Recliners are popular seating options for family rooms because they are comfortable and casual. There is something so relaxing about putting your feet up in a soft, reclining chair. But you don’t have to trade style to get that feet-up comfort in your own home. If you have an old recliner that doesn’t fit your décor anymore, why not cover it in new fabric? We made a step-by-step video that will walk you through every detail so you can DIY reupholster your own recliner. The recliner we’re recovering in the video was in really great shape but the fabric wasn’t working in the owner’s new home. A quick way to tell if a recliner is worth working on is to check the stability of the arms—are they loose or shaky? If they are only a little loose, you can tighten them, but if they are very wobbly, the chair may be beyond saving. Also make sure the reclining mechanism is still in good working order. When selecting a new fabric for your recliner, think about the pattern. We don’t recommend choosing a very linear pattern, like stripes or plaid, because of the chair’s many moving parts.
It can be hard to line the pattern up along the chair and as you use your recliner the pieces might shift and make the piece look sloppy. We chose a large-scale paisley, P/Kaufmann Paisley Park Lagoon, because the paisley print won’t have to perfectly align. Reupholstering a recliner is a little different from other armchairs because it will actually disassemble into smaller parts. You can remove the back from the frame and then the seat deck and footrest. Each piece is reupholstered and then reassembled. In the video, you’ll learn how to disassemble the chair and remove the old fabric, how to sew and install piping, arm covers, the seat deck, and the attached back cushion. You’ll notice in the video that we didn’t cover how to sew the box cushion for the seat. We have a separate video just for the seat cushion, which we’ll be sharing here on the blog on Friday. Be sure to check back! Have you ever reupholstered a recliner? Share your advice and tips in the comments!
Moving your sofa is heavy work, so measure beforehand to avoid excess lifting. A recliner sofa is a comfortable and convenient piece of furniture -- until you have to move it. Reclining sofas are often heavy and bulky so they can accommodate the built-in reclining seats. Their weight makes them difficult to maneuver, and their dimensions make moving through narrow doorways a challenge. If you plan before you move, however, you may be able to fit your recliner sofa through a narrow doorway in one piece. If that proves impossible, many reclining sofas are easily disassembled. Remove the door and the hinges to provide additional space in the doorway. Cover the sofa with a moving blanket to protect the upholstery. Slide a ratchet strap under the reclining parts of the sofa. Wrap the strap around the front and back of the sofa. Tighten the strap to secure the footrest and to prevent the seat from reclining. Measure the height, width and length of the sofa. Remove the sofa legs if they can be removed.
If they cannot be removed, you’ll have to measure the height of the sofa, and add the leg length into that measurement. Measure the dimensions of the doorway. If the sofa’s width is less than the doorway’s width, you can move it through the doorway in its normal position. If the height of the back of the sofa is less than the width of the doorway, turn the sofa so that the back faces the ceiling and move it through. Flip the sofa on its end if the length is shorter than the door’s height, but the width is too wide to fit through the door. Angle the sofa as you move it so that the back and bottom form a V and the seat faces inside. Slide the seat through the door at an angle. Move the sofa inward so that it curls around the doorway. If the sofa is too big in every way to move it through the door, then disassemble it. Remove all cushions and slipcovers if possible. Slide your hand in the gap between the sofa base and its back until you find a lever. These levers are usually located at each end of the sofa.
Turn the levers upward to release the cushioned back of the sofa. Hold the cushion and pull upward. This should release it from the clips that join it to the sofa. Turn the sofa over to access the parts beneath. Loosen and remove the screws that secure the brackets joining the arm to the seat cushion at each end. Store the screws in a zipper bag. Remove the brackets and turn the sofa so that it is upright again. Pull up on the front of the seat base to access the screws on each end that hold the lower back of the sofa seat to the arms. Loosen and remove these screws and store them in your zipper bag. Lift the seat cushion from the base of the frame. Turn the sofa again and remove the screws securing the arms to the base. Flip the sofa upright and pull each arm upright to release it from the frame. Things You Will Need Measuring tape Moving blanket Straps Screwdriver Flat-blade screwdriver Zipper bag or container References Quick Pick Movers: Useful Tips for Moving a Sofa EasilyLa-Z-Boy: Reclining Sofa Operating Instructions Photo Credits Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images Suggest a Correction
1 - 25 of 85 ads for "lazyboy recliner"Look, I like Brooke Shields, I really do and I’m sure she’s a nice lady, but the company she’s been working with since 2010 hasn’t fared too well with many of our readers.La-Z-Boy Furniture is one of the biggest furniture retailers in the United States, with over 70 stores spread across the country, and since the 1920s, the company has done a wonderful job of cementing its brand in the minds of consumers in various parts of the world.The company’s products pretty much have everything to do with relaxing, taking a load off and sliding into a moment of comfort after a hectic day, while also giving consumers the choice of several products like sofas, loveseats, pull-out couches and of course recliners, which the company has pretty much built its name on.In addition to its retail stores, La-Z-Boy also owns Kincaid Furniture, La-Z-Boy Kids, La-Z-Boy Residential, Bauhaus USA Furniture and other brands, and in recent years it seems the company has made a conscious effort for its stores to appear higher-end, while also trying to move away from the perception that it only sells furniture that’s all comfort and no style.
And certainly Brooke Shields signing on and releasing her own line under the company didn’t hurt La-Z-Boy, as the actress has mainly been adored -- or at least tolerate -- ever since she told us that nothing comes between her and her Calvins.It was around the winter of 2010 that Shields signed on with the company, which was seemingly an attempt to draw younger mothers to the La-Z-Boy brand -- you know, just everyday homemakers who were raising families and decorating homes, just like Brooke. In the latest string of TV commercials, the “Endless Love” actress also drives home the point that La-Z-Boy is much more than just recliners, which will be a hard image for the company to shake considering its name is synonymous with the words lethargic, sluggish and idle.Face it, La-Z-Boy has made much of its living on recliners, so we were interested what consumers had to say about its other pieces of furniture.Brian of West Chester, Ohio, says he tried out one of the company’s sectional sofas, but encountered a bunch of problems from the onset.“
Warning to anyone looking at La-Z-Boy sectionals,” he wrote in a post to ConsumerAffairs. “In July of 2011, we bought a very, very expensive sectional couch from La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery, 12189 Montgomery Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140. We had many less expensive options, but wanted to go with the best. When it was finally delivered in late August, the couch was the material of the accent pillows and the pillows the material of the couch.”“The sectional was returned and we waited another eight weeks," he added. "Finally, in October of 2011, we took delivery (all correct materials this time) and the sectional was assembled by the delivery guys. Well, apparently the delivery guys were not very diligent and the sections were inadequately connected and immediately (that evening) came apart.”Brian then went on to explain that after numerous repairs, the sectional continued to fall apart, so eventually he spoke to the head of the service department and was told there was nothing that could be done.
Apparently, so much time elapsed from the day of purchase, the sofa was no longer under warranty.Brian was stuck with a $4,000 sofa that wasn’t very usable, but despite the several mishaps, he was able to keep his cool and keep himself together better than the sectional was able to do.Another item that La-Z-Boy wants to be known for is loveseats, which is a piece of furniture that’s supposed to be extremely cozy, since people sit in very close quarters and don’t have the ability to stretch or lounge on it like they can on a sofa.Michael of Annandale, Va. said the cushions on his loveseat weren’t all that lovely and when he called for a repair person, the guy that came out, wasn’t all that lovely either.“On July 4, we bought a recliner, sofa, and loveseat—all power recliners,” Michael wrote. “After about a month, the cushions on the loveseat and sofa felt like they collapsed. I called service and they sent a repairman out—the worst person ever. He was rude, disrespectful and treated my wife in a condescending manner.”
After calling to complain about the repairperson and not getting any real help, Michael had to raise the stakes a little bit.“I wrote a two-page letter to the CEO of La-Z-Boy about what happened. There’s no response from him or anybody else,” he wrote.And when it comes to other pieces of furniture, like ottomans, the company hasn’t wowed too many of our readers in that department either.“In February of 2007 my ottoman’s form started to shift in the top,” wrote Lua of Michigan.“they said it was just wear and tear and that I needed to shift my ottoman at least once a week in order for it to keep its shape. I have been shifting my ottoman every week and to no avail; it looks worse,” she wrote.Based on reader’s comments, it appears that La-Z-Boy may have to retrain some of its repair people, as well as tweak some of its items so repair people aren’t needed in the first place.If it’s going to drag poor Brooke Shields into its advertising fray, the least thing they can do is not make her look bad.