A recliner sofa is the most-asked-about thing on our showroom floor, and by a distance. People come in for a three-seater, sit down in a recliner on the way past, and stay there. Then comes the question we can never answer from the doorway: will it actually fit?

That question is the whole of this guide. Autumn Savers is running now, with an extra 10% off applied automatically at checkout until Monday 28 September, so it is a reasonable moment to work it out properly rather than guess. Here is what to measure, what to choose between, and what to test before you commit.

Manual or electric?

This is the first fork in the road, and it is less about budget than about who is using it.

A manual recliner works off a lever or a side handle, and you push back with your own weight to open it. There is nothing to plug in, nothing electrical to fail, and it will still work in twenty years. The catch is that opening and closing takes a bit of effort, and it tends to stop in one or two fixed positions rather than anywhere you like.

An electric recliner runs off a button. It stops anywhere in the range, so you can sit halfway rather than fully back, and it takes almost no strength to operate — which is the reason it is usually the right answer for older buyers, or for anyone with a bad back, shoulder or wrist.

Two practical points people forget with electric. First, it needs a socket, and the cable comes out at a specific point on the frame, so think about where the sofa is going before you order. An extension lead running across a doorway is nobody's idea of a finished room. Second, in a power cut the seat stays exactly where it is unless the model has a manual release or a battery backup. That is worth asking about by name, particularly if you are somewhere the lights go out in a gale.

How much room does a recliner sofa need?

Here is the part that catches people out. A recliner does not just need the floor space of a sofa. It needs room behind it and room in front of it, and both at the same time.

The wall clearance figure varies enormously between models, which is why we will not quote you a single number: check the one you are buying. If your room simply cannot give up the space behind, ask about a wall-hugger mechanism, which slides the seat forward as it reclines instead of tilting back into the wall. It needs far less room, and most people do not know to ask for it.

A recliner needs room behind it and room in front of it, at the same time. Measure both, or measure twice.

Seat height and depth: the getting-up test

Comfort sells recliners. Seat height decides whether you still like it in five years.

Here is the measurement worth taking before you shop: sit in a dining chair in your shoes, and measure from the back of your knee to the floor. A sofa seat close to that figure lets you stand up in one movement. Much lower and you are pushing yourself up with your arms every time, which is exactly the thing that turns a favourite chair into an obstacle later on.

Seat depth works alongside it. A deep seat is glorious if you like to curl up, and awkward if you are shorter, because you either perch on the edge or lose all back support. This matters more on a recliner than a standard sofa, since you are in it for whole evenings. If you are buying for an older parent, take them with you — this is not a decision to make on their behalf from a product page.

Which configuration?

Recliners come in more shapes than people expect, and the right one depends on how many of you there are and how the room is arranged.

• Two-seater. Usually both seats recline. The sensible choice for a couple and for most Highland sitting rooms, which are not vast.
• Three-seater with two reclining ends. The ends recline, the middle seat does not. Good for a family: three can sit, two can put their feet up.
• Corner recliner. Uses a corner that would otherwise sit dead and seats the most people. Check which end reclines and which way the corner turns before ordering, and remember both reclining ends need their own clearance.
• Matching armchair. Often the best answer of all. One person gets a proper recliner, the room keeps a normal sofa, and you spend less floor space than a reclining three-seater would take.

If you are weighing a recliner against a standard sofa, our guide on how to choose a sofa covers frames, fillings and fit.

Fabric or leather?

Both are fine. What matters is knowing where a recliner wears, because it is not where a normal sofa wears.

The stress points are the seam where the footrest folds away, the front edge of the seat where your legs pass over it, and the headrest, which takes hair oils night after night. Look at those three places on anything you are considering, and ask what the covering is.

Leather wipes clean in a second, softens attractively with use, and shrugs off the spilled tea that ends most evenings. It is cooler to sit on in January, which in a Highland living room is a real consideration. Fabric is warmer straight away and quieter in use, but the fold line will show wear sooner on a light colour. Neither is wrong; the question is which annoyance you would rather have.

Quick answers: recliner sofa FAQ