Selecting a piece of furniture can be a difficult task for many people. It seems like there should have been a class on this in school, much like other tasks everyone has to encounter somewhere along the road of life!
Where to start?
There are several things that are important….so it really needs to be determined as to what specifically is being done. Are you doing a whole room, or are you looking for a piece for yourself?
Yes, those are very different needs….so for today, let’s talk about what is important in selecting a piece of furniture for a specific member of the family?
There are several factors in finding the piece that works for a person….everyone’s body size is made a little different. We have different lengths for our legs and back. The key thing to look at will be the height of the seat!
Why will the seat height be so important?
It is very important to be able to sit and keep your feet on the floor. I am shorter so many items do not fit my shorter legs and my feet will dangle!
Along with the seat height the depth of the seat is just about as important. We want to make sure we have good back support so if the seat is too deep, it will cause us to lean and not give the comfort to our lower back.
After the seat height and depth are determined, what is considered next?
Depending on what type of piece we are looking at, the height of the back is important, especially if this piece is a recliner. Usually, we want good neck support, so again our body will help to find the correct height. Furniture today is made in a lot of different sizes. The majority of furniture is to accommodate a person who is 5’8. If you are that tall, then a lot of pieces could fit quite well, but depending on your leg length, many pieces might not fit and support your legs.
That is a lot to consider and so important if we want the correct fit! Do American manufacturers make this process easier than the import manufacturers?
American manufacturing tends to understand our body sizes the best and therefore offer lots of pieces in different combinations of heights and depths. You can actually order different seat depths from 20”-27” deep and also they offer different seat heights for that perfect fit!