Sofa Club Thea Power Recliner Review: Tech Meets Lounging

Tech recliners usually fall into one of two camps – gaming chairs loaded with RGB lights and speakers, or massage chairs that cost more than a decent sofa. Most of them are solving problems that don’t really exist.

Sofa Club’s Thea recliner sits at an interesting crossroads between furniture and tech. It’s got a flexible phone holder built into the arm, runs on an internal battery so you’re not tethered to wall sockets, and swivels 360 degrees on its base. All wrapped up in cream boucle fabric.

After a few weeks with it, I can say it’s one of the comfiest chairs I’ve sat in. The battery genuinely lasts weeks, the phone holder isn’t the gimmick I expected, and that swivel base is smoother than anything I’ve tested.

After a few weeks with it, I’ve found it’s genuinely comfortable and those tech features actually work as advertised. But there’s also a fairly significant design quirk that caught me off guard – one that might be a dealbreaker depending on how you plan to use it.

Who Is The Sofa Club Thea Recliner For?

“Tech furniture” has become a thing over the past few years. Gaming chairs with built-in speakers, massage recliners that cost more than a decent used car, sofas with USB ports everywhere – most of it is a bit redundant, if I’m being honest.

Sofa Club’s approach with the Thea is a bit more modest. Instead of cramming in every feature under the sun, they’ve added a few things that might actually be useful to a well-designed chair.

For those who haven’t come across Sofa Club before, they’re a British brand that’s been around since 2012, focusing on furniture that looks good without costing a fortune.

They’re big on trend-led design – the kind of stuff you’d see on Instagram moodboards. The Thea is their take on furniture for “modern life”, where we’re all juggling multiple screens and don’t want cables everywhere.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room (almost literally), though: at £799, it’s not cheap.

But it’s also nowhere near the ridiculous prices some “luxury” tech recliners command – I’ve seen some pushing £1,500 or more. What you’re getting here is a comfortable, stylish recliner with a few thoughtful additions, rather than a gadget pretending to be furniture.

The Thea makes sense for specific situations. If you’re constantly using your phone whilst watching telly – scrolling during ad breaks, looking up actors, messaging mates about what you’re watching – the phone holder is genuinely handy. I was sceptical at first, but it grew on me.

The battery system is useful if your living room layout means the perfect chair position is nowhere near a socket, as it lets you use the power reclining feature without, well, power.

I used it for over three weeks without plugging it in, and it still had charge left. No extension cables snaking across the room (excpet for when you DO have to recharge the battery – which then takes about 8 hours).

The swivel base is also useful for awkward spaces. Unlike traditional recliners that need to sit against a wall, you can plonk the Thea anywhere and just swivel to face your TV or window or cat.

But there are some proper limitations. It only comes in one colour (cream boucle), and you can only buy it online or from their Hertford showroom.

If you’re not near Hertford, you’re dropping £799 on a chair you’ve never sat in – which feels like a gamble.

And here’s the thing – despite the “tech” label, this isn’t really a gaming chair or home cinema recliner. The headrest is surprisingly low, which makes it less ideal for watching TV than you’d expect. It’s at its best when you’re lounging – reading, scrolling, having a kip – rather than sitting upright.

Setting Up The Thea Recliner

The Thea arrives fully assembled, which sounds brilliant – no flat-pack nonsense, no missing screws, no three-hour row about the instructions.

The catch? It arrives in an absolutely massive box.

I’m not exaggerating here – the box is enormous. Before delivery day, measure your doorways properly. And your hallways. And any tight corners between your front door and where this chair is going to live.

In my case, we couldn’t get the box through the front door. Not even close. The delivery lads had to bring it round through the garden, unbox it outside, then carry it through the patio doors.

They were perfectly fine about it, but it’s something to think about if you live in a terrace or have narrow doorways.

Once it’s in and unpacked, the Thea measures 87cm wide, 106cm deep (when upright), and 93cm tall. It’s a big chair, though the curved design and swivel base stop it feeling too imposing.

Weight and Moving It About

The frame is solid hardwood, which means this thing is heavy. Moving it around isn’t something you’ll want to do regularly. I could slide it across my hardwood floor without too much trouble, but trying to shift it on carpet would be a proper workout.

The swivel base helps here – you don’t need to move the chair as much since you can just rotate it to face different directions. But if you’re someone who likes rearranging the living room every few weeks, this probably isn’t for you.

The upside of all this solid construction is that it feels really sturdy. No creaking, no wobbling, no sense it might give way. It’s clearly built to last.

Power and Battery Setup

The internal battery is one of the Thea’s selling points – you don’t need to position it near a socket or have extension cables trailing everywhere.

The initial charge takes about 8 hours, which feels like ages but it’s a one-off thing. Plug it in overnight before you start using it and you’re sorted.

Sofa Club estimates the battery provides 30-40 minutes of motor runtime, equivalent to approximately 200 reclining operations.

In reality, I used it every day for over two weeks without charging it once, and it still had juice left. Unless you’re constantly faffing with the position every five minutes, you’ll go weeks between charges.

When you do need to charge it, the charging port is tucked away behind the chair.

On the side, there are separate full-sized USB and USB-C ports for charging your phone – nice touch – though the chair does need to be plugged into power for those to work any meaningful time.

So if you’re relying on the battery to avoid cables, you won’t be able to charge your devices unless you connect the chair to the mains.

Phone Holder Installation

The flexible phone holder comes pre-installed on the side of the chair. It’s the same type of grip mechanism you’d find in car phone holders or on selfie sticks – a spring-loaded clamp that grips your phone securely.

The holder’s arm is flexible, letting you position your phone at various angles and distances. When you don’t need it, you can fold it down so it sits flush with the chair’s side, keeping it out of the way.

If you really hate the look of it, the holder can be completely removed by unscrewing its base. I’d recommend trying it first, though – it proved far more useful than I expected during testing.

Using The Thea Recliner

After a few weeks with the Thea, I’ve got a fairly nuanced view of it. It’s genuinely one of the most comfortable chairs I’ve sat in, but there’s more to the story than just comfort.

Comfort and Support

Let’s start with what it does really well – being an absolutely lovely place to sit.

The foam strikes that sweet spot between supportive and comfortable. It’s not one of those ultra-plush seats where you sink in and can’t get back out.

Instead, you get proper support whilst still feeling really comfortable. You settle into it nicely without that slightly trapped feeling you get with overly soft furniture.

The boucle fabric adds to the premium feel, though just like the chair itself, it’s not particularly soft or silky – it has a bit of a “rough” texture.

One thing worth mentioning – the Thea has no side arms. I was a bit wary of this at first, as I’m used to armrests on recliners. But given how big and wide the chair is, and the fact you’re really lounging in it rather than sitting upright, they’re not actually needed.

For reading, scrolling through your phone, or just having a bit of a rest, the Thea is brilliant. That “medium seat comfort” thing Sofa Club mentions is spot-on – supportive enough for extended sitting without being uncomfortably firm.

The Headrest Issue

The headrest is surprisingly low. When you’re sitting upright – which is how you’d normally watch telly – there’s basically no head support at all. Your head just sort of hovers there with nothing to rest against.

I found myself constantly using a pillow to give my head somewhere to go, and even then it wasn’t ideal for watching TV properly.

The only way to get proper head support is to recline the chair, which can be a wonderful way to watch TV, mind you – but may not be the ideal position for every person when they’re watching TV.

This is odd for a chair that’s partly marketed for modern, screen-filled lifestyles. It seems the Thea is designed more for lounging – think lying in bed watching telly, rather than sitting up properly.

If your main use is binge-watching box sets or playing video games on the TV, this could be a dealbreaker. The Thea is at its best when you’re using it for more relaxed stuff – reading, napping, scrolling, “lying” in front of the TV – or just having a chat whilst sat comfortably.

The Power Recline

The power recline is one area where the Thea works very well. Press the button on the side and it smoothly extends to whatever position you want. It’s pleasantly quick without feeling rushed, and considerably quieter than I expected – there’s a faint motor sound, but nothing that would bother anyone else in the room.

You get a good range of positions. Anything from a slight lean back for reading to a proper “feet up” position. The adjustment is smooth throughout, with no jerky movements or awkward angles.

The 360-degree swivel is buttery smooth and completely silent. No resistance, no squeaking, no mechanical friction – just effortless rotation.

The rocking function adds another dimension. When you’re sitting upright, you can gently rock back and forth, which I found oddly soothing whilst reading or scrolling.

It stops automatically when you recline, which makes sense – you don’t want a rocking recliner.

Bottom Line: Is The Thea Recliner Worth It?

At £799, the Thea sits in a middle spot – too expensive to be an impulse buy, but not totally a premium, luxury item.

What you’re getting is a genuinely comfortable, well-built recliner with some thoughtful modern features, wrapped up in contemporary styling that looks good in a modern living room.

The battery-powered recline works brilliantly and genuinely adds convenience if your room layout doesn’t suit traditional powered recliners. The swivel base is smooth and practical, and the phone holder is quite useful for those second-screen moments.

But that low headrest is a problem. If you’re mainly looking for comfortable TV watching, you need to think about your preferred body position for that – AND you’d need a pillow.

The Thea is at its best for lounging – think of it as a luxurious spot for modern downtime rather than a traditional TV recliner, and it makes more sense.

For the right person – someone who wants a stylish, comfortable lounging chair with modern conveniences, has the budget, and doesn’t mind the headrest limitation – the Thea delivers a genuinely pleasant experience.

Note: The Sofa Club Thea recliner was supplied by the manufacturer for this review. As always, this did not influence my unbiased opinion of the product.