A reclining mechanism (1, 1a) for an item of furniture comprising a pair of linkage units (2, 2a), each having a first arm (21, 21a) and a second arm (22, 22a) adapted to be secured to, respectively a stationary (40) and a reclining (41) part an item of furniture (4) adapted for moving the reclining part between upright and reclined positions. The first and the second arms are pivotally connected to each other at their first ends (23, 23a; 24, 24a) and ratchet arrangement (26, 27, 28) is provided between the first and the second arms which allows the second arm to rotate in one direction while preventing its rotation in the opposite direction. The linkage units are spaced apart from each other and are connected by a pivot bar (30) connected at its ends to the ratchet arrangement of each linkage unit and actuatable by a lever (31) for overriding the rotation preventing action of the ratchet mechanism to allow the second arm to rotate freely.