Question:

Do you have a recommendation for purchase of home theater chairs? I am a retiree and would like theater seating that is reasonably priced yet good quality.

I do not want to repeat my last purchase of very costly “leather” chairs that peeled within 4 years of purchase. 

Are you familiar with the company 4Seat and its theater chairs?

Answer:

“Reasonably priced yet good quality” is a dangerous description when purchasing reclining furniture, including home theater.

If you are serious about home theater seating, be prepared to spend more to get better quality.

“Reasonably priced” leads you to purchase reclining furniture that looks and feels great when brand new in the showroom, but will begin losing its comfort (and possibly its appearance) within a very short time period, sometimes within a year or less.

Home Theater seating is not cheap, even for the lower quality brands. Spending all that money for seating that will need to be replaced within 3 – 5 years is not a good investment.

Upgrading from cheap bonded or faux leathers to top grain leathers is not a solution.

Top grain leather may last for 20 years or more, but the seat cushions will wear out long before that.

4seat is a retailer. They carry several different home theater brands.

Their biggest brand is Seatcraft. Although the “About us” information about Seatcraft states that the company was “started in California,” its furniture is imported, produced in massive factories and designed primarily to reduce costs rather than for long term comfort.

When purchasing home theater seating there are two major features that you need to be aware of:

Do not buy bonded leather.

This material has caused thousands of angry customer complaints over the past decade and dozens (or hundreds) of lawsuits.

Bonded leather “peels” sometimes within one year or less, most often within 3 – 5 years.

Once bonded leather has begun peeling it cannot be repaired. The furniture is ruined.

Peeling bonded leather is not covered under warranty. (Although it may appear to be covered in bold print at the top of the warranty document, coverage will be specifically excluded in one or more clauses further down where very few people bother to read.)

Avoid tight (non-removable) seats.

If you manage to avoid problems with bonded leather, non-removable “tight” seat cushions are by far the number one cause for loss of comfort in reclining furniture (including home theater seating.)

“Reasonably priced” reclining furniture will almost always have “tight” (non-removable) seats. It saves a huge amount of cost in the manufacturing process.

The problem with tight seats is that the standard 1.8 density foam (which is often described as “high density foam” in the description) will lose its resilience (and much of its comfort) within 3 – 5 years for most people. Once the foam loses its resilience it cannot be replaced or repaired at a reasonable cost.

Home theater seating with removable seat cushions will usually cost substantially more and is most often found only in higher quality (more expensive) brands.

It may be possible to find home theater seating that uses coil spring cushion construction. This is superior to foam in most cases.

Coil spring seat construction can be found as an upgrade option with most higher end brands.

Coil springs can also sometimes be found in home theater seating with “tight seats.” This can extend the lifespan of tight seat cushions by several years compared to standard 1.8 density foam but cannot be replaced when they do wear out after 10+ years without completely reupholstering the furniture.

A few of the better quality brands of Home Theater seating are listed below.

Although all of these companies are leather specialists, featuring top quality leathers, they will also also offer high quality faux leathers and “high performance” fabrics at substantially lower prices.

Ekornes Stressless

Hancock & Moore

Leathercraft

MotionCraft

Check out my blog article, 18 Best Reclining Sectional and Sofa Brands Made in America.

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