A recliner is a chair whose back tilts and whose footrest rises, worked by a lever, a push on the back, or a motor.
At Merit Home Furniture on Vancouver Island, we list 209 recliners and lift chairs across our two collections as of October 2026. Those listed through Duncan run from $449 to $5,149 before applicable taxes. Our Duncan store has many recliner styles on display, so a call ahead tells you what's set up, and most of the fitting can be done sitting down. The one measurement that settles the most is seat depth. On the 40 La-Z-Boy styles we list, it runs from 18 inches on the Collage to 23.5 on the Clayton, Neo and Redwood.
People buy a recliner to get their feet up, to nap, or because getting out of the old chair has turned into work. Each of those reasons leads to a different kind of recliner, and the checks below sort them out.
How do you choose a recliner chair?
Choosing a recliner chair works best as eight things to check before buying, taken in order, because each one rules chairs out before the next. The seat comes first, since no fabric fixes a seat that is too deep or too high. Next come the room and the doorway, then the mechanism, the cover and the warranty.
- Measure your thigh. Sit on a hard chair with your back against a wall, and measure from the wall to the crease behind your knee. Take off about 2 inches, the width of a fist, and that is roughly the seat depth to look for.
- Measure your knee height. With shoes on, measure from the floor to the crease behind your knee. A seat at that height or a little under it lets both feet sit flat.
- Measure the spot and the way in. Note the width of the space, the distance to the wall behind it and the narrowest door on the route. Ashley's recliners that list a weight run about 50 to 141 lb, so stairs count too.
- Check the wall clearance. Each kind of recliner needs a different gap behind the backrest, and the types table below gives the makers' figures.
- Pick the mechanism. Manual, power or lift, decided by who sits in it most and how easily they stand up.
- Pick the cover. Fabric, leather match or top grain leather, weighed against pets, sun and how close the chair sits to a wood stove.
- Read the warranty part by part. The frame, the mechanism, the motor and the fabric each carry their own term, and the terms differ by years.
- Sit in it properly. Sit right back with your shoes on, recline all the way and stay for ten minutes.
Recliner size: seat depth, seat height and your body type
Recliner size is about the seat more than the frame. Seat depth runs from the backrest to the front edge of the cushion. Seat height runs from the floor to the top of that front edge. Arm height is mostly a matter of taste, and overall width matters for the room more than for your body. A chair fits when its seat depth matches the length of your thigh, less a fist, and its seat height lets your feet rest flat.
Both rules come from Canadian health and safety guidance. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) sets up office chairs with a gap at the front. A clenched fist, about 5 cm or 2 inches, should fit between the seat edge and your calves. HealthLink BC's advice for a healthy back is a chair low enough for both feet flat on the floor, with knees slightly lower than hips. Neither was written for recliners, so take them as a starting point.
| La-Z-Boy chair | Seat depth | Seat height | Arm height | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collage | 18 in | 18.5 in | 23 in | $1,099 |
| Vail | 19.5 in | 18 in | 23 in | $599 |
| Liam | 20 in | 20 in | 24.5 in | $1,399 |
| Pinnacle | 21.5 in | 18.5 in | 23.5 in | $1,599 |
| Maverick | 22 in | 21 in | 25.5 in | $949 |
| Kodie | 22 in | 22 in | 26.5 in | $2,249 |
| Redwood | 23.5 in | 21.5 in | 28.5 in | $1,149 |
| Clayton (lift chair) | 23.5 in | 22 in | not listed | $2,149 |
The figures come from our La-Z-Boy listings, with prices before applicable taxes. Across all 40 styles, seat height runs from 18 inches on the Vail to 22 on the Kodie and Clayton. About half of Ashley's listings give only the overall size and weight, so with an Ashley chair the tape measure often comes out on the showroom floor. Scandi makes each of its 11 recliner styles in small, medium and large. UltraComfort sizes its lift chairs by the sitter's height. On the Aurora, the Small is for people under 5'3" with an 18-inch seat height, and the Medium suits 5'4" to 5'9" at 19 inches.
How do I know what size recliner is right for my body?
The right size recliner passes four checks with you sitting all the way back. Your feet reach the floor flat. A fist fits between the seat edge and your calves. Reclined, your head rests on the headrest, neither above it nor below it. Your heels sit on the footrest instead of hanging off the end. Shorter sitters tend to fit the shallow, low chairs at the top of the table, and taller sitters the deep ones near the bottom. The most comfortable recliner is the one that passes all four for the person who will use it most.
With recliners, size comes first for me, before style or colour. Your feet should touch the floor, and your head should rest on the back so a nap in the chair is comfortable. How high and how soft the arms are is personal, and it depends on whether the chair is for TV or for reading. For a bad back, a power headrest and power lumbar let the chair fit the body instead of the other way round.
Types of recliners, and how much wall each one needs
Recliners come in five main kinds: wall recliners, rockers, swivel gliders, power recliners and lift chairs. The kind decides how far the chair has to sit from the wall more than its size does. By the makers' figures, La-Z-Boy's Kodie wall recliner, listed through Duncan, needs about 4 inches behind it, and the largest UltraComfort lift chair we list needs 30. How each type moves, what it costs on our site and the room it needs are set out model by model in our guide to the types of reclining chairs.
Each kind has a guide of its own too, covering rockers, wall huggers, swivels and gliders, and the lift chairs. Where every inch of a condo counts, the narrowest chairs we list are measured side by side.
Is it better to get a power or manual recliner?
A power recliner is better for anyone who finds a lever or a push-back hard work, or who wants the chair to stop at any angle. A manual recliner is better where there is no outlet nearby, or where the budget matters most. Merit's Ashley recliners show the price gap: through Duncan, the manual chairs start at $449 and the power chairs at $1,049. Rubeena and I see power as the answer for anyone with mobility trouble, because a manual mechanism gets harder to work with age.
Our power versus manual guide compares the motor's price on chairs sold both ways, power cuts, cords and each maker's warranty. SmartOne, from Zucora, is the extended warranty Merit sells. It runs up to five years from purchase and covers the electronics in power recliners.
Recliner fabric or leather: which material is best?
The best recliner material is the one that suits the household. Fabric is soft and usually costs less. Leather wipes clean, which suits a house with spills. Leather match sits between the two. On Ashley's leather match chairs, real leather is paired with matched faux leather, and some of our pages put the leather on the seating areas. Of Ashley's 41 listings in our recliner collection, 7 are leather match. Two are listed through Duncan: the Bleckley at $1,049 and the Bolsena at $1,199.
Each Scandi recliner comes in 100% top grain leather or a designer fabric. La-Z-Boy chairs are ordered in a choice of La-Z-Boy fabrics and leathers, and our La-Z-Boy listings say the covers are tested to resist wear and fading. With pets or grandchildren in the house, a performance fabric or a leather is the practical pick. Near a wood stove, a leather recliner needs conditioner at least twice a year, or it can crack early, using only what its maker's care terms allow.
Fabric toughness has a number, though none of our recliner listings prints one. Fabric makers test abrasion by rubbing a sample back and forth and counting the double rubs. The Association for Contract Textiles, a trade body for commercial fabrics, sets 15,000 double rubs, or 20,000 Martindale cycles, for low-traffic seating. It also says a fabric with twice the rubs does not last twice as long. The rub count is worth asking about before a cover goes on the order, though not every maker publishes one.
How to tell a higher quality recliner: frame, mechanism and warranty
A higher quality recliner shows it in the frame and the mechanism, and the warranty says how long the maker stands behind each part. So the warranty is worth reading part by part. Of the makers we carry, La-Z-Boy and UltraComfort publish that breakdown, and both give the frame the longest term. In the showroom, work the lever or the buttons several times. The motion should be smooth and quiet, with no knock at the end.
| Part | La-Z-Boy (US page) | UltraComfort lift chairs |
|---|---|---|
| Frame | Lifetime on wood frame parts | Lifetime on the chair frame and lift frame |
| Reclining mechanism | Lifetime on parts (3 years on Luxury-Lift chairs) | Lifetime |
| Springs | Lifetime on parts (3 years on Luxury-Lift chairs) | Not listed separately |
| Motors and electrics | 3 years on parts | 7 years, pro-rated after year 3 |
| Fabric, leather and foam | 1 year (3 years on ComfortCore cushions) | 1 year |
| Labour | 1 year | Not on our listings |
Ashley gives one term, 1 year, on 15 of our 41 Ashley listings, with no breakdown by part, and the rest print no term. Scandi's terms aren't on our listings, so ask us for them.
The construction notes on the listings fill in the rest. Scandi builds on a steel frame with carbon sinuous springs and cold-cure molded foam. Ashley lists a reinforced frame and a metal seat box. La-Z-Boy lists a high grade foam seat cushion. Whatever the maker's terms, Merit backs the manufacturer's warranty on what we sell: we order the parts and look after the repair. Accidental damage sits outside it: stains, rips, tears, cuts and burns. There's more on who fixes what, and for how long in the warranty piece.
More expensive recliners buy adjustment and longer warranties, and neither fixes a seat that doesn't fit. Warranty length doesn't always follow price either. On La-Z-Boy's US page, the Collage's reclining mechanism is covered for life, but Luxury-Lift chairs like the Clayton get three years. The Clayton adds a lift, heat, six-motor massage and a 500 lb weight capacity. It isn't apples to apples. A budget chair is good value for someone who likes to change styles more often. A pricier one suits someone who wants the same chair in the family for a long time.
What is the average lifespan of a recliner?
I haven't found a Canadian standards body or health agency that publishes an average lifespan for a recliner, so the makers' warranty terms are the nearest guide. Both makers in the table above give the frame a lifetime term and the fabric, leather and foam 1 year. The cover and the cushions are the parts they expect to wear first, and the motor sits in between. Care stretches the soft parts. Vacuum fabric, blot spills early, and keep the chair out of strong sun and away from heaters.
Can a recliner be customized to fit your needs?
Many recliners can be customized, and at Merit La-Z-Boy offers the most choice. It sells every style in a set of versions. The Pinnacle's listing runs from a manual wall recliner and a rocker to power, swivel glider and lift versions. UltraComfort offers other fabrics to order, and a wider Medium Wide size on the Maya and Vega.
A chair built to your choices is a special order, and that changes the timing and the money. An Ashley special order is ready for pickup or delivery in 4 to 6 weeks, and Harmony takes 3 to 6. Best, Decor-Rest and a custom La-Z-Boy chair take 8 to 10 weeks. A chair that needs no special order usually takes a few days to about a week. We ask for a 24% deposit on special orders when the order goes in. An exchange is welcome for up to 30 days, case by case. Every term on deposits, returns and exchanges sits in one place.
Which recliners does Merit carry, and what do they cost?
Between our recliner collection and the lift chairs, we list 209 recliners and lift chairs from 14 makers as of October 2026. Of those, 207 show a price before applicable taxes. The two without one are the La-Z-Boy Robin and the Scandi Harbor, which we price when you ask.
| Maker | Listings | Listed prices through Duncan | What sets it apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley | 42 | $449 to $2,349 | 13 power recliners and 1 lift chair |
| La-Z-Boy | 63 (62 priced) | $599 to $3,349 | Seat depth and height published for all 40 style pages, each in several versions; 23 more listings name one version |
| Best Home Furnishings | 44 | $949 to $3,849 | Space savers, rockers, swivel gliders and power lift recliners |
| Scandi | 13 (12 priced) | $2,049 to $5,099 | Small, medium and large in each of its 11 recliners, plus 2 lift chairs; steel frame; top grain leather or fabric |
| UltraComfort | 14 | $2,149 to $4,499 | Power lift recliners only; 400 lb (600 lb on Maya and Vega Medium Wide); lifetime frame and mechanism warranty |
| Island Living | 2 | Not shown online | The Nitinat and the Ucluelet power swivel, from the in-stock range made overseas for Island Living |
| Eight more makers | 31 | $899 to $5,149 | Cheers 8, Palliser 10, Monarch 4, Harmony 3, one each from Intercon, Golden Technologies and Decor-Rest, plus 3 more |
A listed La-Z-Boy price may not be the version you want, so ask us to price the exact one. La-Z-Boy is an American company. Its heritage page lists plants in Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas and three in Mexico, and none in Canada. Whether a recliner built in Canada is possible here takes a longer answer than fits in this piece. The lift chairs are grouped in their own collection, and every La-Z-Boy piece, sofas included, sits in the full La-Z-Boy range. The same goes for Ashley's whole range.
What is the best recliner chair for the money in Canada?
The best recliner chair for the money is the least expensive one whose seat fits you and whose mechanism suits how you'll use it. Star ratings and reviews can't say whether a 23.5-inch seat will leave your feet dangling. For an occasional chair with room behind it, a manual Ashley in the $400s is plenty, and 6 of ours sit there. With a sore back and daily use, money spent on a power headrest and lumbar goes further than money spent on leather. Someone who struggles to stand is better served by a lift chair than by an ordinary recliner. No single brand is best for every body.
When a recliner is the wrong chair, or needs a doctor's word first
A recliner can be the wrong chair for anyone told to keep a hip from bending past 90 degrees. HealthLink BC lists that precaution after hip replacements done through the side or back of the hip. A deep, low recliner can make it hard to keep. Ask your surgeon or physiotherapist what seat height suits you before choosing. A higher seat or a lift chair may be the answer, and the piece on recliners for an older sitter goes further into seat height.
Falls are the other worry for older sitters. HealthLink BC File 78 says one-third of people aged 65 and over who live in the community fall each year, and it counts clutter among the tripping hazards. A power recliner's cord running across a walkway can be the same kind of tripping hazard. Place the chair so the cord runs along the wall to the outlet.
A recliner makes it easy to sit still for hours. HealthLink BC's advice for anyone who sits a lot is to get up, move around and stretch frequently. If back pain is the reason for shopping, a doctor or physiotherapist is the first stop. The limits are set out under what a chair can and cannot do for a bad back.
Where the recliner numbers come from
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Office Ergonomics: How to Adjust Office Chairs, checked September 2026.
- HealthLink BC, Proper Sitting for a Healthy Back, checked September 2026.
- HealthLink BC File 78, Seniors' Falls Can Be Prevented, checked September 2026.
- HealthLink BC, Total Hip Replacement Surgery, checked September 2026.
- La-Z-Boy, Parts and Warranty Information, checked September 2026.
- La-Z-Boy, Pinnacle Wall Recliner, with the Collage, Joshua and Kodie wall recliner pages, checked September 2026.
- La-Z-Boy, Maverick Rocking Recliner, checked September 2026.
- La-Z-Boy, American Heritage (plant locations), checked September 2026.
- Association for Contract Textiles, Abrasion: Low Traffic, Woven Fabrics, Indoor Use, and its abrasion disclaimer, checked September 2026.
- Merit's live recliner, lift chair and La-Z-Boy listings (prices, seat measurements, clearances, warranties and materials), checked October 16, 2026, and Merit's delivery, deposit, exchange and warranty policies.
Trying recliners in Duncan, Nanaimo, Campbell River or Port Alberni
Trying recliners at Merit works best with the measurements from the steps above in hand. Before driving over, call the showroom and ask which chairs on your shortlist are on the floor there. Sit right back in three or four chairs, shoes on, for ten minutes each. Nobody will follow you around, and a second visit before deciding is fine by us.
The Duncan showroom is at 107 Ingram Street, open Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5. Ask for me there if you'd like a hand with the fit. We also have showrooms in Nanaimo, Campbell River and Port Alberni. From the Duncan store, a recliner costs $150 to deliver across the Island with assembly, and a ferry run to some Gulf Islands is arranged by phone. When you're ready for the next question, the rest of our recliner writing is on the recliner guides page.