CHITA Genuine Leather Reclining Swivel Chair with Adjustable Headrest and Ottoman for Living Room, Black

I was intrigued by this recliner and initially hesitated to purchase it. It didn't look like every other recliner out there, but we needed a minimal size and we loved the mid-century modern styling. Similar looking chairs from that time period are thousands of dollars, and they don't have the same recliner function. We took a chance, and ordered it. It came in two boxes, but came with clear instructions for assembly. I put it together after unpacking in just a couple of minutes with the included Allen wrench. I easily carried this up from our garage out of the box without straining, and I am only a couple of years away from 70. It is substantial but not overly heavy. It is a firm sit, but incredibly comfortable. We ordered the black leather and it feels like quality leather, not thin. It is a true black color and matches the accents around our living room. The headrest adjusts up and down and tilts. I am 6'1" and weigh 240 pounds and had no difficulty relaxing. It lays back quite far, farther than I expected, but it is smooth and noiseless. It will twist when you get out and then rotate back to its original position. My wife is 5'4" and weighs about 125 pounds and loves it as well. It is stylish and comfortable, and incredibly well-crafted. Classy. I should not have hesitated ordering this.

I'm sure there are many kinds of customers with many kinds of needs and preferences for a recliner, or in my case, for a dedicated A/V room chair. So, first let me explain mine... This is replacing a 30+ year old Danish recliner for which the top grain leather surfaces were still in very good condition, but the mechanicals have been steadily declining over the past few years. The CHITA recliner caught my eye because of the resemblance to a Coalesse Bob chair (not a recliner) which we used in the lobby of the national HQ of the German semiconductor company I worked for, for 35 years. Those chairs always felt like they were designed just for me, as regards height, support, and comfort. But they are not inexpensive, coming in at about $2900 in the US, and lacking the ability to recline or an ottoman. I am familiar with some Scandinavian made chairs, having shopped around and bought a Stressless for my wife in 2022, but not really being enamored of it. It was close to the Coalesse Bob price, but did recline and has an Ottoman. Just doesn't feel like it was designed for my back and physical structure (6'1", 220lb, into walking, hiking, and working with heavy power tools- same jeans size for 4-5 decades, and I'm in my mid 70's) I do a lot of wood working and mechanical prototyping for a small outfit back East (I'm in Idaho) so even things like the basic chair structure with steamed folded high density plywood caught my eye- including the use of high density felt damper pads as primary contact points after one inserts and tightens the mounting screws. I did cheat a little, and though I used the supplied Allen head wrenches to start the bolts into the threaded inserts, I finished up with my own DeWalt mm Hex wrench tool. My opinion is that whoever developed this chair is either clairvoyant, or an SME. (Subject Matter Expert). Let me explain why, from my viewpoint. * Very high quality self centering swivel bearings on the chair and ottoman. Almost no effort to rotate the chair side to side, (unlike every other Danish style recliner I've bought) and it smoothly, (not to fast, not too slow) returns to the centered position after you get up. * Excellent design of seating surfaces and support (for me, anyway)- I've had major back surgery decades ago, functionally I'm fine, but some chairs or seats bug me- for example, my Toyota FJ Cruiser is fine for 600 mile drives, but my wife's seats in her Lexus RX350 just cannot be adjusted to provide the right support for either me or her for long drives. Firm, where it needs to be. Again, feels a lot like my memory of the Coalesse chairs, in the upright position. * Additionally, high quality top grain leather, in what I call an old school weight and style similar to my 3 decades plus recliner that I had to retire, though the leather surfaces were still fine. * VERY good recliner functionality- a simple pull up lever on the right to release the lock, very easy to move into position, and release the lever and the back stays where you put it until you pull it up again. Reclines far enough to make naps comfortable for me. (Mind you, I'm not the princess and the pea sort) * Easy to adjust headrest (well, for me, much easier than the other newer more expensive recliners we have), with adequate height range and three angle positions. Any drawbacks? Well, since it seems designed to work so well for me, it would not work well for my 45 yo nephew- Why? well, the seating area on most recliners is of a general size to accommodate a wide range of folks of different sizes and degrees of adipose. Most recliners have a seating area 24" wide. The CHITA Elvin (its official name in most markets, though not used in the Amazon listing) has a seating area width of 18". Some folks may undoubtedly say, "Well, what do you expect, made in Vietnam (Asia), for small people, right". Well, I'm not a small person. But my proportions are obviously much different from my 45 year old nephew who is about 5" shorter and 60-70 lb heavier. So, this chair may not be a good fit (or possibly even a feasible fit) for him. But me, I'm totally charmed with the operational characteristics, the comfort, the rock solid physicality (no wobble or tilt getting into it) - maybe you could say this is an engineer's recliner. Oh, given it is well constructed, it is heavy, but that comes with the territory.

I was so worried about buying this chair, with all the people complaining about bolts too short and impossible-to-get-off labels... but everything was fine. No issues with unpacking or assembly, which I did myself (although the base is quite heavy: try and rest the chair on something that will keep the bottom level when you put the bolts in). The labels are not visible after assembly, so I just left them on. If I want to try and get them off later, Chita sent me some very detailed instructions on techniques to try (great customer service). But the chair! OMG, the chair! I sat down in it just to see if I had it in the right place, and I did *not* want to get up again. I sat there for quite some time, just luxuriating in the comfort of it. All the adjustments are easy (including the headrest), but there's not much to do to get it perfect. I felt just like the pony-tail guy in the video! What's especially impressive is that it provides good lower back support no matter how far back you recline. It feels comfortable in every position (I'm 6'0"). As for the looks, if you're a fan of this kind of modern style, it's absolutely gorgeous. The leather is superb (take it from me, I used to be an upper cutter in a shoe factory), and the craftsmanship is excellent. I'm glad I clicked the button and bought it.

Love this chair! Well built, looks amazing, comfortable and easy to install. At this price, I doubt you’ll find better.

Beautiful, soft leather! This chair looks great and is very comfortable. We were very pleased with the excellent customer service that we received. :)