Where to buy: all seven are sold at Wayfair.

Jump to a section

• The best small recliners, compared
• Small recliner chairs worth buying
• Will a small recliner fit you?
• How much room does a small recliner need?
• Push-back, lever or power
• Questions people ask

The best small recliners, compared

*The Beecher’s reviews include other leather versions of the same chair.

Choose between these on size and on how they recline. On reviews they are close, and none of the seven gets noticeably more one and two star ratings than the rest.

Small recliner chairs worth buying

Best for most small roomsWinston Porter Cantalupo

A slim, easy recliner for a small room, under $250.

If your room barely has space for a recliner, start here. The Cantalupo is slim, 27 inches across, so it fits in a corner or beside a bed where a bigger recliner would take over the room.

It is light enough to pull away from the wall when you vacuum.

There is no handle. You recline it by leaning back.

If you like to sink deep into a recliner, skip this one. It sits firm, and the back is thin.

It suits a shorter adult best. The back is the shortest of the seven, so if you are 5’7 or taller, your head can end up past the top when you lie back.

If you are matching other gray furniture, pick another color. The gray has a green cast in person.

On a wood or tile floor it can slide when you sit back up. Put a rug or some grippers under it.

Specs27 W x 34.75 D x 36.25 H in

Size

27 W x 34.75 D x 36.25 H in

Reclined

60.5 in

Seat

18.25 in high, 19.75 in wide, 22.5 in deep

Back

22.25 in above the seat

Minimum door

26.75 in

Holds

250 lb

Recline

Manual push-back

Assembly

Full assembly, tools included

Smallest footprintAlcott Hill Damar

The smallest of the seven picks, sized for a bedroom corner.

Get the Damar for the tightest spot you have. It takes up less floor than any of the other six, sitting up or lying back, and it suits a bedroom corner and a smaller person.

The floral print matches the pictures, though the colors come out darker.

Skip it if pushing a chair back is hard for you. It is a push-back recliner that takes real effort, and it does not always stay all the way back. “You can push it back and hold it in place with great abdominal effort.”

The Dickie and the Latitude Run below recline with a button instead.

Specs26.5 W x 28.7 D x 39.8 H in

Size

26.5 W x 28.7 D x 39.8 H in

Reclined

53.5 in

Seat

18.5 in high, 20.5 in wide, 22 in deep

Back

25 in above the seat

Holds

330 lb

Recline

Manual push-back

Assembly

Full assembly, tools included

Details

Listed feature “Wall Recline”

Best swivelEbern Designs Dickie

The swivel to buy if you want to recline with a button.

Get the Dickie if you want to turn, glide and lie back without getting up. It reclines with a button and charges your phone. Out of the box, you put the back on the base, plug it in and sit down.

It suits a petite adult best. “I am 5’3 and it fits me like a glove. Not everyone wants to swim in a huge chair.”

It makes a good nursery chair, because it glides and it reclines at the press of a button, with no lever to reach for.

Plan to sit up with your feet down. The footrest and the back move together, so you cannot raise your feet without leaning back too.

Measure your doorway before you order. A door sold as 30 inches is too tight for it.

Check your room as well as your door. Of the seven, the Dickie is the deepest, sitting up or lying back.

Specs29.1 W x 37.4 D x 39.8 H in

Size

29.1 W x 37.4 D x 39.8 H in

Reclined

64 in

Seat

18.5 in high, 19.7 in wide, 21.3 in deep

Back

26.8 in above the seat

Minimum door

30 in

Holds

350 lb

Recline

Power, push button

Base

Glider base

Extras

USB port

Assembly

Tool-free, partly assembled

Best power recliner for lessLatitude Run Compact Power Recliner

Push-button reclining for less, for a smaller, slimmer person.

Get the Latitude Run if you want a power recliner and do not need it to swivel. It costs less than the Dickie, the power recline works well, and the buttons are easy to reach.

It is the one I would buy for a small, older parent. It was the right size for one buyer’s 5’0 mother.

Check the length before you buy, even for someone small. It runs short lying back.

If you are broad in the hips, pick another chair. The Latitude Run is the widest of the seven overall, but the seat inside it is the narrowest.

Lower the footrest all the way before you stand. It tips easily if you climb out with it raised.

Specs30.7 W x 36.2 D x 40.9 H in

Size

30.7 W x 36.2 D x 40.9 H in

Reclined

55 in

Seat

18.3 in high, 17.7 in wide, 20.5 in deep

Back

25.5 in above the seat

Holds

300 lb

Recline

Power, push button

Extras

USB port

Assembly

Tool-free, partly assembled

Worth the money, in leatherBirch Lane Beecher

Leather and a solid build, for two people of different heights.

Spend more on the Beecher if you want leather, or if two people of very different heights will share it. It is the one chair here I would expect to suit both of them. “The cushions are proportioned so that my 6 foot husband is comfy, and I, at 5’2, am also comfy.”

The seat is the widest of the seven, and the leather is soft. Wayfair sells it as genuine leather.

On some chairs the leather fades or peels, anywhere from a few months to a few years in. If you need leather that looks new for years, buy a different chair.

Measure your room for it fully reclined, because of the seven, only the Dickie takes more floor.

Specs28.75 W x 37 D x 42 H in

Size

28.75 W x 37 D x 42 H in

Reclined

62 in

Seat

20 in high, 22 in wide, 20.5 in deep

Back

24 in above the seat

Holds

250 lb

Recline

Manual push-back

Material

Genuine leather, as listed, Solid wood legs

Assembly

Full assembly, tools included

With massage and heatEbern Designs Lila

A small chair that does it all, heat included, for under $300.

Get the Lila if you want everything in one small chair. It swivels, rocks and reclines, and it heats and massages, in a frame nearly as slim as the Cantalupo. It is right at home in a bedroom or a reading nook.

Buy it for the heat more than the massage. “It’s just a general vibrating massage and not the roller ball massage but it’s still very nice.”

If you want a chair that stays put when you lie back, look at the power chairs above. The Lila reclines with a lever, and the back needs your weight on it to stay down.

Specs27.2 W x 35.8 D x 39.76 H in

Size

27.2 W x 35.8 D x 39.76 H in

Reclined

59.45 in

Seat

18.5 in high, 19.3 in wide, 22.24 in deep

Back

27.17 in above the seat

Holds

350 lb

Recline

Manual lever

Base

Swivel, rocker and glider base

Extras

Massage and heat

Assembly

Tool-free, partly assembled

Best for a reading nookWinston Porter Terren

A recliner you can read in sitting up, then lean back in, for a reading nook.

Get the Terren for a reading nook. You can read in it sitting up, then lean back. “This chair is comfortable whether I’m sitting straight or laid back.”

It is the recliner pick on our reading nook chairs page too.

If your feet barely reach the floor in most chairs, pick another one, because the Terren’s seat is firm and sits a little high. If you want a nook recliner with a handle, the Lila has one. There are more ideas for the corner itself in our reading nook guide.

Specs28.74 W x 33.86 D x 40.16 H in

Size

28.74 W x 33.86 D x 40.16 H in

Reclined

60.5 in

Seat

19.2 in high, 21.65 in wide, 19.7 in deep

Back

25 in above the seat

Holds

300 lb

Recline

Push-back

Assembly

Partly assembled, tools included

Others worth a look

If you want a swivel for the narrowest spot, look at the Ebern Designs Adwit, for $400 to $450. It is slimmer than the Lila or the Dickie, and it gets through a doorway just 25.5 inches wide, narrower than even the Cantalupo needs.

If you want a swivel rocker with a wingback, look at the Latitude Run Wykoff, for under $350. It stretches out longer than any of the seven picks when you lie back.

If you like nailhead trim, look at the Gracie Oaks Kars, for under $300. It is a push-back recliner, and sitting up it takes less depth than any pick but the Damar, so it tucks into a tight spot.

What did not make the cut

Eighteen recliners were looked at for this page. Every pick is in stock and has at least 3.9 stars from 50 or more reviews.

• Red Barrel Studio 33.07 in recliner with massage and heat. At 33.07 inches it is wider than every pick, and it needs a 33-inch doorway. The Lila does massage and heat in a much narrower frame.
• CHITA Genuine Leather Wall Hugger Power Recliner, at Amazon. At 32.48 inches it is wider than every pick. The Beecher is the leather pick.
• Sweetcrispy Massage Recliner Chair. No weight capacity is published for it.
• La-Z-Boy Sherman Power Wall Recliner and Collage Power Rocking Recliner. No ratings are shown for either, and both cost over $1,000.
• West Elm Mia Small-Space Power Recliner. No ratings are shown for it.

Will a small recliner fit you?

I would treat most of these as petite chairs.

La-Z-Boy sizes its recliners by the sitter’s height, labeling them petite for 5’3 and under and small for 5’4 to 5’9. By that measure, six of these seven are no longer than La-Z-Boy’s petite chair when reclined.

From 5’5 up, your head or feet can end up past the ends of most of these when you lie back.

Check the back height if your head usually ends up past the top of a chair.

If you are 5’5 or taller, compare the chairs on reclined depth and pick the longest one your room allows.

How much room does a small recliner need?

Measure for the chair lying back, leave room to walk past it, and check every doorway on the way in.

Measure it reclined, and from the wall

Measure for the depth reclined before you worry about width. The seven chairs here are close in width, but lying back the Dickie needs 10.5 inches more floor than the Damar.

Do not buy on a “wall recliner” label alone. A wall recliner slides forward as it leans back, so it can sit just a few inches from the wall, but none of these chairs gives a clearance number.

The Damar carries Wayfair’s “Wall Recline” feature, and it still needs space behind it. “Very pretty recliner, but NOT zero clearance!!!!!!”

So measure it yourself. Tape the reclined depth out on the floor, starting a few inches from the wall, and add an inch or two so it is not a squeeze. Then leave 18 to 24 inches past the footrest to walk through, the usual gap between pieces of furniture.

How narrow can a recliner chair be?

The narrowest chairs here, the Damar and the Adwit, are 26.5 inches wide. Your hips feel the seat width, though, so check that as well.

A wide chair can still have a narrow seat. The Latitude Run is the widest of the seven overall, yet its seat is the narrowest.

On any listing, find the seat width before you look at the overall width. If it is not listed, ask before you order.

Will it fit through your door?

Measure the doorway with the door open, then compare it with the chair’s depth and its height. It goes through if the opening is wider than either one, so a chair that will not fit upright may go through tipped on its back.

A door sold as 30 inches gives you less than 30 inches once it is open.

The Cantalupo needs 26.75 inches, which a 30-inch door clears. The Dickie needs 30 inches, which is too tight for one. For the Damar, the Beecher, the Lila and the Terren, compare your doorway with each chair’s depth and height before you order.

The Dickie, the Latitude Run and the Lila arrive partly assembled, with no tools needed. On the Dickie and the Latitude Run the back goes on at home, so the base goes through the door on its own.

Measure every door, hallway corner and stair on the way in, not only the one into the room.

Push-back, lever or power: which recliner is easier to use?

Buy power if you do not want to push at all. Buy push-back if you want no motor and no cord to plug in. A lever gives you a handle to pull, and still no motor.

If leaning back hard is not easy for you, skip push-back recliners. The Cantalupo, the Damar, the Beecher and the Terren all work this way. There is no handle, and you recline by leaning back into the chair, which takes some push, the Damar most of all.

The Lila reclines with a lever on the side, and so do the Adwit and the Wykoff. On the Lila the back needs your weight on it to stay down, and the footrest takes a firm push to close.

The Dickie and the Latitude Run recline with buttons, so there is nothing to push. Put them near an outlet.

The Dickie and the Lila sit on swivel and glider bases rather than a wall recliner’s, so you can turn toward the window or the TV without getting up. The Lila rocks too, though less once it is reclined.

If getting up is the hard part, look at a power lift chair instead, which none of these is. If you want the simplest chair for the least money, buy push-back, and buy the Cantalupo.

Questions people ask about small recliners