Corduroy upholstery is a soft, cut-pile fabric woven with raised, parallel ribs called wales. The number of wales per inch sets its personality, from relaxed and vintage to crisp and polished. Its pile also leans in one direction, called the nap, so the color shifts as light moves across it. Meanwhile, welting along the seams gives corduroy furniture its tailored edge.

Those three ideas (wales, nap, and welting) explain almost everything you notice when you look at a corduroy chair. In fact, once you know them, you can read a corduroy sofa the way an upholsterer does. If you are still weighing fabric against other covers, our guide to fabric vs. leather furniture is a good place to start.

“I want the comfort, but I don’t want it to look like a recliner.” It’s one of the most common things we hear on the sales floor, and high leg recliners are the answer. A recliner used to announce itself from across the room, with bulky arms, a low stance, and an obvious handle on the side. A high leg recliner, by contrast, sits up on exposed wood legs with a slimmer, more tailored frame. In other words, it passes for an accent chair right up until you lean back.

La-Z-Boy makes 22 high leg recliners, from classic press-back chairs to power models with headrests. Here’s the whole collection, plus how to tell which ones truly disappear into a room.