What is a wall hugger Recliner?

If you have ever taken a regular recliner and wanted to move it closer to a wall you have learned quickly that you cannot recline the chair because you have to be far enough from the wall in order for the chair to fully recline. This can be feet away from the wall causing problems with configuring space for clearance to walk or having room for a walker or wheelchair. A solution to this problem would be a wall hugger recliner.

This guide will explain what a wall hugger recliner is, what the differences are between a regular or standard recliner and a wall huger recliner, pricing, and what to look for if you are in the market to purchase a new wall hugger recliner. Let’s get started.

What is a wall hugger recliner?

A walk hugger recliner or zero clearance recliner as some call it is a recliner that can be placed within inches of a wall and it still can fully recline.

This type of recliner is used to help maximum space by being able to back up the recliner very close to a wall. The mechanics of a wall huger move the seat cushion forward when the recline happens.

Types of Wall hugger recliners:

Electric wall huggers: This requires an electric source because the wall huggers use a motor to control the positions or functions on the chair. Like the backrest and footrest which will operate on a single set of buttons. This works great for those that may be suffering from mobility issues and cannot get used to their body weight to recline the backrest.

Manual wall huggers: These require no power source and they recline by the force of the person’s body weight to recline the backrest and pull a lever to get the footrest to come out. Manual wall huggers typically have fewer locking positions than a power wall hugger and they usually cost less as well.

Difference between a wall huger recliner and a regular recliner

The difference between a wall huger recliner and a regular recliner is the amount of space that you save behind the recliner.

Standard or regular recliners will typically use about 12 inches behind them when reclined. A wall hugger averages about 5 inches.

Wall hugger reclines can be set back much closer to walls than a regular recliner because of how the reclining mechanism works.

In a wall hugger recliner, the seat will slide forward while the reclining mechanism lowers the backdown, buses the seat forward, and then moves the footrest outward.

Because of this, you will need to measure and make sure you do not have a coffee table or other furniture to close in front of the recliner.

Also, this becomes important for anyone with mobility devices like wheelchairs or walkers that need enough room to get in and out of the recliner.

How much can you expect to pay for a wall hugger recliner?

The Price of a wall hugger will vary widely when you look at a manual vs a power wall hugger. For example, you can find prices as high as $4,000 or more when looking at wide power recliners that can fit up to 3 people.

For a single leather power model, you can price around $ 3,000 dollars. For manual recliners, you can see pricing in the thousands with a low-end price of a few hundred dollars. Pricing will depend on material, power options, and size.

Some drawbacks of a wall hugger recliner

Wall hugger recliners because of how they recline will not recline as far as a standard recliner. In other words, because a wall hugger can get closer to the wall there is less range in the recline.

How to choose the best wall hugger recliner

When looking for a wall hugger recliner make sure you take a look at some important factors before purchase.

Make sure you measure your space first

Measuring your space needs to be done to ensure that the wall hugger will have enough room to move forward when in recline.

You will need to think about coffee tables or other pieces of living room furnishing that would be positioned near the wall huger. You will need to have enough room in front so the footrest can pop up without hitting anything.

Don’t forget to measure entry widths to make sure the recliner can even get into the intended room. There have been times the recliner can easily fit into the room you want it but it cant fit into the entryway or hallways to get it in the room you want.

Manual or power

This is an easy decision for most people. Power wall huggers will allow you to move the recliner with a touch of a button.

Those that do not have the strength or suffer from mobility issues may want to lean towards a power model wall hugger. You will be paying more money for these so keep that in mind.

Manual wall huggers will require you to use your own strength and a lever mechanism to open the footrest. While these are not terribly hard to open manual they still require movement and some strength.

Weight capacity

Wall hugger recliners have a weight capacity that is the maximum amount of weight that should safely be used on the recliner.

Each manufacturer will know and should list on the recliner so you know if you fit into the recommended safe weight. If you are close to the weight capacity look for another recliner with a higher weight capacity.

Final thoughts on wall hugger recliners

Wall hugger recliners are excellent when smaller space is needed behind a wall to ensure a recliner can still open.

They take up less space behind the chair allowing for a recline to still happen so the user can relax even when faced with limited space from a wall.

With that said you still will need to have enough front space available so the reclined footrest can still open.

Those that need to push a recliner as far back as they can want to look for a recliner for their next purchase.