How to Choose a Chaise Lounge (and the Sizing Mistake to Avoid)

What to know before you buy a chaise lounge for indoors, including the sizing mistake most people make.

A chaise lounge is one of those pieces people fall for in a photo and then struggle to place in a real room. It is worth getting right, because a good one becomes the seat everybody fights over. Here is what actually matters.

First, the spelling, because it trips everyone up

It is spelled chaise, and plenty of people type "chase lounge" when they search for one. Both get you to the same furniture. The original French term is chaise longue, meaning long chair, which is a more useful description of what you're buying than "lounge" is.

Know which of the three types you want

Almost everything sold as a chaise falls into one of three shapes, and they behave very differently in a room:

• Classic chaise: a long seat with a back along one side and usually one arm. Best for reading corners and bedrooms.
• Chaise sectional piece: the extended end of a sofa. This is what most people mean when they say their couch "has a chaise." Buy it as part of a sectional sofa rather than separately.
• Oversized or boneless lounger: a soft, low, foam-filled piece with no rigid frame. Extremely comfortable, very casual, and easy to move. Corduroy versions are popular right now.

Measure the depth, not just the length

The mistake I see most often is buying on length alone. A chaise is typically 60 to 75 inches long, and people check that against the wall. What catches them out is depth: a chaise projects 30 to 40 inches into the room, which is noticeably more than a chair.

Before ordering, mark the footprint on the floor with tape and live with it for a day. Make sure you can still walk past it with at least 30 inches of clearance, and that a door doesn't swing into it.

Decide which side the arm is on

Chaise pieces are handed. "Left arm facing" and "right arm facing" are described as you look at the piece from the front, which is the opposite of how many people picture it. Get this backwards and the chaise points away from your TV or window. If a listing doesn't say clearly, ask before you order.

Pick the fabric for the room's traffic

Corduroy and chenille are soft and hide wear well, which makes them good in a family room. Velvet looks the most luxurious and shows every pet hair. Linen breathes nicely and wrinkles. Faux leather wipes clean in seconds and is the easy answer with kids or dogs.

Whatever the fabric, removable and washable covers are worth paying a little more for. They are the difference between a piece that ages well and one you replace.

Sit test it, even mentally

A chaise you nap on wants a soft, deep seat and a reclined back. A chaise you read in wants firmer support and a more upright back, or you'll end up folded in half with a book on your chest. Seat height around 16 to 18 inches suits most people; lower feels loungey, higher is easier to get out of.

Where to start looking

You can browse our full range of chaise lounge chairs, from structured reading chaises to oversized corduroy loungers. If you're furnishing a whole seating area, it's worth looking at sectional sofas with a chaise end too, since one piece often solves more of the room than two.

Tape the footprint on the floor first. It takes five minutes and prevents the one mistake that's expensive to undo.