TV Chairs

I have 2 smallish swivel/rocker easy chairs from back when Skeeter was new here.  They are worn out and I always disliked that the back is a little too low to lean my head back.  Looking for replacements has not been successful.  Swivel/rocker easy chairs are not easy to find with higher backs in black.  The recliner chair I bought didn't work because I sit on the chair to eat dinner while watching TV and the recliner tilts too far forward and I slide out. 

So I got the idea that what I needed was a soft computer chair without the wheels installed.  I sat in a bunch and decided on one I liked.   The assembly was difficult.  The holes for the bolts that held the back and arms and seat didn't match up perfectly, but with some force applied with bar clamps, I got everything together.  I moved it into place in front of the TV.  And hated it! 

It wasn't as soft as I thought.  You SINK into an easy chair, but you SIT in a computer chair.  Not the same thing...  Yeah, that's by design, but in the store, it seemed the computer chair was soft enough.  

Naturally, I had waited too long to return it.  So I put the old chair back in place.  I suppose I could build a light wooden frame to screw into the back and velcro a pillow on it to raise the back 6" so I could rest my head back.  I might see if there is a way I can stop the recliner from tilting too far forward (without stopping the reclining movement) because it really IS comfortable otherwise.

But I think I'll keep looking for a better one...

The New Recliner Chair

Sadly, after trying out the new recliner chair for a few days, it isn't working out.  I had to move it from the TV room to the living room and put the better of the older chairs back in front of the TV.

I should have bought locally after trying many recliners at different stores.  I wasn't really intending to buy a large recliner chair.  As I mentioned previously, I had it in my Amazon cart as a "maybe" and forgot it was there when I ordered a couple of other items and hit "1-click" purchase.  And by the time days later when I discovered that, Amazon said it was out of their hands being a 3rd party purchase.  The manufacturer said the chair was already in production.  Amazon, in turn said I could refuse delivery, but the returns policy was up to the 3rd party.  The manufacturer, in their turn at emails, said I would be responsible for return shipping in the original shipping container.

The deliverer had ripped the shipping box apart because it seemed damaged and wanted to be sure of the condition of the chair.  There was no damage, and after going further than he had to (inside front door delivery or garage only), we brought the 2 pieces of the chair up  the front stairs to the main level.  He took the ripped up box away, and I wrestled the chair into place and attached the back to the base. 

It is a rocker recliner (but not swivel).  When I sat back in it, it was very comfortable with a high soft back, soft wide arms, and with the footrest up it was very comfortable.  But then I started discovering some negatives about the chair.

1.  You can't rest any weight on the arms, there is no structure in them.
2.  If you lean back, you go all the way back.
3.  The lever that lifts the footrest is one way.  You can't move it the other way to lower the footrest.  You have to push down hard with your feet and lean forward at the same time.
4.  If you lean forward without the footrest up (and this is the killer), it tilts downwards to the point where you start to slide off.  My old existing rocker swivel chairs had a positive forward stop at forward "level".
5.  When I sit level on the new recliner, it takes a bit of balance, but also, my feet don't reach the floor!  I'm not used to that.  OK,  I'm short, but my legs are even a bit short for my height (I have to have all pants shortened to a 25" inseam.  Not having my feet on the floor is uncomfortable.
5.  I am mostly a "percher", meaning that I mostly sit on the front of a chair.  At my old chair, I sit on the front edge to eat dinner from a TV tray and to type on my laptop while watching TV.  I can't do that in this new chair.

So I'm kind of stuck with a chair I don't want and can't return.  I suppose I will try to sell it for 1/2 price and write it off as a bad decision.  It isn't the manufacturer's fault.  It was up to me to decide if it suited me.  It isn't Amazon's fault; they offerred it, I bought it.  The chair seems to work as designed.

Sometimes, you just make a poor purchasing decision and deal with it.

But I now have a greater appreciations for small rocker recliner chairs that would suit my body shape better and have features I want (like a positive forward stop at level").  I have learned a lesson here.  I can adapt to a lot, but there are limits.  And I'll sure check my Amazon cart before hitting
"1-click purchase" again...

Meanwhile, some of you may notice that my old chair lacks the worn out spots on the front of the arms in future pictures.  That's because I had 2 and took the other one as the new TV/Dinner/Laptop chair.

It is almost funny that I went for a recliner.  As I said, I'm mostly a percher.  But the backs of the old chairs are 4" short of supporting my head properly when I DO lean back.  So I still want a replacement chair with a higher back.  I have seen a few online (but from local stores).  So I think I will be doing some actual physical testing. 

I've gotten too used to shopping online.  Time for some real-world testing for a chair!

New Chair

Back in late February I placed a 1-click order on Amazon.  I glanced casually at the cart first, but I didn't notice I had a big recliner chair on the list that was a serious "maybe".    And when the order confirmation email came back I was all "yeah, yeah" and didn't review it carefully.  So I had ordered a big recliner chair I wasn't certain I wanted...  My bad!

So when I did look at the order confirmation, I was somewhat surprized to see I had ordered the chair.  I contacted Amazon and they told me that, since it was a 3rd party order, I could cancel but would be responsible for return shipping.  I contacted the manufacturer and they said that since the order was already in production, it was not cancelable.  I asked if I could get it in black to match my decor better, but they said it only came in "chocolate". 

The whole time schedule was kind of a joke.  I received an email in early March saying it would be delivered on April 20th.  When I looked up the tracking history recently, I discovered the chair had been shipped to a local freight company on March 15th and was sitting in a warehouse only 90 miles away.  It took them 5 weeks to deliver it from there?

A little history...  Back in the mid 90s, I found a cushioned upholstered rocker/swivel chair I liked at a local store.  It came in peach, aqua, or butter.  Aaccckkk!  But, liking the chair, I emailed the manufacturer and told them I loved the chair but could I get it in black and an ottoman as a special order?  They replied that they were flattered and willing, but I would have to order 2 chairs AND send them the fabric (and told me how much was required for 2 chairs and the ottoman).  Well, I wanted 2 chairs anyway...

I had to visit several fabric stores before I found one with enough black fabric that seemed durable enough.  I send the fabric to the manufacturer along with their email and a letter from me with more details.  2 months later, the chairs arrived.  The freight company told me that delivery was merely off-truck, so I had to arrange for a local delivery company to pick it up from the freight company and deliver them in "room of choice" (as I learned the term was later).  I only discovered afterwards that the chairs were lighter than I thought and I could have just carried them from the freight truck at the street into my house on my own, but you live and learn. 

I was happy enough with those chairs was over 20 years.  But springs sag, upholstery wears out, and everything begins to fall apart eventually.  I spent a lot of evening time sitting in one of the chairs, and when Dad was her for 2 years, he practically lived in the other.  Time for a new chair!

I considered a cushioned rocker/swivel arm computer chair.  I find them comfortable.  But when I stretch my legs out on the ottoman and cat curls up on my legs, that gets a bit uncomfortable with the weight on my unsupported knees.  So I decided to get a recliner.

OK, so much for the previous chairs.  I got my money's worth out of them.

So, I had spoken to a freight representative and she explained that they would do "inside delivery", which was great because the chair weighed 175 pounds.  I live in a "split-foyer" house with the basement on surface level.  The front door is up 6 outside steps.  You enter the door and there is a 3'x5' landing.  You can go up down a half flight of stairs to the basement or up a half flight to the main level.  It's a ranch house built on a surface basement and there is an attic.

So "inside delivery" sounded good.   I sure can't get 175 pound chair up the half flight of stairs myself.  But 2 days ago, I called to confirm the delivery date and confirm the "inside delivery" (I've had some surprises before when truck drivers didn't agree with company policy).  Sure enough, it turns out "inside delivery " means through the front door (or garage or side door) AND NO FURTHER.

Well, damn, if it just goes into the landing inside the front door, I can't even close the door!  So I considered possibilities.  My first thought was a bribe.  If the deliverers had to carry the box up the outside steps annyway, maybe $20 (or $40 dollars if there was too much hesitation) would get it up the half flight of stairs.  I could deal with it from there.  My second thought was to have it delivered into the garage, so I pulled my car out the morning before delivery.  The third possibility was to let them bring the box to the front steps and then threaten to refuse delivery and point out that "up the stairs" was a shorter distance than "back onto the truck".

As an aside, one of my first government jobs was getting furniture delivered to Congressional State and District Offices, and I learned a bit about whgat it took to get deliverers to bring furniture into awkward offices, LOL!  I will add that option 1 about cash bribes was not an allowed option.

The delivery was scheduled between 8am - 5 pm (and you thought cable companies were bad).  But I know that the delivery routes are carefully planned and the items are packed on the truck to empty from the back to the front.  So first thing this morning, I called the freight companies and asked approximately where I was on the route.  The person I spoke to checked and said, "Well, you seem to be in the middle of the delivery route, so my best guess is between 11 and 2".  Well, that was better than 8-5... 

He arrived at 4:40...  You can't win even when you ask the right questions sometimes.  And he arrived alone.  No helper.  And he said the box looked "pretty beat up".  Those are NOT words you want to hear!

But lest you think this is a disaster post, rest assured all worked out better than I expected!

First, he said "Let me bring the box to the front door and we will open it up and examine it for damage.  [My jaw drops]. 

Second, he rips the box apart and we examine the 2 parts of the chair in great detail.  I mean, HE is looking for damage too as if it was his chair.  We couldn't find the least bit of damage. 

Third, he picked up the back of the chair and went in the front door.  I helpfully pointed to the top of the stairs, and he brought it right up to the top of the stair!

Fourth, he was not so sure about getting the heavier base of the chair up the stairs, so I grabbed one end and said "we both can".  It was awkward for me holding the top end and walking backwards up the stairs, but it went fine.

And he handed me the e-ticket to sign and walked back to the truck and drove away.  I owe him a very positive review to his company about his help.  I hope it gets him a bonus...

So I had these 2 pieces of chair sitting at the top of my stairs...  I have things for that.  I built a wooden base with wheels years ago and put the the base on it to push to the spot in front of the TV.  The back was simply carryable. 

I had expected more assembly (like attaching the chair legs and the handle that lifts the human leg support), but everything was installed.  Attaching the back to the base was easy.  It fits down onto 2 heavy metal tapered attachments.  There was a satisfying "CLICK" as they meshed.

And then I sat on it.  More properly, I should say I :SANK: into it.  The recliner handle isn't exactly where I would have put it (being a little forward of easy reach), but it worked fine.  The back is high enough to provide great head support in soft comfort.  I was a bit confused at first that the reliner handle didn't ALSO unrecline the footrest, but discovered that the footrest returned to "unreclined" position with just a little downward pressure.

I miss the swivel ability of the previous chairs, but you can't have everything.

The cats are in love with it!  The arms are so wide and cushioned that Iza fell asleep on my right arm and Marley purred awake on the left.  I'm sure I will see Ayla there soon.

Pictures!

Now, knowing the size of this chair, I need to build a nice end table to match the space between the chair on the wall.  Right now, I am using 2 TV trays to hold remotes and the telephone.  And I need to move some pictures behind the chair.  With the small desk that was next to the smaller old chair removed, I need horizontal space for "stuff"!