Seat depth on couches

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Z3Dreamer

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One of the biggest sources of back pain for DW and I is the couch we sit in. And the recliners we use.

All of the couches we find in stores have a seat depth of 22" to 24". With those you either get no back support or you are leaning way back. We would like a seat depth of 19" to 20".

Any body have any recommendations? Here is what we have tried:
  • Tell this story in a furniture store. They respond "You are welcome to try all 487 couches until you find one you like". This obviously doesn't work for us.
  • We have purchased a big thick pillow and put it behind us to decrease the depth behind us. This is less than ideal.
  • We have one of those Lazy Boy style couches where the leg rest comes up. Doesn't really have the support. This is not a cheap or used couch. Maybe $1,500.
  • We would like to find a couch with good lumbar support. And we probably would use some sort stool or ottoman for leg support.

Okay. What ideas do you have?
 
Z3Dreamer said:
One of the biggest sources of back pain for DW and I is the couch we sit in. And the recliners we use.

All of the couches we find in stores have a seat depth of 22" to 24". With those you either get no back support or you are leaning way back. We would like a seat depth of 19" to 20".

Any body have any recommendations? Here is what we have tried:
  • Tell this story in a furniture store. They respond "You are welcome to try all 487 couches until you find one you like". This obviously doesn't work for us.
  • We have purchased a big thick pillow and put it behind us to decrease the depth behind us. This is less than ideal.
  • We have one of those Lazy Boy style couches where the leg rest comes up. Doesn't really have the support. This is not a cheap or used couch. Maybe $1,500.
  • We would like to find a couch with good lumbar support. And we probably would use some sort stool or ottoman for leg support.

Okay. What ideas do you have?
Click to expand...

Buy an 18th century antique. They will keep you sitting up straight!
 
My suggestion is to double your budget for the sofa, and find a very large, high end store where the salesmen actually help you to find which of the 487 sofas you want, instead of just doing nothing and taking your money.
 
We've run into the same issues as you have. Not only do the couches have large seat depths, but recliners are twice as wide as they need to be with a large seat depth too. The last high end furniture store we were in, the salesman said everything was being made larger because the average size of a person in the general population is getting larger.

Anyway......fast forward to the solution....We were driving by one of the discount furniture stores one day, and decided to see what they had. Low and behold, they had two recliners, that fit us perfectly and they were very inexpensive. We bought them on the spot, loaded them into the truck and at this time they are a little over 10 years old. Still look like new and function perfectly. These were made in China (like a large percentage of today's furniture, even the typically high end brands) and the salesman told us "they were made for the typically smaller Asian population".
 
I feel your pain. Literally. What I do at home is roll up one of our little blankets we keep on the couch, and make it into a little cylinder, and shove that into the seat back, to shorten the depth.
I have had some nasty bouts of sciatica in my life, and the deep seat backs you describe can really set me off if I'm not careful.
 
freedomatlast said:
We've run into the same issues as you have. Not only do the couches have large seat depths, but recliners are twice as wide as they need to be with a large seat depth too. The last high end furniture store we were in, the salesman said everything was being made larger because the average size of a person in the general population is getting larger.

Anyway......fast forward to the solution....We were driving by one of the discount furniture stores one day, and decided to see what they had. Low and behold, they had two recliners, that fit us perfectly and they were very inexpensive. We bought them on the spot, loaded them into the truck and at this time they are a little over 10 years old. Still look like new and function perfectly. These were made in China (like a large percentage of today's furniture, even the typically high end brands) and the salesman told us "they were made for the typically smaller Asian population".
Click to expand...
My wife is a small person ( 5', 100lbs) and I'm not huge ( 5'10" 175 lbs), and we have a fairly small house. We have always found it difficult to find furniture that fits us, and the small rooms.
I had come to the theory that the furniture was getting bigger because the trend is for folks to buy bigger houses than ever, and need to fill up the space. I hadn't thought about the idea that people are getting bigger, too.

I need a smallish recliner. Maybe I should take a trip to Chinatown.
 
I don't remember if IKEA carries recliners or not, but the furniture that they have tend to be of smaller sizes than the average American ones. I think it may be due to European style and sizing.

The white leather Natuzzi sofa set that we bought many years ago and still use feels comfortable to us. Out of curiosity, I just went to measure the seat depth: somewhere between 19" and 20". Maybe European styling again.

PS. The recliner also has 19-20" seat depth. It's also Natuzzi.
 
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I have the same problem since I am 5'3". We went all over town and couldn't find anything to fit, so we bought stuff that didn't fit. I pad my recliner with a pillow and don't sit on the love seat or couch.

We were in Ikea recently and found furniture that fits!

We our cats pass on we will replace what we have.
 
We have Stressless chairs for everyday use. They come in 2 (maybe 3) sizes. We have the large as I like enough room to pull my feet up on the seat although the small/medium would be a better overall fit for me. Seat depth is 20". Has lumbar support and is adjustable; seat depth may also be adjustable. Mine fits perfectly with feet comfortably on the floor. DH is all legs so he purchased the 'elevator' which elevates the chair and the footstool. If I sit on his chair, my legs dangle like Little Edith and if he sits on mine, his knees hit his chin :LOL:.

They recline a bit but are not true recliners. They have lots of models so check them out at a store that carries the line, rather than 1 or 2. Not cheap...around $2,000 - $2,500 each IIRC. They also have various couches and when I get tired of our couch, I will look into theirs.

Good luck in your search.
 
I thought at first this was going to be about big people. There are specific furniture stores for big and tall folks. We like our big furniture with nice back support. Our main couch has 26" depth and one's head doesn't flop backwards sitting in it.

But doesn't a good web search engine find furniture with seat depth to your liking?
 
For a existing sofa maybe look at replacing the cushions. Any good upholsterer in your town should be able to make custom made cushions to any dimension you want.
 
I recommend a Stressless too. I also have a custom made sofa because of the same problem. The seat depth of my sofa is 21” and with a “tight back” style back. The reason I bought the tight back was I didn’t like those pillow type sofa backs that stretch and flatten out over time. Tight back are usually more firm.
 
I have a similar problem on our modular couch purchased at Macys. I just use a somewhat firm pillow made to place on furniture. I stick it right in the lumbar region and I'm good for a few hours of TV viewing.
 
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Went through the same thing a few years ago. My wife is short and after looking all day we found a Mayo sofa that has 20.5" seat depth. 9780F Group
 
I'm a small person and had a very hard time finding a sofa 5 years ago. I finally bought an American Leather sleeper and it has been very comfortable for me. I don't see the model I bought on their website any longer.
https://www.americanleather.com/
 
Sitting in my ekorne (stressless) right now. It’s pretty comfy - hand me down from my Mom wish she hadn’t picked green leather!
 
If you look on the Lazy Boy website, click on a sofa or recliner you like and you will find the seat depth listed under product details-dimensions. Some are 20 inches. I find local furniture stores to be much more helpful than the big stores and prices are similar. No connection with Lazy Boy-just a happy customer.
 
Modern furniture is just too large for the size rooms in most houses. Big furniture equals big prices. But the really high quality furniture is often smaller in scale. Unfortunately, 90% of the furniture sold is complete junk.

When I was looking for furniture, we went to the Furniture Mart in Hickory, North Carolina--2 million square feet of furniture wholesalers.

For a leather recliner, Hancock & Moore sat better than any chair in the market We also liked Barcolounger's high line recliners. I ordered the H/M, and it is still in great shape 25 years later.

My wife spotted a Hancock & Moore leather hide-a-bed in the newspaper for sale for $200. It has goose down cushions that matches my leather recliner. The bed has never been slept on even. The prices of a H/M couch starts at $5,000+, and it is considered the finest quality upholstery. We are fortunate to have acquired it.

There is furniture out there that will fit you and your wife. Unfortunately the furniture business pretty much sucks and even large cities only have one or two decent quality stores. I have been known to shop them and get the model number of the furniture and the fabric swatch code number and custom order the furniture online at a big savings.
 
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