Thread: Differences between swivel chair vs. swivel glider?

Can someone help me to understand the differences between a swivel chair and a swivel glider? It seems that some references online interchange the two.

I have been looking at glider chairs recently and from what I've found a 'swivel' chair just means it can rotate, so you can spin around side-to-side, like turning, but it stays flat. A glider chair will go back and forth, kind of like a rocking chair. Many gliders are also swivel chairs, so you can have the rocking motion AND turn side to side. I've seen more swivel chairs that just turn than glider chairs, so if it doesn't say glider or rocker, I would assume it does not have any back-and-forth motion.

Danw99, thanks for that information. I'm trying to get my wife to consider a pair of these for our living room. Something different...we shall see. Thanks again!

its the way they work on the arc of rocking. Think of the center point of the chair....

A rocker is like a fulcrum on the center point, the center is the high point of the arc. Or to go back to your playground childhood, that pony on the playground with the big single spring on it.

A glider is the opposite, with the center point being the low point of the arc.

Most people will never notice the difference unless its pointed out to them.

Ok. Now, do these swivel gliders have 8-way hand tied builds or are they built on metal frames like recliners?

They are conventional wood frames with the majority of them having 8-way coil suspension

Thats good to know. Thanks Duane.