Does a recliner need a high back?

A friend of mine needed a reclining chair so her family went to a specialist store and they came to her house and measured her for the right size, then brought a few chairs and patterns for her to try and look at so she could choose the style and pattern she wanted. The one she chose has a high back and reclines nearly flat if she wanted to sleep, it also reclines at the touch of a button and is operated by electric so it needs to be near a plug point or nearby so it can be used via extension.

I know for sure if ever I need one I will do the same.

Nandalot - what kind of footstool is it please? Do you have a name or photo? I'm trying to imagine how a footstool works with a normal recliner. Do you mean a manual recliner and just the back reclines?

A high seat chair on its own would be fine for just sitting, but I'm also thinking about what I do when I'm sitting. Eg I tend to use the computer on my knee sometimes and like to lean back to do that and have my knees up a bit. So would definitely need a footstool if not a recliner.

Oak Tree came last Wednesday and the salesman was brilliant. I'd assumed I would need a dual motor chair because I want to be able to sit upright with my legs raised. The chair he brought was a Rowan and a single motor but it only reclines slightly until the foot is fully raised. It was a lovely comfortable chair exactly the right height for me and I was ok with the slight recline. The salesman clearly explained the difference between a single and dual motor chair. The dual reclines further so would need more space behind it. I don't really want to be able to sleep in it so don't need it to recline so much but I do need a slightly wider chair and was a bit taken aback by the price but he offered to check if there was anything in Clearance but there wasn't. They did have a chair 'ready to ship' which was the size I needed and was otherwise identical to the demo chair but would be cheaper. As I really felt comfortable in the demo chair and liked the fabric & colour I bought the ready to ship one. The salesman was quite happy to let my daughter try the chair first so I could see it moving. Then I sat in it and familiarised myself with the controls.

I've also had a home visit from Willowbrook. They messed us around with changing appointments several times and should have been before Oak Tree but weren't. I considered cancelling their appointment but didn't and am glad because the experience was very different. The salesman was more concerned with the way he wanted to demonstrate the chair rather than my experience. He obviously wasn't happy about my daughter trying it first and didn't demonstrate it or let her try controlling it. When I sat in it he controlled it so I don't know how many buttons it has. It was too low for me and the back was too high so my head was uncomfortable. He did produce a neck cushion which made it better. His quote which was 50% off was within a few pounds of the price I've paid for the Oak Tree chair and that price was only valid for 14 days. The thing that really annoyed me about that salesman was that after he'd raised the chair for me to get up he didn't move out of the way for me to get back into my own chair. I had to ask him to move.

I felt the Oak Tree salesman was concerned about what was best for me but he might just have been far better at his job than the Willowbrook man.

gentleshores it sounds as though the Oak Tree single motor chair might suit you.

PS I'm getting £200 off the price for an old chair which they donate to British Heart Foundation if it's saleable. So you'd have had use of your settee for £50

Thank you Cressida. That sounds positive. I know initially I was keen on the idea. On the phone they said they start at £1300 and I've seen people on reviews saying they paid £2000.
As I need two chairs to replace the sofa I'm having to think about the sums a bit.

Would you say the seat cushion was firm? And if so did it still have some cushioning?

Anyway. I've now bought one chair. A parker knoll hartley wing chair with a seat height of 52cm - it's new but from a clearance site and haggled over the price and got it down a bit but it's still not cheap.

So that's ok for sitting on. Still need a second chair - possibly a recliner or something with a foot rest. I don't really mind any more if they don't match!

My chair was delivered today.

I'm not the only one who thinks it's comfortable