Help me find a new chair.

I've been sitting in the same chair for 25 years. I picked up two of them on the side of the road when I was in my 20s. They are comfortable. They help maintain posture. They rock and swivel but don't recline. They aren't overstuffed. 

They are also ancient. They have been recovered, rebuilt, and had the swivels welded back together several times. The main chair is falling apart again. I think it's time for a new chair. 

I do not want a overstuffed recliner. To me they are not comfortable and make my back hurt.  

I mostly use the chair for reading, movies, and surfing the web on my lap top.

Show me what you sit in. Tell me why you like it. Everything I'm finding that I think I will like is unbelievably expensive. I'm not spending $2k on a chair unless someone can convince me they are worth it. 

I’m a fan of the Poang chairs from IKEA. Simple, comfortable to me, rock a little, good support, not too soft. A pair of those in leather with matching ottomans will put you back less that $600. 

Other than that, look for the best Eames lounger knockoff you can find. But one decent one of those will be over $600. 

You're gonna get a couple of recommendations for Ickeyahs Poang ( sic ) too lazy to look up correct spelling. Hated it at first but my body adapted to it. Sitting in it right now. With the foot stool it's affordable. I bought it in the orange color. You will need to tighten it up after a while. That's easy. Don't wear black socks on the foot stool. It leaves ugly little fuzzy balls. Takes up too much apartment space with the foot stool.  Butt comfort is decent.

I actually looked at both of those already. The Eames look very promising but not at $5k.

I wondered about the comfort of the knock offs. Foam quality can make or break a chair. And the durability. I don't want to spend $600 on a chair only to have it look like crap in a couple of years. 

They had these in my college library. They will put you to sleep instantly and are absolutely worth two grand, if you can find a (genuine) used one.

Buy the poang this weekend at Ickeyah and use it to procrastinate in. Get the salmon ignore the cohabiting couples having an argument and buy the automotive posters. By the time you'll have made up your mind after a month or two you'll accept it for a while. That's my plan of attack. Or at least until I spring for something awesome. 

Oh and get the meatballs as a side dish. The entree portion as a side dish that is. 

In reply to nutherjrfan :

The closest IKEA is 3.5 hours away so that's out. I have heard about the meat balls though. 

In reply to Woody :

Wait. How did your picture change? 

If it helps, ikea now ships certain items to your house. I just checked and the Poang is one of those items. Shipping is even pretty cheap. At $99 it has to be worth a shot, right? 

In reply to szeis4cookie :

It's on the short list. There is a good chance one will end up in the frog near my desk. 

nutherjrfan said:

In reply to Woody :

Wait. How did your picture change? 

First photo was of a fake.

In reply to Toyman01 :

Get the foot stool if you do. Absolute must. 

We’re looking for a sofa right now, has to recline but I hate the “Lazy boy look”. I sit in this right now: 

Extremely comfortable. Especially when you do this: 

We got these at an estate sale. They’re Hancock and Moore, which is probably the best of the best without getting into custom. Made in USA, all solid maple construction, top grain leather (do NOT get bonded leather), and fit and finish that is top notch. These were probably 20 years old when we got them; you could tell me they were 1 or 10 or 50 and I wouldn’t have been able to tell you you were wrong. A quality product that holds up. The only reason we’re replacing (and actually just getting moved in the house) is that they don’t work in the room—they take up too much space.

Otherwise, Stickley is as good as Hancock and Moore. Bradington Young and Smith Brothers slightly below— Plywood instead of solid maple, small leather defects that 90% of people would never notice, but still a solid piece. Hooker is imported, but the construction is done right. LaZBoy is alright for the price, but nothing special—assuming you get it wayy discounted. Ashley is cheap E36 M3 that you’ll be lucky to get 10 years out of. Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware are overpriced yuppie bait that look nice but are cheaply constructed. 

Leather will outlast fabric by  LONG time, providing you take care of it. If you get a recliner, get leather since it has a bunch of friction points. If you’re buying new, find out what foam is used in the cushions. Firmer is better. 

Moving  to a more modern look, that isn’t a $5k Eames, I’ve heard good things about the Poang chairs from Ikea. I really liked the stressless brand chairs that we sat in, but they’re not what we’re looking for. And if you’re a Costco member, they have a chair on sale online right now for $300 that may be what you’re looking for: https://www.costco.com/Sten-Fabric-Swivel-ProLounger-Recliner-and-Ottoman.product.100405021.html

Ive learned more than I ever thought I would know in the last week from this forum: myfurnitureforum.com 

the guy that runs it owns a store, and is partial to the brands he has—and is “snooty” in the sense that he expects high quality and long lasting furniture, but has been an excellent resource. 

Oh, one other thing: the markup on furniture is INSANE. Haggle like crazy. I’ve already talked a place down on a sofa that has an MSRP of $5k, and advertised price of $3.5k to $2.3k. Shop around. 

Edit: why to spend the big bucks? Because it’s worth it. My parents have a Hancock and Moore sofa. It is 35 years old. It looks brand new and sits like brand new. I have my grandparents old Stickley (we think) sofa. Over 60 years old. Sits wonderfully, was reupholstered once. To me, it’s the boots theory of economics—rich man buys a $200 pair of boots once every 10 years; poor man buys a $40 pair of boots every year. Well, I’m of the “buy once cry once” persuasion—although I do try to buy them at estate sales and on Craigslist. 

Oh, another note: if you go the recliner route (full recliner like what I pictured above, not just a lean back with ottoman) make sure that it is using Leggett and Platt for the mechanism, and a power recliner is much more reliable—not as much torque and jerks are applied to it. 

Here are some listings I’d check out if I were you: 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2193022160737242/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/261623668119109/

In reply to mtn :

Do you already have a taker lined up for the recliner you're wanting to get rid of?

I'm currently sitting in this. I also don't find overstuffed furniture comfortable. Bought mine used for $500. I like these because the reclining design is very easy to adjust and reliable. It's also a lighweight design such that I loaded the chair into my car and into the house easily.

clutchsmoke said:

In reply to mtn :

Do you already have a taker lined up for the recliner you're wanting to get rid of?

Not getting rid of it, just moving it to another room. The other in the pair broke because of improper use—the mechanism had been weakened by carrying it fully extended to get it around a tight corner in a staircase at least twice at the house we bought it from. Basically it had stress put on the joints perpendicularly to how it was designed to take stress. Then my BIL sat on it while it was extended because I was vacuuming, and it snapped a rivet. I’ll try to repair that one then decide what to do with it; the mechanism is about $200 and you have to replace the whole part, but it may not be salvageable—I’m not sure the part is even available anymore. Tbh, if I fix it I’d like to keep the set.

Ive suggested this before in another thread that i'm considerimg.  Eames style chair and ottoman in genuine leather for under 800 bucks.  Modholic.com

As for the Ikea chair, I love mine & we've had them over 15 years with no complaints, but if you are over 200 lbs it might be a problem. I didn't used to be, but age has caught up with me an now that I gained weight I feel a bit nervous getting in & out of them.

Also, definitely pony up for the leather covers on the Poang. Much nicer and longer lasting than any of the cloth ones.

have you checked your local ReStore? 

If you want to try IKEA chairs, just look on Craigslist. The stuff is everywhere.

I still want one of these for my home office...  Pitstop furniture.

How do you think about this [canoe]. Its really compfortable to sit on it, not to big but not to small. I too had a favourite [canoe] which i was using for 12 years. I was also not willing to buy a new one. I wasted a lot of money renovating the old one.  Finally i biught a new one  from an [online canoe retailer]. It's comfortness really matches with the comfortness of my old one. Really happy on my new [canoe].