Recliner chairs Glasgow: power or manual, and what to check before you buy

Short answer: if you are looking for recliner chairs in Glasgow, decide three things before you look at a single fabric swatch: power or manual, a standard recliner or a riser recliner, and how much floor you can give it when it is fully reclined. Get those right and the rest is colour and budget. A power recliner armchair from our stocked ranges starts at £649, a manual one at £599, and a lift and rise riser recliner at £799, all on display at our Clydebank showroom, a short drive from the West End and the whole of west Glasgow.

Power recliner or manual recliner: which is better?

Neither is better. They suit different people, and the honest way to choose is to think about who will sit in it most.

A manual recliner uses a lever or a pull handle on the side of the chair. You lean back and the footrest comes up in one movement. It needs no socket, it can sit anywhere in the room, and there is nothing to charge or plug in. Our London manual recliner is a good example: a generously padded classic action, armchair £599, or as a two or three seater to match.

A power recliner runs on a quiet electric motor at the touch of a button, and you can stop it at any angle you like rather than the two or three fixed positions a manual gives you. That matters more than it sounds. The difference between a reading position and a dozing position is a few degrees, and a motor lets you find it. Power is the right choice for anyone with a sore back, hips or knees, for anyone who finds a manual lever stiff, and frankly for anyone who just wants the comfortable option. Most of our recliner ranges are power as standard: the Roma in a soft textured fabric at £649 for the armchair, the deep-seated Dream 2000 pictured above at £649, the Melbourne in leather across every contact area with USB and Type-C charging built in at £649, and the Naples in top-grain leather at £699.

The only practical thing a power recliner asks of you is a mains socket within reach of the chair. Plan the position before you buy, not after.

What is the difference between a recliner and a riser recliner?

A standard recliner tilts you back and lifts your feet. A riser recliner, also called a lift and rise chair, does that and then does the opposite too: the whole seat rises and tilts forward to help you stand up, so you are never pushing yourself out of a low chair. If you or someone you buy for struggles to get up from the sofa, that is the chair you want, and it is a different product from a normal power recliner even though they look similar from across the room.

Riser recliners come as single motor, where back and footrest move together, or dual motor, where you control them independently. Our lift and rise recliner chairs start at £799 for a dual motor chair, and because they are designed for people with a long-term condition or disability, many buyers qualify for VAT relief, which brings that chair down to £665.83. We have written a plain-English guide to who qualifies for VAT relief and how it works, and we will sort the form with you in the showroom.

Measure for the chair open, not closed

The mistake we see most often with recliner chairs in Glasgow homes, especially tenement flats and compact new-build living rooms, is measuring for the chair sitting upright. Our armchairs are around 91 to 106cm wide and 93 to 102cm deep closed. Reclined, the back travels backwards and the footrest extends forward, so you need clearance behind and in front. Product pages carry the closed dimensions; ask us for the reclined footprint of the chair you like and mark it out on the floor at home. If it has to sit tight against a wall, say so, because that rules some mechanisms out.

Fabric or leather, and can you buy just the chair?

Fabric is softer, warmer and cheaper. Leather wipes clean, which suits households with dogs, children or dinner on your knee. Our sofa fabric guide covers the differences and applies just as well to recliners. And yes, you can buy the chair on its own: every range is build-your-own, so order a single armchair, a pair, or one to sit beside a matching sofa. Browse by piece on our recliners by piece page or see every range in the recliner sofas collection. For something out of the ordinary, the Rocky power rocking recliner reclines to a zero-gravity position, rocks and swivels, with an optional battery pack, from £1,499. It is made to order in your choice of covering, so allow longer than for the stocked ranges.

Delivery, finance and changing your mind

Our stocked recliner ranges are imported and typically deliver in two to four weeks, much quicker than most made-to-order furniture, and the product pages show the current order-by date for Christmas. Online orders come with two-man delivery for £80, 0% finance is available, and if you change your mind you have 14 days to return it to the showroom. Details are on our delivery page.

Frequently asked questions

Do power recliners need to be plugged in? Yes, a standard power recliner runs off a normal mains socket, so position the chair where the cable can reach without crossing a walkway. The Rocky is the exception, with an optional battery pack.

Is a power recliner worth the extra money? For someone who sits in it every evening, or has any trouble with their back, hips or knees, yes. For an occasional chair in a spare room, a manual recliner does the job for less.

Can I try recliner chairs in Glasgow before I buy? Yes. We have a good selection of recliner armchairs and sofas on the floor in Clydebank, power and manual, fabric and leather, plus lift and rise chairs to test. Sit in them, recline them fully and stand up out of them.

Start with the recliners by piece page to see what an armchair, two seater or corner costs in each range, then come in and sit in the ones you like. Bring the room measurements and we will tell you which chairs fit reclined, not just closed.

Paul James Home, inside the Co-op Department Store, Clydebank. Monday to Saturday 9 to 5. 0141 266 0400.