Chairs with a footrest: what are they and how to choose?

Chairs with footrests have been common since ancient times - in fact, during the time of the aristocracy, there were no other chairs. In our days of equality and striving for universal comfort, such a solution should be available to every consumer, and all that remains is to figure out how to find the ideal option for yourself.

Modern premium furniture should combine two key characteristics at once - not only to look luxurious, but also to provide an appropriate level of comfort. Nowadays, a chair with a footrest can no longer be called something elite - they are widespread and can be found in every second or third apartment. It can be stated that today such a piece of furniture is experiencing a second peak in popularity, replacing the strict Soviet furniture, which, let's be honest, was not created for comfort.

The main advantage of such a piece of furniture is that it is a kind of seated folding bed. You can sit in it both sitting and reclining or even lying down. For an office, this is almost an ideal option - having sat well for half a day and feeling that your body is already numb, you will be able to allow yourself a good rest in a horizontal position during the moments of a short break. Undoubtedly, the upholstery and filling of such furniture provide a high level of comfort, while the complex and very strong frame guarantees the owner of the chair a long service life.

In fairness, an armchair of this design is still not very common for the simple reason that they are also not devoid of shortcomings. First of all, what was described above is a rather complex mechanism that is quite expensive - many people find it easier to buy a small sofa than such a monster. Besides, a chair with a footrest is not necessarily a folding structure - in many models that imitate the classic ones, the stand is only a separate ottoman, which helps to get comfortable, but does not give an opportunity to lie down.

The use of such furniture seems to be most appropriate for several categories of people.

• Pensioners. In our country, after retirement, many people feel a significant deterioration in health and a decrease in the amount of energy compared to what it was before. The quality rest provided by such a chair can partially compensate for age-related changes.
• People suffering from vascular diseases of the legs. For such people, being constantly on their feet or even in a classic sitting position is exhausting and painful. The only way to neutralize unpleasant symptoms is to relax your legs at least for a while, and the furniture design in question makes this possible.
• Those who have to walk or stand a lot. If everyday work disposes of such feats, you should not be surprised that a person regularly gets tired and experiences unpleasant sensations in his legs. The variability of positions in the chair allows you to go about your business in the evenings without going to bed.
• Emotionally active people. Experts have proven that a comfortable rest with the ability to take the most comfortable posture leads to an overall decrease in irritability and the likelihood of nervous breakdowns. Without such a chair, you can suffer from insomnia and depression, but with it, your health should improve.

Modern designers have developed many options for chairs with footrests, and some of them differ significantly from each other. To choose the best option for yourself, first you need to figure out what solutions exist.

• Set with a pouf or a bench. This is a real "grandfather" of all similar armchairs - historically it appeared first and was a separate armchair with an independent soft footrest, which can be placed at the distance from the seat that is convenient for a particular "passenger". Despite the apparent inconvenience, this is the best option for an adjustable footrest - you can move it as you like.

• Recliner with folding stand. Such a chair should be considered the most prestigious in our time - it not only has a reclining back and a retractable built-in footrest, but also has many other amenities. Smooth folding is ensured by a strong tilt back, but there are also electric models with a lifting mechanism. Designers fit into such furniture a lot of "bonuses" from a mini-bar to built-in speakers and massagers. If you want to feel like a top manager of a large company, you must have such furniture.

From what your chair is made of, its durability and comfort depend - therefore, when choosing, you need to pay a lot of attention to the materials of the frame and upholstery.

The base materials are those materials from which the frame is made, they are the heart of the chair, they are responsible for ensuring that it does not lose shape for as long as possible. Serious damage to the frame means the breakdown of the entire product, therefore, the most durable and reliable materials are chosen for its manufacture. And the options are as follows:

• natural wood - very expensive, but ideal in all other respects, including a service life of several decades, strength and reliability, environmental friendliness;

• MDF - a fairly high-quality product of wood processing, it costs less natural raw materials, but at the same time it is quite durable and, according to manufacturers, is harmless;

• Chipboard - Another minor woodworking product, it is very cheap, but it is mainly criticized according to all criteria, because it does not differ in either durability, strength, or environmental safety;

• metal - like wood, it is completely safe, guarantees long-term use and is able to withstand significant loads, while also being cheaper, but it tends to always remain cool, which is not welcome in a cold room;

• plastic - a collective name for fundamentally different materials that can be durable and completely safe with the same probability as fragile and toxic.

The upholstery material affects not only the aesthetic perception of the chair, but also the ease of maintenance and cleaning in case of contamination. There are a lot of upholstery options today, globally they can be divided into 3 categories, although ideally, of course, you should choose with an eye to a specific material. We will only consider the categories.

• Natural materials valued for their 100% environmental friendliness, in most cases they are also hypoallergenic, unless we are talking about wool. For the sake of the safety of their use, natural upholstery is even forgiven for their relative fragility, and sometimes even high cost. Such materials usually allow air and moisture to pass through, and tend to stretch.

• Synthetics at one time it was created to level the minuses of natural materials, it is durable, does not crumple, keeps a given shape, does not cause allergies, does not fade or shrink during washing. In operation, however, there are other disadvantages - such a fabric is less permeable to air, therefore it has a greenhouse effect for the skin, and even is capable of accumulating static charges.

• Combined solutions of mixed origin can combine the best qualities of natural products and synthetics, leveling the shortcomings of both sources, but it is important to understand that there are more or less successful samples.

Chairs with a retractable footrest usually rest on legs that can withstand a significant load, regardless of what position their "passenger" will take. Variations of such a design solution generally repeat the principle of designing any other armchairs. - most often they have four legs located at the corners. Less common are models with two side legs, each of which imitates sled runners, that is, in a sense, they also have four legs forming two loops.

A completely separate segment of furniture is rocking chairs with leg support in the form of a separate pouf - such a solution is not yet very common, but, according to the owners, it has a decent level of comfort. The classic version rests on a pair of side skids, whose edges are bent upward at the front and back, but there are also more modern designs.

One of the varieties works thanks to the pendulum mechanism - the supports belong to any of the types described above, but they are motionless, while the pendulum only swings the seat very smoothly. There are also spring rockers - a reliable spring hidden in one of the legs is responsible for swinging up and down or left and right.

Of course, the main selection criterion is the maximum convenience for the future owner, and this characteristic is rather abstract. Therefore, first you need to decide why you need such a chair, and what exactly do you want from it. Focus not only on softness, but also on the product's ability to transform - if you want to fully recline, then it will be very appropriate to choose a model with a built-in sliding footboard.

Knowing that only you will use the chair, do not be too lazy to try all the models you like, and choose only the one that perfectly adapts to the position that seems comfortable to you.

Such a chair can be purchased for all family members or even for guests, and if so, the emphasis should be on versatility and the ability to adapt to the needs of different people - look for adjustable items. Also, do not forget that the piece of furniture should fit into the interior both in style and in color.

• Classic versions of an armchair with an ottoman are most appropriate in classic interiors, both emphatically rich and more "simple" like a rustic style. You can get rid of inappropriate stiffness by choosing a brighter model.

• Models with a built-in footrest are most often perceived as an integral part of the office, but in principle they are just as appropriate in any living room, especially if it is designed in a simple style.

• The above options are considered classics, therefore, with all their advantages, they do not differ in originality. Fortunately, advanced designers offer more modern solutions as well.

In the following video, you will find a quick tour of the Smart office computer chair with footrest.