How do people sit on this furniture?????

[LAS14]

Twenty years ago we had to get a new couch and chair. It was a real struggle to find furniture that was shallow enough for a 5'4" person to sit on with their feet on the floor. Today I looked at a glossy Sunday NYT ad insert and the furniture seats must have been five feet (or more, in some cases) deep. What do people do??????

[OneBlueDotBama]

1. Make an appointment with Trump's Doc

Ronnie Jackson.... you will automatically lose weigh and gain a few inches...

I hear you, my late MIL was about 5 foot and hated not being to put her feet on the ground.

[AJT]

2. Nap.

[hlthe2b]

3. What do they do? Stick with their old style comfortable and broken in furniture, I guess

I too DETEST really deep sofas. Unless you are six foot tall they are ridiculously uncomfortable.

[LAS14]

4. Some of those I saw in the supplement would only allow a basketball...

.... player to sit reasonably.

[guillaumeb]

5. Fashion requires sacrifice.

Our furniture is almost all antique.

[GemDigger]

6. Pfft. 5'4" is a tall person.

I take the legs off of living room furniture if possible, my bed is not on a frame, there is nothing above the first shelf and I am destined to be "Edith Ann" my whole life.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I'm 5'1.5" and my legs are short even for my height.

Very tall long legged people can sit on those. Not the likes of you or me.

Some years ago someone I knew laughed off how uncomfortable her couch was by saying, "Who thinks to sit on it before you buy it?" I thought she was an idiot, but managed not to say that to her.

Yeah, trying out the furniture and sitting on couches and chairs is crucial.

[Merlot]

10. I was in a furniture store one day sitting on different couches

And the sales clerk said "thanks a good idea, you'd be suprised how many people don't sit on couches before buying."

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. Yep.

And it doesn't matter if you're taller or shorter than average or even that all too be desired average. You need to sit on the couch or the chairs or lie down on the mattresses for your bed. TRY THEM OUT!

My sister recently commented that when she and her husband were shopping for a couch it was very difficult to find one that suited them both. And there was not that great a discrepancy in their sizes. I suppose that in the case of a petite woman married to a normal or larger than normal size it really is an issue.

[Wounded Bear]

8. My brother's SO is sub 5' tall...

I won't sit on their couch. At my age, I can't get up from it without sky hooks.

I drag a chair out of the kitchen to sit and chat.

[TexasBushwhacker]

16. Yeah couches that are too low and soft

Kill my knees. I'm keeping my current couch forever. It has changeable, washable covers and I swapped the legs out for ones a couple of inches taller. Made all the difference.

[csziggy]

9. I know - it's ridiculous!

I'm 5'3" (or my doctor claims 5'4" since I got my knees replaced) with short legs for my height. Almost no chair is short enough between the butt and the knee for me to sit comfortably. Last week I was at my back doctor's office to be scheduled for surgery - by the time I got into his office my back hurt 1000 times more than when I arrived.

I posted a message a couple of months back about the beds at a Holiday Inn Express - the tops of the beds were 30" tall! That is the standard height for a dining table. It was difficult for me to get up into bed. Even my 6'+ husband found them too tall.

Generally, I try to find pillows to put behind my back. If there are no throw pillows I look for a straight side chair and skip sitting on the upholstered stuff.

Next year I will be looking for furniture for my new living room and hope I can find something I can sit on and be comfortable - or I may settle for some recliners - one for my height and one for my husband.

[Lars39]

13. Apartment size furniture might be better for you.

[csziggy]

14. Though I may be short, I am wide

Less wide than I used to be - I've lost over 60 pounds! But I still need substantial furniture. In addition, I've inherited a lot of antiques so I need to pick furniture that will blend with them. I'm not even sure what I want to look for. One of the better local furniture stores offers a free design consultation and I will probably take advantage of that as well as try out various couches and chairs. I also have a chair or two I will have re-upholstered to reused.

[Lars39]

15. Sounds like a lot of shopping in our futures.

We bought a couch my 6’7” husband is happy with, but at 5’4” it’s a killer for me. I dread furniture shopping now.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. For you the real problem is the discrepancy in your heights.

That's something that is not easily resolvable, and you have my sympathy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. I will encourage you to try out the furniture and make sure that what you purchase

actually works for you.

I have also notice that beds in hotels are often a bit tall. Because I'm short (just over 5"1) I tend to assume that that's normal. I'm still mobile enough that climbing up to such beds isn't a problem, but you make me realize that it can easily be a problem, and may well be one for me in the future.

[NightWatcher]

11. My wife is 5'4 and I'm 6'6. She picked the sofa

and I got to pick my recliner. She got a sofa that fits and has recliners in each end.

I'm retiring my recliner from its 20 years of service this spring.

[Lars39]

12. It'll mess your back up if you're prone to that.

[lastlib]

17. I'll be happy to SEND someone the chair in my mother's living room.......

I swear to GOD, that chair was made for a midget! If I try to sit in it, my knees are almost level to my chest, and they're six inches out from the seat itself. If I put my elbows/ forearms on the armrests, my shoulders are almost up to my ears! The day after her funeral, I am taking that chair outside and BURNING it!

[TeapotInATempest]

21. I'd love to take it off your hands, lol

At 5'0", I bet it would be great for me.

Seriously, I swear everything is built for giants these days. My partner is 5'8" - not tall for a man but much taller than I am - and even he complains, because giant furniture is bad for his lower back. On top of being large, so many couches are also very soft. It's like you're expected to sleep on it instead of sit upright on it.