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Recliners have for years been a piece of furniture almost exclusively marketed to senior citizens, who appreciated their comfort.

Younger people prefer to put their feet up on the sofa. Recliners, usually offered in uniform brown colors, were too grandpa-like for young trendsetters. Then came designers who restyled the recliner, renamed it a lounger and suddenly, it is the trend furniture piece of the season.

The new generation of recliners has nothing to do with the old television chair, said Ursula Geismann of the association for the German furniture industry in Bad Honnef. The redesign brings in comfort and convenience to appeal to young people. But youthful elders also have the design in their sights: “Tina Turner doesn’t want to be caught sitting in a grandpa chair.”

But there are other lifestyle habits prompting the new love of the lounger, according to trend researcher Peter Wippermann.

“We are often out with a Blackberry and other similar gadgets, so we are not sitting classically at a desk as before,” said Wippermann, founder of a trend research firm in Hamburg. “In a recliner, I can relax and also do my work.”

Futuristic and pure forms and new colors differentiate loungers from classic recliners. Although there are classic black and white models to be found among the new trendsetters, there also are orange, green, turquoise and purple.

“There’s been a change — people want to have color in their furniture, just like in their clothes,” said Nienke Stemerdink of the company de vorm of the Netherlands. Currently, purple is very popular, but orange also has a following.

To meet the market’s demands, de vorm’s Daddy’s Chair is available in bright tones. Combined with wooden finishes and a deep-reclining position, the lounger takes on a slight retro flair.

Even more bold colors are combined in MYchair by designer Ben van Berkel for the furniture maker Walter Knoll of Herrenberg, Germany. On these loungers, orange meets purple and yellow pairs with gray. The color contrasts in these loungers emphasize the various forms Berkel has toyed with in creating the chair.

A bit more futuristic are the chairs by Seefelder Moebelwerkstaetten of Seefeld, Germany. The model Flip, for example, floats over the floor like a wave. Its lightly feathered back is designed to help make relaxing comfortably, reading or even rocking possible.

Similarly shaped, but made of fiberglass, is nan03 by Nanoo of Switzerland. Thanks to the robust material, the chair can also be used outside. It has a wooden base for people who don’t want to rock.

Although loungers are principally a casual piece, some are more formal. An example is Parabolica, a swivelling recliner by Leolux of the Netherlands. Its lines give it a serious and light-hearted look at the same time.

“This chair can be used not only for lying or sitting,” said Antal Nemeth of Leolux. Its arms are shaped so that a laptop, for example, can be placed on them. The lounger can thus be changed into a workplace.

Icarus, Casanova and Pilot are the names of the new recliners made by Jori of Switzerland. They attempt to look a little like a blend of an airplane seat and a television chair. Covered in black leather, they also work as a sort of after-work boss’s chair.

Lastly, consumers in search of the comfort offered by recliners should note that whether they are hip and modern or classic, they take up a lot of space. Even those with a chic designer name require room in order to function properly. 


DPA