The problem with the majority of recliners is that they’re just plain ugly. Plus these clunky chairs take up half the room and make it next to impossible to decorate a room with style. “Well, who cares what it looks like?” I hear hubby dearest saying. “It’s where I watch the game!”

He’s got a point, of course. Nothing beats a recliner when it comes to lounging and napping. And furniture designers know it, too. Recently they've been busy sketching and tweaking to come up with new styles that pass muster with even the most anti-recliner among us.

Take a look at Design Within Reach's fabulously sleek Flight recliner. It comes in a large range of yummy colors in leather or ultrasuede. The fact that it looks a bit like an airplane seat is no accident. DWR hired an in-flight seating designer to create a recliner that didn't look like a recliner. Works for me.

Another perfectably acceptable "comfort chair" is Room & Board's Dunbar Recliner which has clean lines and a pretty shape. In addition to standard brown and black leathers , you can pick from some really pretty colors, including sky, purple, white and mandarin.  Who knows? Maybe it's time to put a recliner on the shopping list for yourself!

Do you have a big (and old) recliner cluttering up your family room? Do you love it or hate it? Please tell me at .