A room setup isn't complete without at least one of this kind of item...

[JonMarsh]

This is a very different topic from what I normally write about, but it's something that's been an issue for some time, and recently got moved from the back burner to the front burner...

What on earth am I talking about? How about my chair/recliner for relaxing to music or videos, or sometimes just reading and even snoozing?

Now, Sven has a nice elevated unit in his home theater- me, I've just had this black Danish style recliner for a long, long LONG time- over 30 years...

It was only about 26 years old in this picture, back in San Ramon.



But even then, the mechanical bits were well past their prime, including the reclining adjustment, the arm attachments, and the hinges... but perhaps surprisingly, given the age and amount of use, the top grain leather was still in very good shape, and if I could wrestle it to the right position, it was even comfortable for napping. But I digress...

Three years ago I bought the wife the pricey Scandinavian Designs recliner she wanted... then I shopped for an Oslo recliner at Costco, at about 40% of the price of the Stressless. But you know how wives often are, soon as she tried it out, she started to think her pricey Stressless was all show but not enough go... - and she moved the Costco Oslo into her bedroom studio!

Well, this year, my antique really started coming apart mechanically, and I realized I was going to have to pony up for something new. In fact, I had to dispose of it about two months ago. But sadly, the Oslo recliner is not available anymore from Costco, and another online furniture store I tried in FL seems to be a scam- no recliner, and action via PayPal pending.


So, I fell back to doing more online research, and though I use Amazon mostly for some power tools, supplements, CD's, even lawnmowers, I've never looked to them for furniture. But after outlining my needs, which included some improvements in mechanical performance and appearance and adjustability, I was rather surprised to find an item that the more I investigated, the more I liked it.

Now, let's back up a bit and I'll recount one of favorite chair companies- Coalesse- which I got introduced to because the German/Austrian based company I worked with for 3-1/2 decades had these in their entrance lobby, including our US HQ in Milpitas California. The ones in the lobby didn't have the headrest, but the same general idea and design style:



For whatever reason, the first time I sat down in one of these, my initial reaction was that somehow they designed it just for me, it fit that well and was that comfortable. Of course, that's not possible, but its indicative of good overall design... The other thing that wasn't possible for me was affording one; they go for about $2900 with the headrest, but without the ottoman.

So, you can imagine that when scanning the offerings for recliners of a style that I prefer (not the slab sided boxy ones), my interest was piqued by this:





Now, the rather CURIOUS thing is that, like the Oslo recliner from Costco, it's made in Vietnam!


The overall design was intriguing, looked like nice adjustability for the headrest, and it looked like an interesting cushion design for the back, possibly with above average back support. I was quite enamored of the wood base to the chair, and reviews sad that the support stand for both the chair and the ottoman were pretty massive and strong. And, yeah, this was specified at top grain leather.

Interestingly, the specs indicated a slightly more compact size than what one often sees- while rated for 350 lb of weight (could support my nephew that has a much larger waist size than I do, and weighs substantially more though being about 5" shorter, I don't think this would be the chair for him. The size is VERY similar to the Coalesse, and narrower and a bit more compact than the other ones we've had/have.

Here's a good image with some of the spec details-




And there were quite a few positive reviews on Amazon, though CHITA Living is hardly what you'd call a well known brand...

But being more compact, it might also work better in my large bedroom converted to an A/V den, and would be more feasible to have two in there if it turned out to be desirable.

So I went ahead and placed an order.... received the first carton on Monday, and the second today.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Steve sends me a YouTube link about the Doobie Brothers getting together for a new Album, and showing them working in a rehearsal studio to prepare for concerts. Why is that relevant? Because over in the right hand column where YouTube puts a variety of listings for topics that Google spying on me thinks I'll be interested in, is a review of this chair... where it is compared to a Herman Mille Eames Lounge Chair costing between $6,000 and $10,000 depending on the options, and it came out very well in that comparison!

So, like that Carly Simon song, Anticipation...

[JonMarsh]

Well, when I unboxed the chair and the ottoman, I was not at all disappointed in the packing quality, or the contents.

Monday I did first plop the chair upper assembly onto the loveseat in the living room, just to get an initial impression of the fit and cushions, and I was not in the least disappointed.

Today the second box with the stands for both the chair and ottoman arrived via FEDEX, from their CA warehouse-- and of course I unpacked the rest and got down to the assembly, which was rather brief- Allen head wrenches included, and nice hardware packed separately for the chair and the ottoman.

The chair went together first, so I could try it out and see how the adjustments worked- I wasn't disappointed, and like the Coalesse, it seems like it was made just for me- very good back and pelvic support, no thigh compression, and the recliner mechanism worked beautifully.




The leather quality was quite good, seems a bit more heavy weight and textured than the other two chairs we have, which I like. YMMV, of course, but you're not the one sitting here...

A couple of nice things about when you get out of the chair- the reclining release lets the back move up smoothly and slowly, in case you have in mind leaving it in a different specific position, and the chair and ottoman stands are self centering- you can smoothy twist the chair to the right or left (so much more so than either of the others we have) and after you get up, the chair returns to the normal centered position.

And a quick shot of the combination...



Should you find yourself in the situation where a chair like this might fit your HT and audio needs, it's certainly recommended to check it out. I'm a happy camper!

[JonMarsh]

Just to clarify/quantify what I mean about being more compact, the Stressless and the Oslo recliners have a seating area that is 24" wide. This should accommodate fairly large folks, like one of my nephew or his wife. (one at a time)
The CHITA Elvin has a seating area 18" wide- which is perfect for me, at 6'1" and 225 lb.

[letiennam]

Your chair is beautiful and fits the aesthetic of your music room. Vietnam has many companies that manufacture and assemble furniture. They have modern machinery and good workmanship too. Of course, I also benefit from that when they agree to manufacture many small things for me.

[JonMarsh]

I hear this particular chair is very big (sales wise) in South Korea. The overall design is very well thought out, and the materials execution is first rate.

As one of my former colleagues is fond of saying, it appears to have been developed by a team of SME's- Subject Matter Experts.