Rocking Chairs + Recliners
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Modern Rocking Chairs & Modern Recliners
Alongside lounge chairs, the rocking chair has a long history of being one of the most comfortable and soothing forms of living room seating. The modern living room rocking chair brings all the relaxation of its predecessors and adds streamlined appearance and style. Modern recliner chairs share a reputation for comfort with rocking chairs but do it in a way that allows the sitter to almost completely recline. Both rocking chairs and recliners can be indispensable pieces of lounge furniture that can upgrade your space from comfy to inviting and transform it into a place to relax and unwind.
Rocking Chairs vs. Recliners
Rocking Chairs
A basic rocking chair design is simple, essentially a chair balanced on two curved runners or rockers which allow the sitter to gently rock forward and back. But beyond the basics, rocking chairs can have as much visual variation as other accent chairs, available in a wide variety of frame and upholstery materials, colors, and shapes. The wooden rocking chair is the classic, but nowadays rocking chairs come made of all kinds of materials, many upholstered. The Eames Rocker has a seat made of plastic and a base of metal, with only its runners made of wood. DWR offers several outdoor rocking chairs made of recycled and recyclable polyethylene.
Recliners
Unlike lounge chairs, which have fixed positions, recliners are adjustable chairs that can be positioned from fully upright to almost completely reclined. As its reclining mechanism is typically hidden when in an upright position, a recliner more closely resembles a lounge chair than a rocking chair does. Recliners are typically fully upholstered in fabric or leather. For an extra measure of fun and convenience in the seating experience, consider a swivel recliner, which offers 360 degrees of rotation on top of its adjustable recline. Design Within Reach offers a number of modern recliner chairs, all with one thing in common: They’re recliners that don’t look like recliners.
How to Choose a Rocking Chair or Recliner
Whether you’re thinking about a rocking chair or recliner, you should consider a few common factors, most notably size and range of movement. Both rocking chairs and recliners require free space in front of and behind them so that you can enjoy their full range of movement. When shopping for a rocking chair or recliner, pay attention not only to the dimensions of the chair at rest, but also to its dimensions when it’s fully extended forward or backward. An upholstered rocking chair or recliner is going to take up more space and weigh significantly more than a non-upholstered one.
A comfortable rocking chair or recliner is top priority. Upholstered rocking chairs and recliners are plusher and thus slightly cozier than their non-upholstered counterparts. That said, non-upholstered rocking chairs are sleeker, lighter, and nearly as comfortable as upholstered ones – plus they’re easier to clean. If you’re a new parent looking for a rocking chair for a nursery, weigh your options. A non-upholstered chair will be much easier to clean, but an upholstered one will be far more comfortable for long rocking sessions.