Do you use an ottoman with a tilt-back chair?

Although the chair and ottoman are sold separately, I cannot imagine the chair without an ottoman. It is sort of a deconstructed recliner. DH cannot find a recliner long enough to suit him, so I thought a tilt back might work.

No experience with tilt-backs or that brand, but some of the online reviews would give me pause. Don’t mean to worry you, but just wanted you to be aware of those less-than-solid reviews.

Thanks, Duane! I’m so glad you chimed in. I’ve read your posts on other issues and I appreciate your knowledge. I had totally forgotten about Hancock and Moore! And there is a dealer only 1.5 hours away. And thanks for reminding me of the space it will take. It’ll fit where DH wants it.

Nuts, thanks for checking the reviews. I don’t know where I got it in my head that Smith Bros was good. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Here's the Hancock & Moore Austin 2038NB / 8131NB Austin Tilt Back Chair and Ottoman in promotional leather Viking Navy. You're more likely to find this chair at a dealer then the pricier Westwood series. Around $ 3k For both pieces you see here, depending on the dealer. (every dealer sets their own pricing) I ship nationwide as well, if you can't locate one locally. - Duane

Bbstx, there are good reviews as well. Just saw some that seemed legit that concerned me. Of course, I trust your judgment. Good luck!

Bbstx: We have had the H& M Austin tilt back and ottoman for about 25 years. It is comfortable and has worn well, however we slipped up and didn't do the conditioning and now have a small tear in the leather of the headrest. In looking at replacements, we looked at Smith Brothers and was not impressed with the quality. We are going to stick with Hancock & Moore.

For those of you with the Hancock and Moore tilt back and Duane @The KEEPING ROOM, how much effort do you have to put into raising yourself and the chair from a reclining position? DH is in the early stages of Parkinson’s. He’s 6’3” and 190 lbs. Will the chair raise him or will he have to be able to sit up first and then raise the back of the chair? If I didn’t explain that clearly, let me know and I’ll try again.

Tilt back chairs have traditionally been controlled by a pneumatic gas strut, and the release lever on the right side unlocks the pressure and allows the user to push back and the chair goes down. To come back up, the user has to sit forward and take the pressure off the back - then release the lever and the pressurized strut moves the back upright. So, he would have to de-weight the chair, then trip the release. Here's what a stut looks like that operates the chairs from most makers.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/showthread.php?7455-Hancock-amp-Moore-Gas-Cylinder-Strut-replacement-in-Stock&highlight=strut

The new generation of tilt backs which have come on the market in the past year, are electric, and the back is motorized, so now the release is an electric switch. Sounds like this may be better for your husband as all he would have to do is operate the switch, the motor is powerful enough to push him to the upright position. Bradington Young moved to the electric platform when these first came out, so most of theirs are now motorized (you will have to plug the chair in or use the battery option). Switches have been moved inside the chair to be "hidden"

https://www.bradington-young.com/search.inc?q=tilt

I find the Hancock and Moore units to be more comfortable in pitch angles when compared side-by-side to the Bradington Young, but they are slower to adopt the more to the electric models. At this time they have just one. They will also be priced about $ 1K more than B-Y on Chair/Ottoman combos. This was just introduced last week, and build times are slower on brand new items.

http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Products/4057/Reclining-seating/Alexis-Power-Tilt-Back-Chair-&-Ottoman

When shopping, it will be hard to tell from photos if its pneumatic or power, be sure to ask.

Duane Collie

Thanks, Duane, for all the super information. I was afraid that the back would not be able to lift him. To complicate decision making, I have no idea what we are facing. Neither does anyone else. Apparently, each Parkinson’s patient develops the disease differently.

I like the style of the H&M Alexis power tilt back, but I know DH is going to want all the bustles, pillows, squishy-looking things. The B-Y Taylor is more his speed.

So basically a recliner that doesn’t recline? Well I guess it does recline, but no foot rest. My husband loves his stressless chair, which is also leather but has a footstool. I don’t remember the brand but it has held up great for years. It moved from our great room when I replaced with a leather club chair and is now is the sunroom. His favorite seat.

TM, I tried to talk him into a stressless chair several years ago. What he really wants is one of those cheap, ugly recliners that looks like a baseball glove. He would like this but in leather:

The tilt-back is a compromise, of a sort.

Haha BB! When my dad moved to AL earlier this year I purchased a recliner for him that is electric. The button is on the inside of one arm. He’s a smaller man than your husband, especially as he’s aged. He can’t handle all the “puffiness”. I was able to find one more streamlined, but it is still a recliner. That navy one shown above is nice!

What you need then if he wants a recliner is this one....fit it with Ultra Down Seat and Back, and its a little bit of heaven. And get the motorized variant.

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/showthread.php?5994-Hancock-and-Moore-7150-Westwood-Lounger-in-Prairie-Brandy&highlight=westwood

Duane, that chair is a beauty but he does not want any part of his feet to hang off the foot rest, not even an inch. He had a Lazy-Boy with a kick-out footrest. It was pretty awful, but not nearly as bad as the current model that Lazy-Boy manufactures with the kick-out footrest. It definitely has the “baseball glove” vibe going. The “foot fully on the foot-rest” requirement is what led me to the tilt-back.

I contacted one of the B-Y dealers close to me. He suggested that I also look at Motion Craft. Any comments on Motion Craft?

Motion Craft is made by Sherrill Furniture, a respected brand.

I have two chairs lik the ones originally posted. They are by Leathrcaft and are pretty small. Kind of made for women. Perfect for our short gene family. I bought them from the Keeping Room. Duane is very knowllwdgeable. H&M is beautiful.

I wish I were closer to Duane and could visit The Keeping Room in person. I agree, Denali, he is very knowledgeable and he very kindly shares his knowledge.

Duane @The KEEPING ROOM I cannot get to your forum today. Could be my problem; could be yours. The message is that the server stopped responding.

Therefore, I cannot research the question myself. When I tried to buy DH a new recliner 6 years ago, one of his objections (and there were many) was that the welting around the seat hurt the back of his legs. With his illnesses, he’s lost weight, so I imagine that the welting would be even more annoying now than then. Off the top of your head, do you know if it is possible to special order a B-Y tilt back without welting around the seat cushion? What is your opinion of seat cushion without welting but ottoman with? Should they match?

Many makers will allow you to substitute the welt trim for a simple stitch closure which lays much flatter than a welt trim. A lot depends on if the piece is USA-made, and not out of a "married cover" which is cut and sewn overseas. As long as the leather is cut and sewn in the USA, its doable depending on how custom-friendly the maker may be. Hancock and Moore is very custom-friendly, Bradington Young not so much. However, B-Y does offer several of their pieces with that choice as an option already. Generally if we do that simple stitch on the chair, we carry it over to the ottoman as well to keep things in harmony.

Also, the Austin Series Tilt Back from Hancock and Moore has a knife-edge welt (the blue one posted) which is well down on the cushion and back of the legs would never touch that area, its a smooth round-over on the front of the seat cushion and the ottoman top. Give that one a second look perhaps.

I have ordered the BY Taylor in 917200-87 leather. I’m shocked at the delivery estimate: 10-12 weeks!

BY would not allow a no-welt special order. DH may notice or he may not. Time will tell. If it is truly uncomfortable, looks like DSIL will be sitting pretty.

We have a tilt back along with an ottoman. DH likes it, I never sit in it.

What color did you get @bbs

The color is called Coconut Husk. The nailheads are French Natural.