Recliners for salon

Hi all, we are looking to replace an uncomfortable barrel chair with a swiveling recliner.

Looking for recommendations and particularly in the Seattle to Anacortes area for purchase.

I have looked at the RV stuff since this seems more common. Hoping to find something in stock so I can actually sit in it before buying.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I keep hearing/reading about Ekornes Stressless chairs. I've never experienced one but everyone seems to rave about them. Not recommending or not recommending but wondered if others have experienced them. Not inexpensive.

We had two Barclays recliners when we bought Hobo. We ended up replacing them with a couple of Poang arm chairs with leather from Ikea. They take up a lot less room, which for us was a concern. We added felt pads to the legs so they don’t scratch the teak parquet floor. We couldn’t be happier.

https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/poaeng-armchair-medium-brown-glose-robust-off-white-s69830595/

Second on the Poang with leather, however, because of our knee damage, and their comfort, they are hard for us to get out of, so we had to raise them on blocks of 2 x 3, 1 per corner for Priscilla, and 2 for me. The footstool hides in a corner when we are not using it.
We looked at several of the rv recliners, but they did not seem sturdy enough for my 300+ lbs x 6'4"
JohnS

Check out LazyBoy Joshua rocker recliner, you can order it with a swivel base.

Greetings,
Mr. B. For your salon...







For your saloon...Try some out. Chairs are a very personal thing IMO...

Your choice will likely depend in part on the amount of space you actually have. We have 2 Ekornes chairs and can vouch for their comfort. For the space conscious, there are newer models where the foot rest folds up under the chair in a pretty cool way.

Jeremiah

We have 2 Ekorne Stressless recliners in our boat. Really comfortable.

Another Krogen we visited had Stressless. They were awesome, can be purchased in different sizes and cost a fortune. I wasn't allowed to buy one.

Stop in at Tracy's Furniture Store in Anacortes and try out the Eknores Stressless. They have quite a few in the show room to try, Very Comfy.
https://www.tracysfurniture.com/

We have one of the Ikea Poang chairs at home (not "fake" leather, just cloth). It is quite comfortable, but would be a bit difficult to "get out of" if you don't have reasonably strong thighs or are "challenged" in that regard. Also, if you are a fairly heavy person (say over 230 lbs - just a guess) it may not stand up very well to repeated use by that person. JMHO, only owned ours for 6 months and I don't weigh over 200. So far, so good though.

Strategically, do you want to sit alone or snuggle with your honey? I do not understand the attraction to solo seating. I was able to fit a Pallister leather sofa into the salon, selecting a model sized to take up a smaller footprint. Ottomans double as additional seating when needed, else they provide a reclining experience. For smaller spaces Pallister also has, aptly named, love seats. My Admiral always wants to spend time on our Love Boat…
sofa picture

+1 on Ekornes.
We have a pair on Retreat, now over 20 yrs old, still as comfy and attractive as when new. We bought the small size, so as to conserve space in our saloon. They came with an ottoman each, which we didn't get and regretted. Adding a single ottoman later cost as much as we saved not getting 2. We also have Ekornes at home and in our Motorhome. More expensive than lookalikes, but well worth the extra.

The Admiral loves her Stressless and I love my Lazyboy, both in matched beige leather. We have tried others but these work the best for our individual frames. The Stressless has an automan as well.

Another vote for Ekornes Stressless chairs, I have three of them at this house, and another couple in another.. I have thought about removing our built in settee on one side of the salon on our Ocean Alexander so I could add at least one Ekornes.. but I keep too many tools and crap I want to get into in the current settee.



These two shown below are the "vintage design" Ekornes and are too big for most boats, they make many sizes and have small ones that still fit my 6'2" frame just fine. They are amazing chairs and the real ones are super durable, the one on the left in the pic below has been in the family since 1970!



We also have late model ones that are of amazing quality.. I'm sitting in the one on the left as I type this..


HOLLYWOOD

Thank you all for your great ideas. Our vessel is in a charter fleet so most likely won't go real expensive but I am certainly going to go check out an Ekornes for my RV or at home.

Is there anywhere else in Anacortes, Burlington or Seattle that I should be looking at?

Bajabuzz said:

Thank you all for your great ideas. Our vessel is in a charter fleet so most likely won't go real expensive but I am certainly going to go check out an Ekornes for my RV or at home.

Is there anywhere else in Anacortes, Burlington or Seattle that I should be looking at?

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Dania,
HOLLYWOOD

There are reclining chairs that might not swivel, but will extend to stand someone upright.

I have replaced swivel recliners on RV and boat and like them. They are available in a few sizes /many styles. Write up w pics and details are on Bacchus website in Projects section.
We have Stressless at home and live them. I would say the boat & RV ones are surely second to them but also 1/4 the $.

We went to the local Laz-Y-Boy store and sat in about a thousand recliners before choosing. Turned out to be important, because different seat depths don't work for shorter or longer legs, different back heights don't work for everyone, etc.

We found a good compromise both of us liked, Laz-Y-Boy delivered to the boat and set 'em up.

Happens we chose electric adjustable, so there are infinite positions versus just two or three that happens with mechanical recliners. But then for that we also had to solve AC when not at the dock or not running the generator. (Hint: inverter.)

-Chris

Our new to us trawler came with a pair of matching recliners. Though they were very comfortable, they were overly large and had to be pulled away from the saloon wall to recline. Plus they scratched the teak and holly flooring. We looked at replacing with a pair of Stressless chairs, but at $2500 each, it seemed pricey, plus we really didn't want or need recliners. Then we tried a pair of beautiful easy chairs purchased from Bed and Board (U Village, Seattle). But once installed, they seemed out of place. Finally, we decided to have a custom bench built into the space occupied by the old recliners. I found a cabinet shop in Anacortes to do the work at half the estimate from boatyards. A bonus is the bench will provide extra storage in the space below the cushions. Maybe we won't be able to recline, but the bench will make a nice place to stretch out for a nap. (Pic #1 are the original recliners. Pic #2 is what it will look like when finished.)

"Finally, we decided to have a custom bench built into the space occupied by the old recliners."

Looks great but the problem I always have with benches or dinettes is a hunk of foam on a rock hard surface becomes hard after a while.

Real seats have springs to soften the sitting if they will be in use for very long. And few builders install springs in a bench or dinette.

Bajabuzz said:

Hi all, we are looking to replace an uncomfortable barrel chair with a swiveling recliner.

Looking for recommendations and particularly in the Seattle to Anacortes area for purchase.

I have looked at the RV stuff since this seems more common. Hoping to find something in stock so I can actually sit in it before buying.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Too bad you're in California, BB. We have two stressless recliners and ottomans in our salon and my wife wants to get rid of them in favor of an L-shaped sofa.

John

"I have looked at the RV stuff since this seems more common."

It is more common to find "zero clearance" (fit close to a wall) and recline in RV than house items.

Try googling "zero clearance seating "in your area , to see what pops up.

We have found these to be comfortable, stylish and relatively compact for a reclining chair.

The foot rest can be extended without the back moving. The back is adjusted via a knob on the side.

https://www.lafer.ind.br/gaga-recliner

This is a huge challenge we discovered when searching for a comfortable chair. it seems manufacturers do not really make furniture with the marine industry in mind. Whats hard is finding a chair that's not only comfortable, but also has a small footprint and doesn't weigh a ton. Even though we had room for Ekornes stressless; didn't want to take up that much floor space and they're quite heavy when you need to move things around, say if you want access to a floor hatch. Its a tough problem and you can see that a lot of chair manufacturers might list chair dimensions on their website but often do not list the weight of the chair; its like they're saying "why would anyone care about the weight?" -don't have a great solution, just venting a bit......

I never really considered Rooms To Go for boat furniture, but these are surprisingly comfortable and looked well made when I checked the out recently. They also have fold-out foot-support vs an ottoman—a must on our list—and are priced at a fraction of Scandinavian brands. Anybody have these on board? (RTG says the in-the-box weight is 67 lbs, so minus the packaging would be lighter.)

I’ve tried on a couple of these Stressless copies, and they seem comfortable enough, but watch out for the ones that are “bonded leather”. That paper-thin skin peels off the vinyl backing on heavier friction areas (like the armrests) revealing its discounted character.

healhustler said:

I’ve tried on a couple of these Stressless copies, and they seem comfortable enough, but watch out for the ones that are “bonded leather”. That paper-thin skin peels off the vinyl backing on heavier friction areas (like the armrests) revealing its discounted character.

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Good point.

Seems to be a niche here for someone wanting to manufacture a true leather recliner with:

• retractable leg support (no ottoman) for space-saving,

• stylish Euro design and

• priced so that a pair doesn’t equal the cost of a new dinghy.

Surprisingly hard to find anything that checks all these boxes.

So we’re compromising to consider chairs with ottomans like Fjords and Mac Motions. The catch: nobody within 200 miles seems to have any in stock. No way will we buy something on line because it “looks comfortable.”

healhustler said:

I’ve tried on a couple of these Stressless copies, and they seem comfortable enough, but watch out for the ones that are “bonded leather”. That paper-thin skin peels off the vinyl backing on heavier friction areas (like the armrests) revealing its discounted character.

Click to expand...

I have an office chair with arms and faux leather arm rests. he balance of the chair hasn't failed yet, but is the same stuff. After a few years of a good imitation of leather, the onion skin thick outer layer is coming off in sheets, making the whole so ugly that I wouldn't be able to give it away.
Don't buy too cheap.