How to choose a soft chair?

Dreaming of home comfort, we paint ourselves a picture of the interior, which certainly has upholstered furniture: a sofa, chairs, poufs, ottomans, armchairs. How to choose soft armchairs for home, which models to give preference to, what frameless furniture is - this is our article.

Indeed, modern manufacturers have a certain classification, subdividing all chairs into:

• soft, semi-rigid and hard;
• with or without back (cocoon);
• with and without armrests;
• with and without a footrest;
• folding and non-folding;
• large, midi and mini;
• with standard 4 legs, rectangular or round support, 2 legs, hanging (without legs), runners;
• frame and frameless;
• classic, automatic or mechanical;
• stationary and mobile;
• for recreation, office work, garden, for children.

It is clear that the same chair will fit into several categories. Let's talk about the types that are most common.

The term "classic armchair" does not mean the attitude to style, but design features. This is a frame non-folding chair with 4 legs or on a support. It is designed to relax in a sitting position. More modern models can be with a backrest lock, and then you can take the "reclining" position. A soft chair can be very wide and deep, with large armrests and a headrest. He usually has a square seat. It's easy to get lost in a chair like this.

Smaller models take up less space. But this is not the main thing. If the chair has a semi-rigid back, then it will be comfortable for people with a sore back to sit on it. And the height of the back will affect the load on the shoulders and neck: the lack of support for the head will force the neck muscles to be in constant tension.

The recliner chair can also be called classic in shape., which will allow you not only to recline and lie down, to feel support under your feet, but also to receive a massage.

The frameless armchair is floor furniture that appeared about 50 years ago. In Russia, she became known much later, but already fell in love with lovers of informal communication. There are more classic options in the form of a floor chair or a model that may seem shapeless. But if you shake them, then their shape will be visible: pear, ball, drop, pumpkin, heart, orange, flower or something more complex.

Such furniture is ideal for a nursery due to its safety and mobility. A youth group will gladly use such bags to set up a home theater. After all, polystyrene balls, acting as a filler, will comfortably "hug" a sitting person and adjust to the shape of his body. And with a strong desire, such chairs can be made independently.

A chair-bed is the most common version of folding upholstered furniture. There are many ways of transformation: to the state of a single or double bed, a resting place by the pool, a state of "reclining" as a workplace. This design is an ideal solution for small spaces or the need to lie down to relax on an office chair. There are the following types of their transformation: "accordion", roll-out, "dolphin", "book", "eurobook".

The chair-bed, which has to be folded and folded every day, has special requirements. He often has a box for bedding.

Who doesn't want to just sit in a chair and, swaying slightly, forget about all the problems, relax, align breathing and heart rate? This is why rocking chairs are so fond of. But if, upon hearing this name, you imagined a chair on runners, then this is far from complete information. Yes, traditionally a rattan rocking chair looks like this.

But there is also a poeng - a chair with only two front legs in the form of a loop... A special design with a reclining backrest, often with a footrest, makes the legs spring up and down. Despite the gracefulness, the structure floating in the air is quite reliable and soft.

Papasan is another type of rocking chair. It is also made of natural or artificial rattan, but a mattress and pillows are put inside, due to this, it becomes soft. A distinctive feature is the fusion of the seat and backrest. It resembles a hemisphere in shape. Can be with or without armrests. But necessarily on a large round base that can tilt left-right and back and forth. There are mechanical models that also rotate 360º.

Suspended rocker can be stationary (attached to the ceiling) or portable (attached to the support, which is sold with the chair). Chair "egg", "cocoon", "drop", "swing" - this design is known under such names. The portable version can be used not only at home, but also on the balcony, in the garden, on the banks of the river or the sea.

Rocking chairs are also produced for young children, which are very helpful for young mothers. These devices are also soft, but simply because they have a different design: they are fabric stretched over a light metal base. Usually a baby removable mattress is added for softness.

There is a rather complicated technology for calculating the parameters of an upholstered chair. But these calculations depend on the functional purpose of the furniture: for rest, work, massage. Therefore, in the most general form, it will look like this:

• the height of the seat should be at the level of the knees, but if the chair is designed to rest in a reclining position, then it can be much lower;
• seat depth - 50-60 cm, and width - 50-70 cm;
• the seat should not be strictly horizontal, but slightly lean towards the back, otherwise you will constantly move off of it, and your back and buttocks will be in constant tension;
• the rest chair must have a tilt angle of at least 120º;
• when buying a large chair, you need to provide for additional pillows and sewn-in bolsters, otherwise it will be inconvenient to sit on it;
• When choosing a small chair, be sure to consider the size of the largest family member and the likely thickness of your clothing.

Depending on the design, in the manufacture of soft chairs, we are talking about the materials of the frame, upholstery and filling.

The highest quality and most expensive frame furniture is made of natural wood: ash, oak, walnut or beech. A very popular material is the tropical South Asian plant rattan. But making softwood chairs is not recommended. Often the legs, frame and armrests are made from various metal alloys. This is especially true for folding models that are used every day.

In order for frame furniture to become soft, you need to choose the right filler and upholstery, which is classified by experts according to the degree of strength from 0 to 9. Cotton, linen, lightweight chenille - this is the zero, the lowest class of wear resistance. Since furniture is bought for a long time, it is reasonable to choose high-quality upholstery material: natural leather, nubuck, eco-leather, tapestry, vandal-proof scotchguard, jacquard. Micro-corduroy, velvet, flock, velor, microfiber, cashmere fabrics have less wear resistance.

Experts recommend buying furniture of medium hardness. For this purpose, horsehair or felt is suitable as a filler. These are natural materials. The artificial ones include foam rubber, synthetic winterizer (as a gasket between the frame and upholstery), polyurethane foam and various types of fibers, komer (polystyrene balls for frameless furniture).

The choice of furniture colors is often very tricky. Indeed, in the store we see a chair in a different setting and lighting. You need to have good taste in order to correctly select colorful bright furniture to the existing interior. Successful color combinations are:

• red with gold, purple, blue, shades of beige;

• orange color is in harmony with greens, purples, blue, brown and cream; an orange armchair is a very beautiful accent in a neutral setting;

• green, being the opposite of lilac, goes well with it; more familiar options - a combination with yellow and its shades, brown, blue; unusual, but looks interesting with pink;

• a purple armchair is a kind of delicacy that must be correctly combined so that the color does not oppress; gold, burgundy, fuchsia, and, of course, monochrome colors (white, black, gray);

• blue, light blue will help make a hot room cooler; it is classically combined with shades of gray.

Color classics - black, white, gray. These colors are combined with absolutely any color and with each other. Such a chair can be both an accent spot and the main background for bright pillows or children's toys.

If the room has bright wallpapers and textiles, then the atmosphere should be muted with neutral, pastel colors.

Choosing upholstered furniture, we imagine not only how it will be combined in color, but also whether it fits in style to the existing interior. When choosing luxury furniture for a large, expensive room, it would be nice to use the advice of professionals. After all, it is very easy for a layman to confuse Baroque, Rococo, Empire style. If the claims are simpler, then we recommend paying attention to the furniture of the following styles.

• Modern - one of the most popular styles. There are no special frills here, it is perfect for an ordinary apartment or house, for large or small areas, most modern styles.

• Retro armchairs you can, of course, buy new ones, but perhaps it is enough to update the ones left over from grandparents. After all, they are probably made of real wood and will last a long time.

• Country, patchwork, Provence are close in mood. The advantage of these styles is that purchased furniture can be supplemented with elements that give individuality. In general, these styles involve manual work.

• Hi-tech, techno, constructivism, minimalism united by the idea of ​​minimal decoration, rationalism, convenience. The first two styles prefer metal, light, geometry. Logic, space, convenience are important to constructivism and minimalism.

• To understand what is Japanese, African, Scandinavian, Egyptian style, you need to reproduce in your mind how you perceive these countries and parts of the world: northern white Scandinavia, bright sunny Africa - this is what you have to reproduce in your furniture and interior.

• If you cannot decide on the style or the room turned out to be too bright, with elements of different styles, then you can always say that this is kitsch, boho or pop art.

Italians have long been considered the best manufacturers of expensive luxury upholstered furniture.In Russia, such products are produced, for example, by the 8 Marta furniture factory, which guarantees European quality, reliability, durability, and a varied assortment. In a more affordable price segment, the four leaders are as follows.

• Belarusian "Pinskdrev" - this is the richest assortment of soft armchairs with a wide variety of upholstery.

• Second place is taken by Russian Rival... The upholstered furniture of this factory is supplied with covers, which is especially important for families with children and animals.

• Also Russian "Mebel-Holding" occupies a significant place in the Russian furniture industry. Here you can be offered not only standard armchairs, sofas, couches, ottomans, but also products of unusual shapes and sizes.

• Anderssen (Russia) offers expensive and affordable furniture, not only attractive in appearance, but also comfortable and reliable.

Choosing the softest armchair for your home, there are a lot of criteria to consider.

• Where will it stand? For the kitchen, it should not be massive. Safe for babies, for example, a bean bag chair on the floor. A suspended one can be installed on a balcony or loggia, for the living room, soft chairs can be very diverse, for the hallway - with additional drawers, for the office - ergonomic.
• How convenient is it? To avoid back pain, the chair should have a soft seat and a semi-rigid back. Recessed armchairs should be chosen for tall people. For the elderly, springy models are suitable to make it easier to get up. A footrest is a good option for resting your feet.
• How often will the chair bed be used for its intended purpose? This will affect the material, upholstery and filler. Furniture must be reliable.
• The weight and dimensions of the chair can “eat up” the space or visually enlarge the room.
• It is worth considering the quality of the upholstery, the ease of caring for it, especially if there are children and animals in the house.
• Does the chair have additional functions? A height lock for an office chair, a backrest tilt adjuster, massager functions, a footrest, pillows, a removable mattress - some of these options will definitely come in handy.

Beanbag is a great bean bag chair for a nursery or watching TV.

The unusual design of these chairs attracts attention with its elegance and at the same time reliability.

A good home craftsman is quite capable of making a soft chair on his own.

For information on how to choose an armchair for the interior, see the next video.