Swivel, Rock and Relax in FlexSpot’s Lotus Swivel Rocker Recliner

Recliners seems to come in two types: there’s the skinny type that seems more like a beefed up lawn chair and then there’s the heavily padded type you sorta fall inside of when you sit down. So when FlexiSpot showed us their Lotus Swivel Rocker Recliner, it caught our attention because, while it’s definitely a recliner, it certainly looks different. As in being wide both upon sitting down in it as well as wide at your back when you lean back. It also had what we might call the “Lazy Susan” effect — which is to say it could rotate 360 degrees for those thinking like they’re in an old James Bond movie and playing the villain. Which of course gets tossed out of the window when you start to rock back and forth in it like it’s a rocking chair. You also don’t look exactly James Bond villain-ish when you use the manual switch to open the leg rest and push back on the backrest to fully recline.

So we ask to see the Lotus Swivel Rocker Recliner and it shows up in two heavy boxes so plan on having someone there to help take the parts out and bring them over to where you are going to place the chair. Be careful not to scratch the floor and should there not be two people one can move the heavy base by placing those furniture moving discs under. One of the reasons for assembling the chair in its final location is that it is pretty wide and may not fit through a door. In fact it’s almost 40” wide and while height is not an issue, you also should take into account the space needed when extending the foot rest and also lying back. Plus the fact that the recliner can rotate 360 degrees.

The Lotus is composed of carbon steel pipe, fabric, foam and wood panel material. It weighs assembled around 110+ lbs. and most of the parts come packed in vacuum bags. It will need to be assembled, although that “Lazy Susan” rotating mechanism for the base is pre-assembled. Those parts coming in vacuum bags can be opened up earlier and allowed to fill out. Other than a knife or scissors, all the parts necessary for assembly are included — consisting of screws and an Allen wrench (be sure to locate these as they’re In a small bag). The parts consist of a backrest padding and frame, a recliner base, seat cushion and leg rest.

The first thing to do is align the flat side of the backrest frame with the backrest padding, peeling off the cloth protective covering over the Velcro and attaching it to the Velcro on the lower layer (note: now’s a good time to remove all the cloth covering Velcro). Now connect the base and leg rest — opening the recliner first — this being done using the Allen wrench and screws. Patience is needed and good lighting so as to see the screws going in correctly and straight as relative to the leg rest.

This is followed by adhering the Velcro to the black brushed fabric near the exterior fabric’s edge. These particular instructions are a lot easier to do by looking at the accompanying illustration first.

Taking off the protective layer to reveal the Velcro on the underside of the seat cushion, place it so that the front edge is flush with the leg rest (again look at the illustration). Be careful not to get anything caught in the metal struts and take your time making sure they’re covered by material and so not exposed.

The backrest now gets inserted into the two slots of the base and the Velcro is adhered to the bottom of the recliner. Pat the backpack, followed by doing the same to the seat cushion so both are smooth and fluffed out (is there such a word?).

Now place the seat cushion on the recliner, followed by positioned the backrest padding in the back inner frame and inserting it into the iron frame.

That’s it, all done. It will definitely take less than an hour to do — we took our time and did it in about 40 minutes (that doesn’t include the time for removing the parts from the bags and moving it into the bedroom where it would be put together).

This is one comfortable recliner. Maybe that’s partly due to all the padding, but we feel that it’s also due to its large physical size that’s just so roomy. For sure working the leg rest is easy and only adds to the comfort, but to go whole hog on comfort you have to try lying back in what is being called the leisure lying mode — that combines reclining all the way back with the leg rest up. We’re not big on rocking, but can see its value for use with a baby being held or someone needing to burn off excessive energy. And the Lotus has it all over those recliners that force you to look forward only. We really liked being able to swivel the recliner so as to face the television and then turn away from it when reading. Not having to whip our neck around is a huge plus to having this recliner in the bedroom.

But it’s worth noting that the Lotus’ features do require a bit of issue avoidance: specifically don’t sway back/forth in it when fully reclined; stay seated on the cushion and don’t plant one’s butt on the backrest (something that should be obvious); don’t push the recliner over (again obvious); don’t sit on the front edge of the recliner or on the leg rest (duh, see above).

The Lotus Swivel Rocker Recliner is rated for up to 300 lbs., comes in fabric or PU leather, with colors being beige, light gray and orange. Plus there’s also a version that includes a cell phone holder with power. For more details go to https://www.flexispot.com/swivel-rocker-recliner-xc6-xr6?srsltid=AfmBOoqF--npN3ktO34FfrSu1tt5ZbneiOaPiLn61SzwgvsVyk6-Uf8q