Best Leather Recliner Chairs – Buyer’s Guide

They say that a man’s home is his castle, but what is a castle without a throne? Being able to go home to the relative peace and comfort of your home may not mean too terribly much if your home does not have a comfortable seat waiting for you when you get there. This is where having the best leather recliner chair can be so important.

The best leather reclining chairs will not only provide a comfortable seat for you when you get home, it will also give you a place to literally put your feet up. On top of that, a leather recliner chair is also often fairly easy to clean so long as you do not wait too long before doing so. Of course, there are a fair number of different types of leather reclining chairs.

Best Leather Recliner 2021

Figuring out which leather reclining chair is the best fit for you can be a difficult and confusing task. That is why we have put together a list of the 5 best leather reclining chairs and highlighted what each one does best. Then we provide a helpful buyer’s guide, so you can find the best leather reclining chair to suit your needs.

1. BONZY Recliner Chair – Editor’s Choice Leather Recliner Chair

Much like some companies that we reviewed, BONZY is by far not the most well-known furniture brand on the market. In fact, this company follows in the footsteps of others that we have reviewed in that it is actually a brand of a larger company and a fairly recent brand at that being owned by ZOY Home Furnishings. On the positive side, while BONZY may not actually specialize in leather reclining chairs, it does at least specialize in chairs in general with a preponderance of their products, in fact, being recliners.

The Most Durable and Reliable on the List

Overall Build Quality

Of course, if a leather reclining chair is going to make our list as the editor’s choice, it must provide more than simply a durable and reliable reclining mechanism. Thankfully, the BONZY is also one of the more all-around durable leather reclining chairs that we saw. For instance, the frame of this leather reclining chair is made of hardwood that has further been reinforced with steel. This provides the BONZY with an impressive weight capacity of 300 pounds. Even better, this leather reclining chair also uses more foam in its cushions than most of the other products we reviewed.

2. Divano Roma Furniture – Best Power Leather Recliner Chair

Divano Roma Furniture is a bit of a unique company on our list in that it is not actually its own company but is instead merely a brand of a larger furniture conglomerate. In fact, there is a bit of a shell game going on with this brand as its parent company is further owned by another, larger umbrella company. Regardless, it is worth noting that not only does Divano Roma Furniture not specialize in leather reclining chairs, it does not even specialize in chairs or seating at all though the brand does at least specialize in furniture, as the name implies.

A Powered Reclining Mechanism

Overstuffed Cushion

Another great quality about the Divano Roma Furniture leather reclining chair is its build construction. For instance, this is the only leather reclining chair that we reviewed which uses an overstuffed cushion approach. This means that the Divano Roma Furniture has more cushioning than most, and some might find this more comfortable. On top of that, this material is made of bonded leather and has a solid frame. In fact, this leather reclining chair has one of the highest weight capacities we saw at 300 pounds.

3. KAHUNA SUPERIOR MASSAGE CHAIR – Best Massage Leather Recliner Chair

In what seems to be becoming a trend, KAHUNA follows the same business model as many of the other companies on our list and is actually the brand of a larger conglomerate. That said, KAHUNA does at least specialize in high-end massage chairs that just so happen to satisfy the requirements of a leather reclining chair. That said, you should not buy the KAHUNA if you are looking for a standard leather reclining chair as this is not an “all the time” chair and is better served for its specific purpose.

A Dedicated Massage Chair

With a single glance, it should become immediately apparent that this is not at all like the other types of leather reclining chairs on our list. In fact, it is far more of a dedicated massage chair that just happens to be made of leather and also reclines. That said, this still technically qualifies it for our list, and there is plenty to love about this leather reclining chair’s action.

For one, this is a powered leather reclining chair, but unlike some of the other powered leather reclining chairs on the market, the KAHUNA’s motor is far more reliable though it also runs the massage functions. Even better, this is the only leather reclining chair on our list that can achieve a zero-gravity recline.

Massage Options

Kahuna Massage Chair Remote Instruction

4. Flash Furniture – Best Swivel Leather Recliner Chair

Though it took us more than half of the list to find one, Flash Furniture is genuinely its own company and it does specialize in furniture as the name implies. Though, it does not specialize in leather reclining chairs specifically or even seating more generally. In fact, this company is a wholesale distributor which focuses primarily on office and commercial furniture. That said, it does still have plenty to offer in terms of a leather reclining chair. Having over a decade of experience, the company has figured out what works and what does not.

Modern and Stylish

One of the first things that you should notice about this leather reclining chair is it style which is not the large, bulky leather reclining chairs that generally occupy this list. Instead, the Palimino takes a different approach and provides a leather reclining chair that is much smaller in profile. On top of that, this is also the only leather reclining chair that we reviewed which comes with its own ottoman as well as a specialized and integrated headrest. Even better, this leather reclining chair is mounted to a swivel allowing for quick transitions. The plush armrests are also a nice touch on a leather reclining chair that is otherwise somewhat svelte.

Ideal Footrest with Reclining Functions

5. Best-Selling Davis Leather Recliner – Best High Leg Leather Recliner Chair

Best-Selling is an interesting company on our list in that it seems to be purely an only online business format. While this can make things difficult finding the products in the real world, it generally means that the company is able to sell their products at much lower costs than their competitors due to an ostensibly lower overhead cost for the company. As such, it should not come as any surprise that the Best-Selling Davis is the least expensive product we saw. Still, Best-Selling does not specialize in leather reclining chairs, seating in general, or even furniture.

A Push-Back Recliner

Overall

Another interesting quality about the Best-Selling Davis leather reclining chair is the fact this it is a high leg style recliner. As opposed to the large bases that most of the other leather reclining chairs we reviewed have, this design provides the Best-Selling Davis with a more compact profile than any other chair we reviewed. Of course, that may not work out so well for larger people. On top of that, this is also one of the few chairs that we reviewed which does not recline all the way back. Still, it is fairly easy to assemble as you only have to screw in the legs and position the back of the chair to the body. The frame itself is made of wood which is likely how such a compact leather reclining chair can support a weight capacity of 250 pounds.

Best Leather Recliner Chairs – Buyer’s Guide

Though this list may be breaking down the best leather reclining chairs, that does not at all mean that the conversation of materials should conclude there. This is because there are actually a number of different types of leather available, and though our list may only have selected leather reclining chairs made out of a single type of leather, it is still a good idea to know what options are available and how the type of leather common to our reviews compares to other types of leather more generally.

The Most Common Materials

Faux Leather – When it comes to our list, this is not only the most common type of leather that we saw it was the only kind of leather that we picked. As the name implies, this is not truly a type of leather and in fact, was not sourced from a living creature at all. This makes it more eco-friendly than other types of leather and also makes it vegan-friendly too. That said, this is one of the lowest grades of leather available.

On top of that, faux leather can actually be made of different materials, though polyurethane and vinyl are the most common. Polyurethane faux leather is generally seen as the best quality of faux leather as it is more durable than vinyl. That said, vinyl is still not that far off of course and generally comes at a slightly lower cost than polyurethane.

Genuine Leather – Out of the “real” leathers, this is the lowest grade of leather available and does not even have the benefit of claiming eco-consciousness like faux leather does. That said, the differences between genuine leather and faux leather are not that divergent in terms of how the material behaves. This is due in a large part to how genuine leather is made. This grade of leather is fabricated by taking strips and scraps left over from the manufacturing process of better grades of leather and bonding them together with some type of adhesive. This keeps costs down and still allows the use of the term “leather” to be legally used even if it is only technically so.

Top-Grain Leather – This is the next grade of real leather, and though it is incredibly popular with leather clothing and even with furniture, it is not as popular for furniture as it is for clothing. This type of leather is made by using only the top layer of skin. This allows top-grain leather to remain fairly soft and pliable and these qualities can even be enhanced with numerous different types of pre-treatments to the leather.

In fact, real suede is generally a type of top-grain leather that has undergone pre-treatments. That said, top-grain leather is still incredibly durable, though it is not the most durable type of leather.

Full-Grain Leather – Full-grain leather is considered the highest grade of leather available, but that does not necessarily mean that it is best suited for all leather applications. For instance, full-grain leather is not the ideal grade of leather to use for leather clothing that honor goes to top-grain leather. This is because the manufacturing process of full-grain leather does not actually leave it nearly as soft nor supple when compared to top-grain leather. Essentially, full-grain leather is made with all layers of the source skin which does it least make it the most durable leather available. On top of that, the relative stiffness of full-grain leather is not as noticeable for furniture as it is for clothing.

Reclining Mechanism

Since we are looking at the different types of recliners, it only makes sense to cover all the different types of reclining mechanisms. This is important because the reclining mechanism type will impact how reliable the leather reclining chair might be. This has a fair bit to do with how the reclining mechanism engages and disengages and how that puts stress on the different components involved in the reclining motion. Generally, the more parts involved or the more force applied to engage the reclining motion, the less durable that reclining mechanism is liable to be.

Lever – This is the standard type of reclining mechanism and is by far the most common type of reclining mechanism used for leather reclining chairs. Essentially, a lever or latch system will provide a point of release for a spring mechanism to allow the leather chair to recline.

Sometimes this type of mechanism can be a simple release mechanism, whereas other time this type of mechanism may require a force start making it a bit more similar to a push-back reclining mechanism. Regardless, this is a fairly durable type of reclining mechanism, though the simple release mechanism will often outlast the forced start lever reclining mechanism.

Push Back – As the name suggests, this type of reclining mechanism is engaged by simply leaning back against the leather reclining chair. In doing so, you will end up triggering a catch that prevents the leather chair from engaging it reclining motion and pushing it beyond some predetermined resistance level. This can be a fairly intuitive reclining mechanism, but it can also vary greatly in terms of durability. Essentially, the issue comes down to how well the manufacturer made the catch which holds the leather chair in its upright position. If this catch is well-made, then a push-back reclining mechanism is every bit as durable as a lever or latch reclining mechanism. Still, some people may have difficulty engaging a push-back reclining mechanism no matter how well-constructed or sensitive the catch.

Power – The last type of reclining mechanism for a leather chair is both the most convenient and often the least durable. This is not to suggest that a powered leather reclining chair is fragile, but it does have an inherently greater risk of failure due to the inclusion of more moving parts.

Essentially, if a single component on a powered leather reclining chair fails, then the entire reclining mechanism fails. With so many moving components, this sheer chance of this occurring increases. Still, there are plenty of powered leather reclining chair manufacturers that use motors which are incredibly durable.

Overall

As we can see, there is not going to be a single leather reclining chair that best suits all people equally. Some people are looking to get the best value for their buck and while others will be more concerned about how well their leather reclining chair performs and this does not even consider some of the more specialized leather reclining chairs on the market.

For those who simply demand the best performance possible, we recommend the Bonzy recliner chair. It is easily the most durable and well-built leather recliner chair that we saw, and though it may come at a slightly more expensive cost than many of the other products reviewed, you can rest assured that its comprehensive product testing provides the peace of mind to make it your throne for years to come.

Of course, if you are looking to get a solid leather reclining chair at a slightly lower cost, the Divano Roma Furniture leather reclining chair offers a good product at a better cost. That said, this is a power leather reclining chair, so you will have to consider whether or not you want to deal with the controlled rate of reclining as well as the potential motor failure that can occur.