drcollie]

Tilt backs are superb! They offer more seating positions as they run on a gas strut that can be stopped anywhere in the range of motion. The strut is cable operated from the external switch.

A manual recliner really only has three positions 1) Fully upright 2) TV Watching 3) Full (sleep) recline. With the tilt back, you can sit in the chair longer because as you get a 'hot spot', you can trip the lever and come up a few degrees or back a few and get more comfortable. Plus the ottoman allows more area to move your legs/feet onto. Tilt backs have 8-way hand tied spring decks which are the most comfortable in the industy. A tilt back chair is stronger than a recliner as well - because its fully solid from the arms down. Recliners are basically wood skeleton frames bolted to a mechanism. Every part of the chair is in motion.

Downsides on a tilt-back is that a ottoman is mandatory, so you have the space issue that it occupies and you have to buy two pieces of upholstery. That's going to make it $ 500 to $ 800 more than a recliner setup.

If you have the space for the ottoman, and can work both pieces into the budget, then I'd take a tilt back / ottoman arrangement over a recliner every time.

[dustinh]

Duane, you mention the Bradley above as being a pretty good runner-up to the austin high back in comfort. Have you had any experience with the McIntire tilt-back in this regard?

Any forum members tried this chair out?

[drcollie]

I've not had that model come through my store, but I can tell you its a pretty safe bet there are no uncomfortable tilt back chairs.

[janycer]

Well, I am getting less crazy! I am focusing on one chair for my own use now. After much pondering and discussion with my children, I purchased a BY-4229 locally, in fabric, for my brother in law. We just felt the chairs with a powerlift were not going to be tall enough for him at 6'7". I was meeting enough resistance trying to get him out of that unsafe, rocking, tilting Lazboy and he was adamant that he would not sit in a leather chair. The fabric BY seemed a good compromise for now and he actually loves it. I am hopeful this one will hold up as long as it needs to.

I am considering the Author, the Grainger Tilt-back, the Springfield lounger, and possibly the Sadler for myself. I really want a chair for myself that I can sit in a variety of positions, although not necessarily recline. Feet on floor, on an ottoman, or with my legs tucked underneath me. At 5'9" my legs are not short! The ability to recline is not as important as being able to curl up in the chair. And I am still not sold on recliners, although I have opened my mind to a tilt-back. I love the look of the Author and the fact it is on the T&C program, but I am wondering about the inside cushion dimensions. The website lists an inside depth of 27". This seems much deeper than any other chair and I wonder if it is correct. I cannot figure out how this chair would 'sit' at this depth. I do admit I like the comfort of the bustle-back on the BY so the Grainger has made the short list!

Any feedback or thoughts are welcome please.

Janyce

[cuse69]

janycer... we have a new Grainger tilt back and a new Journal sofa. I think after receiveing the Grainger I would suggest you consider the Austin tilt back in either standard or tall version. We bought the Grainger without testing it and I'm not totally pleased with the back angle. I would prefer it more upright and to use the tilt feature for achieving the recline angle of the chair. With no tilt engaged the back angle does not allow me to sit up straight. The chair is beautiful and well made. We have recently had a chance to sit in a Kodiak chair with ottoman and it was extremely comfortable for both my wife 5'5" and me at 6'2". We may very well buy one as an additional chair for the family room.