Interior Designers on the 7 Most Comfortable Chairs
Seven seats, as recommended by design pros.
Seven seats, as recommended by design pros.
WHILE WE anxiously wait to resume regular programming, comfort has become a high priority on the home front. With that in mind, we asked scores of interior designers to name the most sink-into-able chairs available today. Two respondents enthusiastically backed the Song Armchair from 3-year-old British company Maker&Son. New York designer Ghislaine Viñas called it “freakishly and deliciously comfortable…[it makes] you want to immediately curl up and snuggle.” Who among us wouldn’t welcome a hug from a chair these days? Here, six more designer-recommended seats waiting to embrace you.
Greg Roth said his team at Home Front Build, in Los Angeles, is in love with Dutch modernist Gerrit Rietveld’s 1935 Utrecht Chair. “The incline of the seat and backrest are just so, with a very gentle and comforting slope that welcomes the body and encourages relaxation,” said the senior designer. Don’t let its angular lines spook you, he said. “This chair is firm, yes, but also cushy and soothingly comfy.” From approx. $6025 for standard size, cassina.com
Miami designer Travis London chose RH’s Yeti Sheepskin Armchair, calling out its long-shorn fluffy pelt. “The fur is incredibly soft, warm and comfortable,” he said. The silhouette nods to midcentury French design, with upholstered elements filled with poly-fibre wrapped around a foam core. “The cushion feels like it’s a memory-foam mattress, and it’s the perfect height to sit just right.” approx. $3052, rh.com
Years ago, Jenny Dina Kirschner, founder of Brooklyn’s JDK Interiors, paid $150 for a funky 1980s chair she found online. When it arrived at her office, its filthy condition kept her from sitting on it, but a visiting client plopped into it. “I was preparing coffee for us, and she yelled to me, ‘Oh my gosh, Jenny. This is the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in!’” Ms. Kirschner impulsively offered the client the chair, which was then reupholstered. “It feels like a fluffy cloud hugging you,” said the designer, who sometimes wishes she had kept the chair for herself. The model can still be found online, “for a lot more money,” she said. 1980s Vintage Post Modern Curvy Accent Chair, approx. $4755, chairish.com
The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman was the seat our respondents cited most frequently. “The bent plywood veneer and leather make it comfortable and durable,” said architect Grant C. Kirkpatrick of the midcentury modern classic. The partner at Los Angeles’s KAA Design Group added that the wide base and reclining angle make it “great for reading.” Tish Mills appreciates that it’s a good fit for both men and women, regardless of height. The Atlanta designer, who has included the pair in both contemporary and traditional homes, also values its timelessness. “It is like a chameleon and works in every space.” From approx. $7466, store.hermanmiller.com
One of the few traditional chairs our designers singled out, the Quiver Klismos Chair from Soane Britain riffs on 18th-century revivals of the ancient Greek klismos design. Said Amanda Lindroth, an interior designer based in Nassau, Bahamas, “The scale is just right and it encompasses you.” Its classic shape, leather cladding, tufted cushion and brass socks and casters make a very posh and proper perch. From $14,266, available at retail in the U.K. and through the trade in the U.S., soane.com
“The whole idea is to give the sensation of being suspended in a hammock,” said New Orleans designer Valerie Legras of the Pitu Chaise Lounge Chair from Brazilian design distributor Sossego. The seat comprises a Brazilian wood frame and a canvas sling “reminiscent of a suspension bridge over a waterway” that supports down/feather cushions. “Last time I sat in one, I was in the Sossego showroom in Chicago and wearing a noise cancellation headset. I felt so relaxed.” Chair, from approx. $6739, and Ottoman, from approx. $2241, Sossego
Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: September 12, 2021.
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The marketplace has spoken and, at least for now, it’s showing preference for hybrids and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) over battery electrics. That makes Toyota’s foot dragging on EVs (and full speed ahead on hybrids) look fairly wise, though the timeline along a bumpy road still gets us to full electrification by 2035.
Italian supercar producer Lamborghini, in business since 1963, is also proceeding, incrementally, toward battery power. In an interview, Federico Foschini , Lamborghini’s chief global marketing and sales officer, talked about the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid the company showed at its lounge in New York on Monday.
The Urus SE SUV will sell for US$258,000 in the U.S. (the company’s biggest market) when it goes on sale internationally in the first quarter of 2025, Foschini says.
“We’re using the contribution from the electric motor and battery to not only lower emissions but also to boost performance,” he says. “Next year, all three of our models [the others are the Revuelto, a PHEV from launch, and the continuation of the Huracán] will be available as PHEVs.”
The Euro-spec Urus SE will have a stated 37 miles of electric-only range, thanks to a 192-horsepower electric motor and a 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery, but that distance will probably be less in stricter U.S. federal testing. In electric mode, the SE can reach 81 miles per hour. With the 4-litre 620-horsepower twin-turbo V8 engine engaged, the picture is quite different. With 789 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque on tap, the SE—as big as it is—can reach 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and attain 193 mph. It’s marginally faster than the Urus S, but also slightly under the cutting-edge Urus Performante model. Lamborghini says the SE reduces emissions by 80% compared to a standard Urus.
Lamborghini’s Urus plans are a little complicated. The company’s order books are full through 2025, but after that it plans to ditch the S and Performante models and produce only the SE. That’s only for a year, however, because the all-electric Urus should arrive by 2029.
Thanks to the electric motor, the Urus SE offers all-wheel drive. The motor is situated inside the eight-speed automatic transmission, and it acts as a booster for the V8 but it can also drive the wheels on its own. The electric torque-vectoring system distributes power to the wheels that need it for improved cornering. The Urus SE has six driving modes, with variations that give a total of 11 performance options. There are carbon ceramic brakes front and rear.
To distinguish it, the Urus SE gets a new “floating” hood design and a new grille, headlights with matrix LED technology and a new lighting signature, and a redesigned bumper. There are more than 100 bodywork styling options, and 47 interior color combinations, with four embroidery types. The rear liftgate has also been restyled, with lights that connect the tail light clusters. The rear diffuser was redesigned to give 35% more downforce (compared to the Urus S) and keep the car on the road.
The Urus represents about 60% of U.S. Lamborghini sales, Foschini says, and in the early years 80% of buyers were new to the brand. Now it’s down to 70%because, as Foschini says, some happy Urus owners have upgraded to the Performante model. Lamborghini sold 3,000 cars last year in the U.S., where it has 44 dealers. Global sales were 10,112, the first time the marque went into five figures.
The average Urus buyer is 45 years old, though it’s 10 years younger in China and 10 years older in Japan. Only 10% are women, though that percentage is increasing.
“The customer base is widening, thanks to the broad appeal of the Urus—it’s a very usable car,” Foschini says. “The new buyers are successful in business, appreciate the technology, the performance, the unconventional design, and the fun-to-drive nature of the Urus.”
Maserati has two SUVs in its lineup, the Levante and the smaller Grecale. But Foschini says Lamborghini has no such plans. “A smaller SUV is not consistent with the positioning of our brand,” he says. “It’s not what we need in our portfolio now.”
It’s unclear exactly when Lamborghini will become an all-battery-electric brand. Foschini says that the Italian automaker is working with Volkswagen Group partner Porsche on e-fuel, synthetic and renewably made gasoline that could presumably extend the brand’s internal-combustion identity. But now, e-fuel is very expensive to make as it relies on wind power and captured carbon dioxide.
During Monterey Car Week in 2023, Lamborghini showed the Lanzador , a 2+2 electric concept car with high ground clearance that is headed for production. “This is the right electric vehicle for us,” Foschini says. “And the production version will look better than the concept.” The Lanzador, Lamborghini’s fourth model, should arrive in 2028.
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan