Short answer
A deep seat you can shift around in, a back that supports you to the shoulders, and arms low enough to rest your forearms and a book on.
Reading means sitting still for a long time, so support matters more than softness. A full-height back lets you lean back without your neck taking the weight, and a deep seat lets you tuck your legs up.
The chart below sets out what to look for, and how our armchairs measure up.
| Feature | What to look for | Kent and Einar |
|---|---|---|
| Seat depth | 50 to 55 cm | 53 cm |
| Seat height | 35 to 45 cm | 38 cm |
| Back | Supports the shoulders | Full-height back cushion |
| Arms | Low and flat, to rest a book | 49 cm from the floor |
Slightly reclined suits most people for long reading: enough to rest against the back, not so much that you have to hold the book above your face.
A fully upright chair tires you, and a recliner makes reading awkward once it tips too far back. A lounge chair whose seat and back are set at a gentle angle sits in between.
Kent and Einar have a seat that tilts slightly back and a back cushion at a relaxed angle, the position most people settle into for reading. Our guide to what makes an armchair comfortable explains how seat height and depth work together.
Put it where daylight or a lamp falls over your shoulder, away from the main walkway, ideally in a corner or beside a window.
Light from behind and to the side, over your shoulder, reaches the page without glare and without the shadow of your own head.
A corner also gives you two walls of shelter, which is what makes a reading corner feel like a place of its own. Our guide to where to put an armchair covers layouts with a sofa.
As a rule of thumb, a floor or table lamp behind and slightly to the side of the chair, with the bottom of the shade at about shoulder height when you are seated.
That places the light over your shoulder and onto the page. Warm white light suits evening reading; a shade that directs the light down keeps it out of your eyes.
Daylight is best of all by day. A chair angled beside a window, with the light coming from the side rather than straight in front, gives you hours of reading without a lamp.
A side table at about arm height, a throw and somewhere to put the book down; a footstool if you like to stretch your legs.
A side table level with the arms, or a little lower, lets you put down a cup without twisting. With arms at 49 cm, a table of 45 to 55 cm suits Kent and Einar.
Keep the table on the side of your free hand, and keep the area uncluttered: a reading corner works because it asks nothing of you. Our coffee tables include low tables that sit in front of a pair of chairs.
A soft, warm fabric such as bouclé or velvet for comfort against bare arms, or vegan leather if the chair also has to cope with children and snacks.
You spend hours in a reading chair, often in a jumper or with a blanket, so how the fabric feels matters. Bouclé is warm and textured, velvet smooth and deep, vegan leather cool and easy to wipe.
Einar, on solid oak, and Kent, on black steel, both come in bouclé, velvet and vegan leather. Our guide to the best fabric for an armchair compares them in detail.
