A question for designers about chair seat height

[James Spillman]

In general, what is the desired height of the seat of say a rocking chair? I ask this because years ago I made an Adirondack chair from plans. I was very proud of the finished chair. It looked good and was very comfortable. Unfortunately, I could not get up from it. The seat was too low. Too close to the ground. It sits unused in my garage for the last ten years. Now, I want to build my second chair. This would be a rocking chair. I plan to follow the plans outlined in Fine Woodworking (April 2018). The plans show the base of the upholstered seat sitting only 11.5" above the floor. If I follow the plans exactly I will build a second chair I cannot use. Because of my Neuropathy, I need a seat that is raised higher from the floor than most furniture that is manufactured. I am wondering what I can do. You just can't make a chair with the seat height any height you want to have it. The design of the chair might be ruined. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Dave Richards]

It depends on the way the chair is sitting but with the cushion thickness as I was told to draw it for the plans, the cushion top should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 inches off the floor at the front. You could probably add a couple of inches to the height of the cushion without hurting the design of the chair. You might raise the height of the backrest by a couple of inches to compensate but I doubt that would have to be done. Depends upon how tall you are and where you want the top of the backrest relative to your head.

You might also play with the firmness of the cushion to adjust how far you settle in.

It also wouldn't be difficult to add a couple or three inches to the legs below the level of the seat rails.

[Pat Barry]

I suggest going to some furniture stores, trying out various rockers and find one the best height for you, then measure it and build yours to match. If you plan to have a cushion, then you might want to bring the cushion or a surrogate along for your test rides.

[Mel Fulks]

We have a mid 19th century rocking chair (Windsor type thing with "hollowed out" seat). When the chair seat side edge is parallel with floor the height is 14 and 1/2 inches .

[Peter Christensen]

Add strips to the bottom of the rockers of the chair you once made until it feels right to you. Now you have measurements to work from. You could also put sheets of plywood on the floor, your feet overhanging the edges touching the floor, until the rocker is the right height.