An executive chair is not just a place to sit and work but also a symbol of the status and power of a leader. Compared to regular office chairs, executive chairs stand out with distinctive features in terms of materials, designs, functionalities, etc. In this article, Okamura will introduce to you 2 ways to classify currently popular executive chairs and suggest 11+ high-end executive chair models produced with Japanese technology.
1. 3 Types of executive chairs based on materials
The material of the seat is an important factor affecting durability, aesthetics, and comfort during use. To showcase class and ensure long-term use, executive chairs are divided into 3 main types based on materials: chairs made of genuine leather, mesh executive chairs, and wooden executive chairs.
1.1. Chairs made of genuine leather
Chairs made of genuine leather are chairs crafted from natural leather materials, often from cows or other animals. After undergoing intricate tanning processes, they are processed into high-quality office products that are durable and beautiful. Chairs made of genuine leather are a popular choice for many executive boardrooms and high-level leaders' offices and workplaces.
In addition, executive chairs made from genuine leather possess the following main characteristics:
High durability: Natural leather has high durability and can be used for many years if properly maintained. Additionally, this material has good load-bearing capacity and is not easily deformed or damaged.
Natural beauty: The material allows the chair to feature unique natural leather grain patterns with diverse colors. Each piece of leather has its own unique pattern, creating a distinctive and luxurious look for the product. Over time, genuine leather develops a natural patina, enhancing both its beauty and value.
Moisture absorption: The product has the ability to absorb sweat and moisture, ensuring comfort during use. Moreover, leather also has good breathability, maintaining a comfortable feeling.
Flexibility: Genuine leather can be curved or folded without tearing or damaging, making it an ideal material for ergonomic chair designs that improve user posture.
Water resistance: When in contact with water, leather may absorb some moisture but will dry out and not significantly affect the chair's quality.
Safety and environmental friendliness: Genuine leather typically does not contain harmful chemicals, ensuring high safety for users. Moreover, the natural tanning process can be less harmful to the environment compared to synthetic leather if conducted properly.
1.2. Mesh executive chairs
Mesh executive chairs are designed with the backrest or seat cushion made of mesh material. This type of chair is popular in modern offices due to its breathability, comfort, and good support for users.
Mesh executive chairs are a popular choice for leaders who desire a comfortable, breathable office chair with a modern style, featuring prominent characteristics such as:
Breathability: The mesh material allows good airflow, minimizing heat and sweat build up during long periods of sitting. This feature is particularly useful in workplaces located in hot climates.
Modern design: Mesh chairs often have a minimalist, sophisticated, and modern design that suits various office interior styles. Besides their elegant appearance, some models use special mesh materials that allow transparency, creating impressive focal points in workspaces.
High durability: The chair frames are typically made of high-quality metal or plastic to ensure robustness and long-term durability for leaders. Higher-quality brands emphasize mesh materials that resist sagging, shrinking, or tearing even after extended use. Notably, many Okamura chair models meet BIFMA standards, supporting weights up to 130kg while maintaining their original shape.
Lightweight: Mesh chairs are generally lighter than leather or wooden chairs, making them easy to move and adjust within the workspace.
Posture support for maximum comfort: Some premium models feature specially graded mesh with varying densities at the lumbar and shoulder areas, providing shaping and maximum comfort flexibility.
1.3. Executive chairs made of wood
Wooden executive chairs are designed with frames primarily made from wood, often using high-quality woods such as oak, mahogany, or walnut. Some models may combine genuine or synthetic leather materials for seat and back cushions, offering comfort to users. Moreover, using wood as a material creates a distinctive highlight for the entire office design.
Natural wood material with rustic beauty and superior durability turns wooden chairs into symbols of success and longevity over time. Today's wooden executive chairs feature the following prominent characteristics:
High durability: Executive chairs are often made from high-quality natural woods that resist decay and have excellent load-bearing capabilities. This characteristic ensures continuous use over many years without damage.
Luxurious and classic design: Wooden executive chairs typically feature intricate designs with meticulous carvings and careful finishes. The chair styles embody classical elegance, suitable for traditional and upscale workspaces.
Heavyweight: Chairs made from solid wood have a dense structure, making them heavier. Other components such as the four legs, arms, back, and seat are thick and sturdy to ensure durability and load-bearing capacity. This significantly contributes to the overall weight of the chair.
Impression of authority and prestige: Providing a sense of authority, prestige, and professionalism, wooden executive chairs are suitable for the highest-ranking leaders within organizations.
2. 2 Types of executive chairs based on chair base design
To meet the criteria for flexibility in modern offices, the chair base has been a focus of research and improvement by many furniture experts. Based on the chair base, executive chairs are divided into two main types: swivel base executive chairs and stationary base executive chairs.
2.1. Swivel base executive chairs
Swivel base executive chairs are designed with a five-point star-shaped base integrated with wheels for easy mobility within the workspace. This type of chair is popular in modern offices, especially in the private offices of executives and senior directors.
Swivel base executive chairs are flexible and modern, highlighting the following prominent features:
Diverse wheel materials: The wheels are divided into two types: hard (made from materials like stainless steel, aluminum, PU plastic, etc.) and soft (made from materials like rubber, PE plastic, PP plastic, etc.). Hard wheels ensure smooth movement on carpeted floors, while soft wheels are suitable for tiled, stone, or wooden floors, minimizing noise.
360-degree swivel base: The chair base is designed to rotate 360 degrees, allowing users to easily turn in different directions without moving the chair. This enhances flexibility and convenience during work.
Suitable for various spaces: These chairs come in diverse designs and colors, making them suitable for various office interior styles, from modern to classic.
2.2. Stationary base executive chairs
Stationary base executive chairs are designed with a fixed chair base, made from durable materials such as wood, metal, or high-quality plastic. These chairs typically do not swivel or move on the office floor surface, requiring the entire chair to be lifted to change positions.
Additionally, stationary base executive chairs possess the following prominent characteristics:
High stability: With a fixed chair base design, stationary base executive chairs provide a stable and firm feel, particularly suitable for workspaces that demand seriousness and sophistication.
Luxurious and prestigious design: Stationary base executive chairs often feature sophisticated and elegant designs with meticulous finishing details. The chair styles exude luxury and professionalism, reflecting the status of top executives.
3. 10+ High-end executive chair models imported from Japan
Okamura is a leading Japanese office furniture brand established in 1945 by a passionate group of engineers. Through collaborations with designers from the UK, Italy, and the US, Okamura has been able to create a wide range of innovative products that combine exceptional quality with exquisite design.
Among them, executive chairs are specially designed for talented leaders with luxurious, modern designs that reflect the user's status and prestige. Below are 12 high-end executive chair models from the latest 4 series of executive chairs in Okamura's collection:
3.1. Legender Executive Chair Series
The Legender chair - a masterpiece of Japanese furniture tailored for top global leaders. In addition to using soft and comfortable leather materials, each chair is meticulously crafted with exquisite stitching, exuding luxury and prestige.
Additionally, the chair boasts several prominent features such as:
Smart operation: Allows users to adjust the entire seating experience with a simple touch. With the adjustment button on the right arm, you can change the chair height stroke within a range of 10 cm.
Calf-eye recline mechanism: The chair's calf-eye recline mechanism enables users to easily find the most comfortable reclined position. This mechanism moves synchronously with the chair to stimulate posture changes and relaxation, ensuring the most comfortable seating experience.
Multi-density cushion: The cushion is uniquely crafted by Okamura using three types of urethane with different hardness levels to support healthy sitting postures. The front cushion is softer to reduce pressure on the thighs and improve blood circulation. Meanwhile, the specially designed rear cushion provides firm support for the hips, stability, and improves sitting posture.
Seat depth adjustment: The seat depth can be easily adjusted within a 5 cm range using the lever underneath the chair.
Chair height adjustment: The chair height can be adjusted from 44.1 to 55.1 cm by adjusting the button on the right arm.
The Legender executive chair product line offers two main design models with the following dimensions:
Criteria | Dimensions (cm) (Height x Width x Depth) | Weight capacity (kg) |
High Back chair | 105.1 - 116.1 x 68.6 x 57.5 - 62.5 | 130 kg |
Extra High Back chair | 120.1 - 131.1 x 68.6 x 57.5 - 62.5 | 130 kg |
3.2. Shibusa Executive Chair Series
The Shibusa executive chair series is crafted under the talented hands of renowned interior designer Richard Holbrook - a graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design. Shibusa perfectly represents executives with an elegant, confident, and understated style.
Alongside its minimalist and sophisticated design that exudes luxury, Shibusa also boasts many other outstanding features:
Reclining backrest: The tilting mechanism supports optimal activities related to meetings and conferences, with a fixed seat cushion and a backrest that can recline up to 11 degrees, helping leaders maintain stable visibility. This is an exclusive mechanism researched and developed by the Okamura brand.
Seat height adjustment: The chair height can be adjusted using the lever located under the right side of the seat, accommodating various user heights.
The Shibusa chair series has 2 main design models with the following dimensions:
Criteria | Dimensions (cm) (Height x Width x Depth) | Weight capacity |
High Back chair | 105 - 116 x 65 x 57.5 | 130 kg |
Mid Back chair | 94 - 105 x 65 x 55.6 | 130 kg |
3.3. The Contessa II Executive Chair Product Line
Since 2002, the ergonomic Contessa chair has set a benchmark for many office seating products worldwide. Currently, the product has been enhanced into the premium Contessa II version, a refined fusion of creative design from Italy (ITALDESIGN) and sophisticated Japanese craftsmanship (Okamura).
The ergonomic Contessa II chair retains its soft lines and distinctive beauty that attracted users to the original version, while also incorporating several new features, such as:
Smart Operation: You can adjust the entire seating experience with a simple touch. The backrest lock and unlock feature, as well as the adjustment of the recline angle in 5 levels, are controlled via an adjustment button located under the left armrest.
Flexible Armrests: They can be adjusted in four dimensions—height, depth, width, and tilt angle—to provide optimal support for the forearms, minimizing fatigue and discomfort after long hours of work.
Recline Tension Adjustment: Allows leaders to change between four different tension levels to suit their body type and preferred posture.
Seat Depth Adjustment: The seat depth can be adjusted within a 5cm range using a smart lever design located beneath the seat.
The Contessa II chair product line features 5 main design models with the following dimensions:
Criteria | Dimensions (cm) (Height x Width x Depth) | Weight Capacity |
5 - Star Swivel Chair | 99.4 - 110.4 x 65 - 70.2 x 57 - 62 | 130 kg |
High Stool Chair | 119.5 - 134.9 x 65 - 70.2 x 58 - 63 | 130 kg |
4-Star Auto-return Chair | 101.5 x 69 x 57 - 62 | 130 kg |
Meeting Chair | 90 x 63.3 x 58.5 | 130 kg |
Cantilever Chair | 90 x 61.3 x 58.5 | 130 kg |
3.4. The Choral executive chair product line
The Choral chair epitomizes the concept of "the perfect Japanese chair" - it adjusts ergonomically to fit the user's body while enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the office workspace. With its minimalist design yet maintaining elegance and sophistication, the product brings an excellent combination of functionality and beauty.
The Choral product line possesses several prominent features:
Multi-density cushion: The cushion is composed of three layers of stacked urethane foam with varying hardness to support different parts of the body during prolonged sitting. Specifically, the front cushion is softer to reduce pressure on the thighs and enhance blood circulation, while the thicker and firmer rear cushion stabilizes the hips and sitting posture.
Quick sliding adjustment: Allows users to easily adjust the backrest tension with a single operation, enhancing comfort during work and relaxation.
Seat height adjustment: The chair includes a lever system for adjusting height located under the seat on the right side, enabling users to customize the chair's height to better match their body's height by approximately 10cm.
Additionally, the Choral chair can be adjusted for seat depth and features four-way adjustable armrests.
The Choral executive chair product line comprises three main design models with the following dimensions:
Criteria | Dimensions (cm) (Height x Width x Depth) | Weight Capacity |
High Back with Headrest Chair | 118 - 139 x 65.8 - 71 x 57.7 - 67.8 | 130 kg |
High Back Chair | 98.5 - 110.1 x 65.8 - 71 x 57.7 - 66.8 | 130 kg |
Middle Back Chair | 91.5 - 103.1 x 65.8 - 71 x 57.7 - 66.2 | 130 kg |
4. Tips for Choosing the Right Executive Chair
To find an executive chair that suits your company's style and work culture while reflecting the characteristics of the organization’s leader, consider the following five criteria:
Durable and Comfortable Material: Opt for chairs made from high-quality materials such as genuine leather, which is not only durable over time but also provides luxury and softness, favored by executives. If you need comfort and breathability for prolonged sitting, a mesh chair would be an ideal choice, combining durability with comfort.
Ergonomic Design: Prioritize chairs with ergonomic designs that offer adjustable height, tilt, and good lumbar support. These features help minimize stress, fatigue, and back pain during long working hours, while supporting the leader in maintaining the best mindset for handling important issues.
Smart Functions: Choose chairs with features such as headrests, adjustable armrests, flexible wheels, and 360-degree swivel capability. These functions enhance comfort, support health, and provide a more convenient user experience for executives.
Variety of Colors and Designs: Select high-end office chair brands that offer customization options to meet specific needs. This ensures a variety of models and styles (from classic to modern) that can easily match the office’s décor. Opt for leather chairs for a luxurious and modern office look, and mesh chairs for a dynamic and youthful work environment.
Long Warranty Period: Prefer chairs with a long warranty to ensure user rights. Additionally, a good warranty reflects the product's reliability and quality. Choose a reputable supplier to receive the best warranty service.
5. Where to Buy Executive Chairs?
It is best to purchase executive chairs directly from showrooms to experience the products and select the most comfortable and supportive chair. Testing the chair allows you to directly assess comfort, back, neck, and arm support, ensuring that the chair meets the user's needs effectively.
Additionally, when purchasing in person, staff will assist you in selecting the best product based on your actual health conditions, such as back support, neck support, or reducing discomfort from prolonged sitting. Professional advice will help you make an informed decision and choose the most suitable executive chair. You can experience premium executive chairs from the Okamura brand at the following locations:
In Ho Chi Minh City: Room 1104B, 11th Floor, Saigon Building, 29 Le Duan, Ben Nghe, District 1, HCMC.
In Hanoi: CP2.L.02, 19th Floor, Capital Building, Tower 2, 29 Lieu Giai, Ngoc Khanh Ward, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.
This article has introduced various popular executive chairs available today and suggested over 11 premium executive chair models designed with in-depth ergonomic knowledge from the Okamura brand. Use the 5 important tips for selecting an executive chair to find the most suitable model for your needs!