Freestone's City Grill
The Big EasyChair makers begin recognizing importance of size
By Michael Lollar, Scripps Howard News
Francis 'Bubba' Winkler, former Green Bay Packer and Atlanta Falcon center and guard, had given up finding a comfortable chair.
"They never seem to have one tall enough or big enough for big men," says Winkler. At 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, he's used to sitting where he pleases, but not always in comfort.
Most recliners are too short for the former footballer's frame, leaving his legs dangling at least 4 to 5 inches over the end of the footrest. "So you never sit real comfortable. You slouch a little bit and get poor posture because you're not at the correct angle. What it causes is back problems."
But, like Winkler, people are finding bigger, more accommodating options with sofa-size proportions and motion ranging from reclining backs to massage features.
When Winkler used an easy chair, he used to use one with an ottoman because he could put the ottoman in the middle of the room, stretch out to his full length and relax. But he couldn't recline.
Supply and demand has begun to resolve that problem. Several chair makers now have a version of a "press-back," "break-back" or variable tilt chair with ottoman. The back reclines like those on an airplane seat. With the ottoman, it combines two of the most popular features in comfortable chairs.
The bonus with the ottoman is that it can be scooted away from the chair and used as extra seating for another person when needed, says Brenda Bradley Duck, an interior designer with Flack's Ethan Allen Home Interiors.
For Winkler, the ottoman works, but it really is only a stop-gap solution to real comfort. For that, he says, "You get an 80-inch sofa ... ."
Chair makers and salesmen beg to differ. In addition to press-back recliners with ottomans, the options have grown along with the chairs. In fact, one of the biggest new options in recliners is big recliners. Recliner merchandise manager Greg Roy calls his big chair, introduced to the national market last July, the Comfort King.
Like a sofa, it reclines to a full 80-inch length with a 24-inch seat to accommodate bigger-than-average backsides. Instead of the usual hardwood recliner frame, the big chair is made of tempered steel and weighs 160 pounds instead of the usual 110-120 pounds. To decide whether you need a chair that big, Roy says, you have to treat a chair "kind of like shoes. You have to try them on."
Roy says basketball star Shaquille O'Neal and several other NBA stars have bought or placed orders for the big chairs, while smaller people are attracted to them as a place to "crawl up in" and have room to spread out. But, because the chairs are firmer than normal chairs in order to support heavier users, he suggests trying them before placing an order.
At La-Z-Boy, a new big chair is part of its Summit Series, offering space for big consumers. "We've also had a lot of requests from dealers and consumers for chairs with enough room to comfortably seat a parent or grandparent and a young child. These (big) chairs are perfect for sharing bedtime stories or taking in the latest Disney video," says Greg White, vice president of merchandising for La-Z-Boy Inc.
Chairs in that Summit Series come with an array of optional features, including a six-motor heat massage system. The La-Z-Boy massage chairs come with a speakerphone built into the arm of the chair or with an optional speakerphone system with digital answering machine and computer hookup.
At Ethan Allen, Brenda Duck says higher-end furniture may come with an occasional massage, but, "We don't get much into the bells and whistles. We're too much into the look of the room." And, when it comes to comfort, she says, one of the biggest mistakes customers make is selecting a chair as a gift for someone else.
"Your chair is your chair. Your legs are your legs. The person who's actually going to be in the chair is the one who should choose it."
If a chair will be a gift, she suggests wrapping a picture of a chair and letting the intended user make the actual choice in the store.
Comfort is often a matter of personal taste, she says. "Some people think of comfort as squishy soft. But some find it difficult to get out of a chair like that. Some want a firm cushion, maybe for a bad back."
As for finding the right size, she suggests it's like Goldilocks trying out furniture made for Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. The choice is also complicated by the look of the chair. "Recliners are popular with men. Sometimes a woman will want a chair and ottoman."
Duck says an alternative for some is the chair and a half, smaller than a love seat and larger than a chair. It looks good in most settings and allows enough room to sit comfortably with a pet or child.
After years of selling chairs, Duck has a few other rules of thumb that might be worth considering in the selection process. Men tend to rank soft fabrics or finishes as an important comfort element, while women are more concerned about durability and the overall look of the piece. Men want support for their head when they watch TV or, often, sleep in a chair. "Women tend to sit up and don't want something pushing against the backs of their heads. It's a hair issue."
At Samuels Furniture & Interiors, Helen Samuels says leather tends to be one of the investments that makes any furniture last for many years. If the chair is well made, adding leather upholstery to it "will make it last almost indefinitely."
Samuels advises against fine finishes in any chair that will be heavily used. "Raw silk is not going to wear. Some people are under the impression that the more you pay the longer it's going to wear, but in three years I'll guarantee you raw silk is going to split."
And be even more careful about the construction of any chair or other furnishing, she suggests. As an example, she cites leather chairs selling at a very high price because they have a gorgeous leather. "But some of those chairs have masonite, not wood, construction and no springs inside," she says, while their padding is cotton batting or foam and will soon offer little or no support for the user.
Once you're satisfied with the construction, she suggests, leather can become the first choice of covering on a chair to be used heavily. Other durable choices she suggests are heavy tapestry-like fabrics or a soft chenille fabric that wears well and has become a popular alternative to corduroy.
Photos: Top: Ethan Allen's Townsend recliner is tested by a big man (former football pro Francis "Bubba" Winkler) and comes up a little short. Bottom: Francis "Bubba" Winkler tries out another chair at Ethan Allen. In most chairs, he says, "you slouch a little and get poor posture because you're not at the correct angle." |  |
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