[pringtef]

La-Z-Boy Matinee Review

Before I start with this review, I'd recommend taking a glance at the documentation for this range if you are unfamiliar with it. This will help to provide a better understanding of how it can be setup.

A few months ago, I was browsing the La-Z-Boy US website and saw a new range, Matinee, they had introduced geared towards readers such as us on these forums. This range is modular, designed to allow custom configuration and placement

A few weeks later, and this range became available in the UK. There were a couple of snags however: - The two armed version of the chair was not available in UK, only electric models were available, and my credit card was already burning up!

Much deliberating later and bargaining later, I decided to purchase one of these from Browns in Morecambe, (price now bettered by AV Sales PowerBuy).

With the two armed edition unavailable, and future expansion in mind, I opted for a left armed chair, and the black leather console with drawer.

A few weeks later, and around £1400 more on the Visa, and the items were ready for delivery.

Delivery Day
By Saturday afternoon, the items had arrived. These come in BIG boxes, beware anyone with a narrow door or hallway!

Close up of the two boxes

How they fit in the room

Console
I'd opted for the console with the drawer as opposed to the wedge as I needed something to store my other remotes when not in use. Additionally, the silver tray looked ideal for nachos!

The unit itself is constructed of high quality leather, and perfectly complements the chair.

The console comes as one unit, so no self assembly is required. Just rip of the plastic covering and you're away.

Dimensions of Console
Length : 96cm (drawer closed) - 136cm (fully opened)
Width : 38cm
Height : 65cm

Drawer Dimensions (inside)
Length 60cm
Width 27cm
Height 13cm

There's a good amount of space inside this drawer (enough for a pronto, sony ericsson p900, arcam remote, and a book). Its base is constructed of fairly solid wood, so there shouldn't be any concerns about putting too much weight in it.

Chair

Dimensions
Length : 94cm (straight) - 159cm (fully reclined)
Width : 71cm
Height : 105cm

Note these are the dimensions for the chair alone, they do not include the drawer unit.

The chair itself comes in two discrete parts, the seat with arm already attached, and its back.

Both of these items are covered with high grade black leather, which looks outstanding.

Included are two L shaped brackets for attaching furniture, such as the drawer unit to it.

There is also the transformer and lead for powering the recliner.

The unassembled chair

Transformer, leads and brackets

Attaching the back of the chair to the seat is a simple case of aligning the left and right slots with the upright vertical metal parts below.

Once this is secure, a screwdriver is used to lock the back to the base.

With this complete pull the sheet of leather down and attach the Velcro to the underside.

Next, just connect the lead to the chair, plug this in turn into the transformer, and plug this into the mains.

The inside of the chair contains the lever which activates the recliner, illustrated below, just after my hand. Reclining is achieved by pulling the level towards the back of the chair, pushing forwards brings it to the straight back position.

The chair in its default position

Fully stretched out

You'll probably have already noticed the cup holder on the left hand side. This is quite a nice feature, and can easily hold a pint glass without fear of it falling out.

The holder is pressure sensitive, so will lower on its own when a glass / cup is put on it. However, this is not likely to fully lower the holder. This can be achieved simply by pressing it down until you hear a click.

And here's how it looks together.

Overall
The seat and back are very well cushioned, particularly on the base, where it is effectively two cushions you are sitting on.

I've not used the non reclined position of the chair much at all, though it is comfortable. Stick a CD or DVD on, and put this back in a reclined position of your choice, and you're on cloud 9……

Full reclined, the unit is close to horizontal. I've yet to try it, but I've absolutely no doubt that you could have a very good night's sleep in this.

These items fit in really nicely if you have a wood/wood type effect floor. I was very pleased to find out how well it went with my black leather couch.

The Matinee chair is an outstanding piece of furniture, both in build and also comfort quality. It is also an expensive bit of kit though.

But if you can take the hit and are happy with your other AV kit, then I recommend completely, and suggest taking a trip to the Power Buys section………

[homethx]

No pictures bring them back.

[ianharvey]

Thanks for a very thorough review.

[Brogan]

Nice.
But £1,400...for a chair!