Types of Chairs for the Living Room
When you’re organizing seating areas in your living room, a sofa or loveseat might not be enough. Most people like to add a few chairs to the mix to provide individual seating options. There are many different types of chairs available to add to your living room, and nearly all are available in a range of styles to fit your home. Choose from options like recliners, accent chairs, club chairs and wing chairs, chaise lounges, gliders, and more.
Recliners and Rockers
One of the most popular types of living room chairs is the recliner. While chairs made to allow the user to recline have been around since the mid-19th century, the mechanism that we typically associate with this chair was patented in 1928 by the founders of La-Z-Boy Inc. A typical recliner is a comfortable, well-padded chair that uses a manual or powered mechanism to extend a footrest and lower the seat back. This allows you to sit and relax.
Many recliners are also rockers, so you can gently move back and forth when the chair is in its “down” position. In most cases, you cannot rock when the footrest is extended. Some recliners also swivel from side to side, making it easy to turn the chair to face a new direction.
Accent Chairs
The term accent chair tends to cover a wide selection of living room chair styles. These types of chairs really only share a few general characteristics in common: they are made to complement the tone and color of the room, as well as to provide additional seating. Most accent chairs are stationary, meaning that they don’t swivel, rock, or recline. Otherwise, the options for colors, style, back height, arms, and other characteristics are open.
Club Chairs
Large and comfortable like the recliner but without the footrest, club chairs are very popular in the living room. These chairs are known for being thickly upholstered, often in leather, with soft cushioning and wide arms. Many feature tufting details. The name is thought to come from the fact that these types of chairs were commonly found in British gentlemen’s clubs.
Similar to the club chair is the chair and a half. These types of living room chairs share the padded comfort of the club chair, but are extra wide for added room. They are available in many different styles, offering seating space somewhere between a club chair and a loveseat.
Wing Chairs
Wing chairs are best known for their high backs and wing-like extensions on either side of the headrest. Often reminiscent of drawing rooms and libraries of the 18th and 19th centuries, these living room chair styles can fit comfortably into a modern home. Wing chairs are typically fully upholstered with exposed wooden legs.
Chaise Lounges
With a name that means “long chair,” the chaise lounge is made for relaxation. Where the recliner has a footrest that can be extended out, the chaise lounge features an extended seat section that encourages you to put your feet up. These types of living room chairs are available in nearly every furniture style from traditional to modern, although many people associate the look as being a bit decadent. Some chaise lounge chairs look just like club chairs or wing chairs that have a longer seat, while others are more similar to small loveseats with only one arm and a back that might not reach the end of the chair.
Rocking Chairs and Gliders
Other types of chairs for relaxing in the living room or another part of the house include recliners and rocking chairs. The traditional rocking chair is made of wood and may feature an upholstered seat and back, although plastic and metal options are also available. These chairs have two distinctive curved bands at the bottom of the legs that allow the chair to rock back and forth.
Instead of rockers to generate movement, gliders have an internal mechanism that allows you to gently move forward and back in the chair. Some people find this gliding movement to be more relaxing than the up and down of a rocker. Gliders also tend to be completely upholstered, unlike many rocking chairs, and they often look like recliners or club chairs. In fact, you can often find recliners that feature either rocking or gliding motions.
Specialty Chairs
In addition to the traditional types of living room chairs, there are a number of specialty chairs that can add seating to your home. Lift chairs are a type of recliner that features a powered mechanism to lift up the back of the chair and tilt it forward, allowing you to stand easily. Massage chairs are another type of heavily padded chair, but they include internal electronic rollers and other technology that moves along your body, providing various massage options.
