If you’re going for a cozy, comfortable living room that makes guests feel right at home without sacrificing your space, then recliners are the way to go. Recliners are the ultimate in comfort but not always the best for walls. Here’s what you need to know about how far a recliner needs to be from your wall.
The standard recliner usually requires at least 1 foot of space in front of the wall to open wide and sit on it with comfort. Below you may find additional information about how much space is needed with different recliner types.
Traditional Recliner
A traditional recliner typically needs at least 10-15 inches of space in each direction while the arms are being used. In addition, the armrests add additional space required to open wide and sit comfortably on the chair, which increases the distance it from the wall.
Desk Recliner
This chair type will need about 20-24 inches in each direction (including forward and backward) so that the seat can be opened wide and sit on it with comfort. However, it will need less space when it is not being used as a desk.
Wall Hugger Recliner
It generally won’t need the space to open wide and vice versa.
Rocker Recliner
This chair typically needs about 14 inches in each direction while being used for rocking motion. The rocking motion of a rocker recliner won’t need the extra space required to open wide and vice versa.
Glider Recliner
A Glider requires about 13 inches of space in front of the wall to open wide and sit on it with comfort. However, a glider also needs only 8 inches of space when not used for sitting but closed and pushed back.