Leather Recliners Blog

Furniture/Today and HGTV launched a Consumer Views Survey in January, which got responses from over 8,000 U.S. consumers. The following are the results gleaned from the survey.

Stain-resistant fabric is the top reason why customers are willing to pay more for a recliner. This information is bolstered by a trend in 2009 where about half of displayed recliner units in furniture stores are upholstered in performance fabric. Another feature that attracts customers to pay more for a reclining chair is the warranty that comes with the product. Almost half of the consumers who responded to the survey said they’ll also shell out more for a leather recliner as well as additional back support.

The survey results also reflected that though getting a good price for a recliner is essential, more and more customers also put a lot of value to quality and durability. About 40 percent of survey responses say that they expect a newly purchased recliner to last 5 to 9 years while more than half say it should last more than 10 years.

Traditional stores are still the first places customers check when they’re looking to buy recliners. About 24 percent say they’ll shop from manufacturer-branded stores and 12 percent say they’ll browse the Internet first. However, more than half of respondents say they’ll research an item online but buy it in a traditional store. Only 6 percent say they’ll browse and purchase through the Internet while another 6 percent will research for an item in a store but buy it on the Internet.

The survey suggests that most consumers who are looking to get recliners are willing to pay more for pieces that are durable, comfortable, require less maintenance, and comes with guarantee that if something goes wrong, the manufacturer will take care of the problem. Consumers’ shopping habits are affected and molded by the economic circumstance such as the recession. The recession has made customers more selective about the quality and durability of the products they buy. Shopping from traditional stores is still the popular way to go as one can personally examine an item, ask questions about the product, and even try out the reclining chair to see if it is really a piece that will be a good addition to home furnishings.

However, it cannot be denied that online shopping is a growing trend. Aside from the ease of shopping in the comfort of one’s home, there is also a wide range of choices to choose from. With so many online stores, discounts and promos abound to attract more customers. This enables customers to choose which store and product gives the most value to their money.

Are you getting tired of just sitting on your recliner and taking it easy? You’re in luck because this article is for bored recliner addicts. Find out how you can put some life, adventure, and fun into your reclining hours.

1. Balance a pen on your tongue while sitting on the recliner. This is not for obsessive-compulsive people. Put the chair in its full reclining position so that you’ll have more room to maneuver in. Then go ahead and do your balancing act. Get someone to time how long you can balance the pen. Keep a record and challenge your friends to a balancing match.

2. Pretend to be a member of the mafia. If you’re living with someone, wait for them to come home. When they’re about 5 minutes away, put on a good suit and smoke a cigar while sitting on the recliner. Turn off the lights except the low lamp beside the chair. When the person comes in, lazily blow some smoke in the air and wait for them to break the silence.

3. Sit upside down. Contemplate on the things of this world while sitting upside down on the recliner. Who knows, you may hit upon a brilliant idea while in that attitude.

4. Get up on the recliner and conduct an imaginary orchestra. Put the recliner where you’re sure to have an audience. Make sure you put on a suit with coat tails. To really get in the mood, put on some orchestra music and wave and point your conductor’s stick every which way as you conduct your way to a scandalously brilliant finale.

5. Do a juggling act. Recline on the chair and juggle water balloons. Or something that will be messy if you drop it. Maybe paint balloons to make it more colorful. You’ll be pressured to do your best not to drop anything or you’ll have to clean it up.

6. Watch the world go by. This is for those who have swivel recliners. Ask someone to spin the recliner while you’re reclining on it. Give instructions to keep on spinning till you raise the white flag or you throw up. Ten points if you throw up on the person spinning the recliner.

7. Get your picture taken posing as an explorer while standing on the recliner. Don your adventurer outfit. If you have a parka and the whole nine yards of cold weather outfit, even better. Stand on the seat of your recliner with one foot on top of the recliner arm. Put one hand on your waist and hold a pole with the flag waving with an imaginary breeze with the other. Smile your best smile.

8. Do a handstand. To make it more interesting, do a handstand with just the one hand on the seat of the recliner. If you can’t get someone to take a picture of you so you can boast about it to your friends, put your camera on a 10-second timer.

9. Do a split. Your legs should be on the arms of the recliner. While doing the split, put your hands together, palms facing each other, and do your best to look mystical. Then ponder on life and its realities.

10. Stand en pointe. Be sure to wear them pointe shoes and put on a tutu if you feel like it. It may look easy to stand en pointe or to stand on the tips of your toes like a ballerina, but it’d take special skill to do it on a recliner. You can pirouette if space allows it.

Ever wonder who first thought of upholstering a recliner with leather? No, it’s not the guy who invented recliners nor any of the companies who manufactured recliners for the last 50 years or so. Chuck Norris invented leather to upholster his recliner. Okay, he didn’t invent it. Inventing a cow is an impossible feat, even for the highly esteemed Mr. Norris. His contribution to the furniture industry is that he discovered the use of leather for upholstery. Here’s how it happened.

One day, Chuck Norris was lazily lounging on his recliner after roundhouse-kicking an unfortunate guy who accidentally bumped into him at a gas station. Poor guy almost got his beard knocked off, but Chuck was in good spirits that day so he only roundhouse-kicked him half-heartedly. Now as Chuck was reclining, thinking about how he can make the world submit to his will, he got thirsty. So he went down to the corner store for a 6-pack of beer.

As he was walking, he passed by a furniture store with recliner displays. He was shocked to see a recliner exactly like his own on the store window! All this time, he thought his recliner was unique.

“That salesman told me it was made especially for me! How dare he make duplicates! I’ll hunt him down and roundhouse-kick him like there’s no tomorrow.”

He was fuming as he quickly made his way back to his house. But before he could get to his house, he saw his elderly neighbor inching along the street with his cane. Chuck thought, “Just one good act for the day and I’ll be able to roundhouse-kick anyone without feeling bad.”

So he picked up his protesting neighbor and brought him to the old guy’s house. The neighbor was screaming the whole time about going to the store but Chuck didn’t listen and just kicked the door open. He sat the man down on the sofa and turned to leave when he saw his neighbor’s recliner, which is exactly like his own. That was the last straw. He went out and roundhouse-kicked everyone within a 5-mile radius.

When his anger was spent, he discovered he was in a cattle ranch. He was looking at the fine Jersey cows when, ding! He thought of a brilliant idea. He’d skin the cows and use their hides to upholster his recliner! He was chuckling to himself as kicked three cows dead. He skinned them and brought their hides to his house and dried them. He was so pleased with his idea that he forgot all about the salesman.

Next morning, he went out to look at the hides but was surprised to see fine leather instead. He never knew exactly how it happened, but he just shrugged and upholstered his recliner with it. Many stories arose as to how he got leather from cowhides overnight, but nobody really got to the bottom of it, even Chuck. Not that he tried.

Chuck rather liked his leather recliner. It matched his macho persona. His friends started praising his recliner and he thought, “What the heck, I’ll tell them about the cowhides.” So he told his friends and they spent months discovering the process of tanning leather and whatnot.

Long story short, Chuck shared his secret because he thought,”As long as I have the very first leather recliner, doesn’t matter how many have them. If I want to have a unique recliner again, I can always roundhouse-kick all the other leather recliners and even all the cows in the Wild West and beyond.”

And that’s how leather was born.

Ever wonder what kind of recliners powerful men lounge in? Do their recliners have more cushion, secret compartments, cup holders and popcorn holders? Are they upholstered in the finest leather from around the world? Do they boast the best reclining mechanism? We can only imagine what their recliners are like.

That’s right, we can only imagine. Let’s imagine what two powerful men’s recliners are like. Say, Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden’s. Why them, you ask. Well, if we’re comparing imaginary recliners, might as well compare those supposedly owned by people on the opposite sides of the spectrum, so to speak. Obama is the most powerful man in the world and bin Laden is also powerful, albeit in a notorious and violent way. We could talk about George Bush’s recliner but he won’t be able to send fighter planes out at will so we’ll nix that. Obama and bin Laden it is.

Barack Obama’s Recliner

What would the most powerful man in the world have for a recliner? Of course it would be upholstered with top-quality leather from the best shorthorns and jersey cows of the Wild West. Okay, leather from just one breed of cow, take your pick. Leather always has that sophisticated look and we’re talking American president here. Shorthorns, lay down your lives and hides. It is for a good cause.

The cushion would most probably be memory foam because NASA came up with that technology and Mr. President is their boss. He’d have their best memory foam technology secrets, perks of the job.

The recliner would have a cup holder for a supersized drink and a snack table attached to the arm. I reckon he’d want to watch them Hollywood movies with an all-American burger and fries combo. On the other recliner arm, he’d have a mini-computer system where he can govern state affairs while watching the tube and listening to what people think about him, his administration, and what he’s doing with the government’s money.

I daresay the recliner would have a parachute installed in it. Why? It’s best to be ready for anything crazy. A secret compartment on the arm with the snack table would conceal a gun. What? Yes, a gun. Who knows someone will slip past security with one of those non-metallic guns. (Are those real or just in movies?) The president can just laugh and introduce the would-be assassin to his pistol. Or a different kind of gun, whichever.

Osama Bin Laden’s Recliner

A world-famous terrorist enjoys notoriety but not exactly comfort. Since bin Laden is in hiding, we can’t really say he’s living in the lap of luxury even though he’s got money.

What would his recliner be like? It could be upholstered with leather though not as fine as President Obama’s. Bin Laden doesn’t have a lot of access to quality cows where he’s hiding so he’d have to make do with whatever’s available. However, he can accessorize with multicolored rugs woven by creative Afghan weavers. He’d have that ethnic flair where Obama has sophistication.

Bin Laden’s secret compartment on the recliner arm would probably contain al-Qaeda’s plans for the next 5 years or so. Don’t be surprised if you see blueprints of buildings and such. A copy of information about all of al-Qaeda’s members since its inception would be hidden in the recliner upholstery. Why would he have valuable information hidden in a recliner? Don’t ask. Terrorists are weird that way. I think he’d also have cash stashed somewhere on the recliner. It’s not like he can just prance into a bank and ask to make a withdrawal.

He’d have a gun hidden somewhere on his recliner. Or a bomb. What’s a terrorist without his weapons of warfare anyway? His ottoman would also be a nice hiding place for a number of other explosive devices. This way, if he has to make a quick getaway without retrieving valuable documents hidden in the recliner, he can just blow it up and send the much-coveted information to ash oblivion.

Now, imagine Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden reclining side by side, each with their unique recliners. I wonder how many would get tickets to see that.