Shopping Tips

Chairs & Ottomans

There is nothing like sinking down into a plush, inviting easy chair. Such a luxury need not be restricted to the den or living room – in a home office or bedroom, an upholstered chair offers welcome respite.

The soft, padded easy chair bespeaks a gradual historical trend away from rigid, utilitarian styles and toward comfort in furnishings. Some date this transformation back to 17th century Europe, during Louis XIV's reign in France, when furniture-making took a turn toward opulence.

And comfortable furniture is here to stay.

Yet, with so many variations available, how do you know which upholstered chair is right for you? And how do you judge its quality? The experts at Bernhardt Furniture offer the following tips to help you find an excellent-quality chair that suits your needs and taste.

Comfortable Upholstered Chairs: A Buyer's Guide

You’re in the showroom, and you have your pick from a seemingly endless array of upholstered chairs. Now what?

Know the basic easy chair styles, and choose the one that fits your personality. Popular options include overstuffed – a full, comfy look achieved by covering the frame with generous fill or stuffing; exposed frame – an elegant style in which parts of the frame are exposed, such as the legs, arms, or back; and tight back – a sleek, more formal design that features a firm, tautly upholstered back.

Look for a chair that pairs well with the furniture you already have. It’s perfectly acceptable to mix and match – just seek out a chair with a style that complements your existing furnishings. Use fabric or color samples to find upholstery styles that work well together, and look for a chair with proportions that are similar to other chairs or sofas in the same room. Select a chair with classic lines, which will blend in easily with any design scheme – formal or casual, country or contemporary.

Choose a sizable chair to give a room dramatic focus. An oversized chair will add character and visual interest to a space that’s grand or small. In fact, choosing a few large-scale furnishings – rather than several diminutive chairs and tables – will actually make a small room seem bigger.

Have a seat. Test out a few chairs, and learn to recognize the features that make them feel comfortable to you. Is the padding too hard, too soft, or just right? Also, consider how well the chair fits your particular build, choosing a higher seat if you are long-legged, for example. The height of the arms, the pitch of the back, and the support under your knees should feel right for your body.

Look for a chair with a solid structure. The best chairs have frames that are made of kiln-dried hardwood, and that are joined with firm dowels (metal, plastic or wooden pins often used for support on chairs), or with a combination of glue, staples, and/or corner blocks. A frame made with glue or staples alone will not prove stable in the long run.

Touch. The chair’s upholstery should feel good to you, and it should also be durable. Leather, woven wool, tapestry, and upholstery-weight velvet are proven to be wearable.

The Indispensable Ottoman

Think Big.

If ever you considered the ottoman inconsequential, think again. This relatively small piece of furniture comes in handy in a variety of ways. Designers love them because they don’t take up visual space, yet they are hardworking in their own right.

Placed in front of an easy chair, an ottoman naturally assumes its role as a footrest – a simple luxury for tired feet. Yet, where a coffee table is absent, the ottoman rises to the occasion. Books or magazines sit well here, and a tray is all that is needed to lend a stable, protective surface for glasses and plates. And when you’re one chair short, you can clear off the ottoman to make use of it as a low, comfortable seat. Many ottomans are small enough to carry easily from one room to the next.

Keep these tips in mind when you are in the market for an ottoman.

Feel free to mix and match, especially if you are going to use the ottoman on its own. A chair-and-ottoman is always handsome, but an ottoman need not be identical to the surrounding furniture in style or upholstery. Matched sets are usually more formal, while unmatched pieces set a more casual tone. Just choose styles and coverings that are compatible and coordinate well together.

Think about how you are going to use the ottoman. If you want one that doubles as a coffee table, choose an ottoman covered in a material that is easy to care for, such as leather.

Avoid pure white or cream-colored upholstery for ottomans. You don’t want to be too precious about furniture that often functions as a footrest. If you forget to remove your shoes, it won’t matter as much on a darker-hued ottoman.

Vintage Charm: The Leather Club Chair

The club chair – extra-roomy with its deep seat, low back, and slightly curved back and front – has resurfaced as a household favorite. Classically (but not exclusively) covered in leather, the chair’s original club design dates back to the 19th century. The popularity of the chair surged in the 1920s, when French Art Deco designers created variations on the basic theme.

Why leather for club chairs? For starters, the material pairs well with the chair’s sleek design. But additional reasons abound for choosing leather for this and other upholstered furniture. Durability is one benefit – leather will not tear easily. Furniture experts rate it as four to seven times more wearable than fabric upholstery. And today’s manufacturing standards ensure that leather is treated so that it won’t crack or peel. Leather also ages remarkably well, increasing in character, luster, suppleness, and beauty as the years go by.

Bernhardt offers leather easy chairs in the club style, as well as in related styles. The Leather collection features leather upholstery that is buttery-soft and fully aniline-dyed, which can be used with only the finest quality hides that have natural markings for character. With its relaxed blend-down cushions, the seat is invitingly sumptuous. Also popular are the stylish leather-upholstered easy chairs.

Leather Care: Do's and Don'ts

DO dust your leather furniture often, or vacuum with a soft-brush attachment to prevent dirt and dust from being ground into the surface.

DON’T use saddle soap or any furniture polish or cleaners on leather, which can harm the material.

DO keep leather furniture away from direct sunlight. Although leather will not fade as easily as many other materials, it is not entirely immune to the effects of the sun.