I have lazy boy traditional wingback recliners. You can't tell by looking at them that they are what they are. There are many on market that look like real, not horrible overstuff monstrosities.

There are many nice, comfortable recliners today that no longer resemble your dad's chair.
I think many of us remember the bulky recliner in the corner - comfy, but not stylish.
Go for the recliner and of course shopping with him. If you are afraid he'll want the first comfortable one he sees, ( mine would ) then pre- shop and suggest shopping at the places where you know ahead of time what you will be looking at.

If you like contemporary, take a look at Room and Board's website. We were at the store and picked a leather chair that turned out to also be .... a recliner! Oh, just looked more closely at bluenan's post. Great minds LOL. PS, ours isn't that model but it is very comfortable.

Keep in mind that a recliner, when in use, takes up quite a bit of floor space. Not saying you shouldn't get one because after all "a man's home is his castle" but just do some measuring and allow for the placement before you go shopping.

If you go to Stone Gable's blog and snoop around just a bit, she just got a new recliner that looks amazing in the space and is also super comfy. She also chose the fabric to work in the room.

There are plenty of options for recliners that have a modern look. As ciscomom mentioned, Room & Board has a few choices. We have a pre-owned one listed on our site that's completely modern looking, and you wouldn't know that it reclines just by looking at the chair. It's the Room & Board Harper recliner.

https://www.aptdeco.com/catalog/room-board-harper-leather-recliner-brighton-pewter

Here's another option from Bloomingdale's:

https://www.aptdeco.com/catalog/brown-leather-club-chair-recliner

Hope this helps!

www.ekornes.com Beautiful leather and built to last forever. Our first one lasted 30 years and was still beautiful when it died.

I second Ekornes for lasting quality...just don't buy a light color leather...the oil from one's head eventually leaves a mark on the upper back portion.