The Alternative To A Bulky Recliner That'll Make Your Space Feel Bigger

Finding the perfect mix of comfortable and stylish seating pieces goes a long way toward creating cozy and adaptable rooms for you and your guests. Outfitting a small living room can be especially challenging, finding the right configuration that both provides comfort and maximizes the room's potential. The wrong seating can overwhelm (or underwhelm) a design scheme as well as interfere with optimal traffic flow and comfort. One particular type of seating, traditional recliners, can often be one of the hardest things to work a room around, which leads many design experts to suggest foregoing it in favor of more compact options like swivel chairs and convertibles.

Recliners have enjoyed a heyday as a comfy option for seating, with many American living rooms and family rooms employing one or two. They come in all varieties of materials and styles and provide a spacious spot to spend hours watching TV or reading. While they can be comfortable, they dominate the area, leaving little room for other pieces, which many designers say can impact a room's total design.

Designer Charmaine Wynter tells Apartment Therapy, that space and size are key elements when considering seating, "Recliners take up much more space than they offer for seating...By that I mean recliners typically only seat one person; however, a recliner requires square footage for clearance behind and in front of the actual chair. They [also] often have high backs — blocking the view to anything in its path line." In a small space, these faults can be magnified, making traditional recliners a bad choice.

There are many other options that provide the same comfort but take up less space, such as an accent chair, like a club or swivel design, paired with an ottoman or footstool for reclining, which can also be used as extra seating for guests. Other alternatives to a conventional recliner include reclining sofas, stylish convertibles that transform into a bed when needed, or chaise lounges that can double as additional seating for more than one person while still allowing you to occasionally put your feet up.