Comfort, softness, and an inviting appearance – these are the classic characteristics of a lounge chair. But to be truly great, a chair must offer more than just the standard elements.

At Vitra we’ve combined engineering expertise with a deep knowledge of upholstery, colours and materials to offer you the perfect lounge chair, equally suited as a special standalone piece or as an attractive addition to your existing living room furnishings.

Finding the right lounge chair can be rather tricky – and depends on a lot of things including personal taste and where exactly it will be placed. Should it be an occasional lounge chair that is mainly used when visitors come over? Or a softly upholstered reading chair where you can also take a nap? Does fabric or leather better suit your needs? And should the lounge chair swivel or even be able to tilt?

The Lounge Chair Finder gives you an idea of which Vitra lounge chair might suit you best.

The Italian designer and architect Antonio Citterio has worked with Vitra for over 40 years. ‘Making a lounge chair at Vitra in the shadow of Charles and Ray Eames is something of a designer’s nightmare. You already have a masterpiece in the family, so creating a new design comes with a great responsibility’, acknowledged Citterio. Vitra Magazine pays the designer a visit in his Milan studio to talk about the city’s influence on his work, his personal workspace and his latest design — the Grand Relax lounge chair.

A tanning agent extracted from olive tree leaves – a waste product of the olive harvest – is used to produce the superior-grade Leather Premium F. The entire production process is carried out with as few chemicals as possible in order to minimise the impact on the environment.

This sustainable product retains the appealing look and pleasantly soft feel of Leather Premium. In addition to the eco-friendly tanning process, environmental impact is measurably reduced by sourcing the cowhides from selected regions (Switzerland, Denmark and southern Germany).