Our tan Eames style chair pairs warm tan brown aniline leather with a striped rosewood veneer shell, and it comes with the matching ottoman. It is a reproduction of the 1956 lounge chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, built to our own specification for reading, unwinding and long evenings at home. If you like the warmth of brown leather but want a finish that looks a little more formal than walnut, this is the combination we would point you to.
Eames Style Lounge Chair in Tan and Rosewood: Why the Pairing Works
Most tan chairs are sold on walnut, which has a calm, even grain. Rosewood behaves differently. Its dark stripes run across a lighter reddish ground, so the shell reads as a pattern rather than a flat wood tone.
The tan brown leather sits well against that pattern. In our product images it shows a slight red undertone, which picks up the warm streaks in the rosewood instead of fighting them. The palisander tone keeps the look grounded, so the mid-century tan rosewood pairing feels warm without becoming casual.
In practice, this combination suits oak or walnut parquet, herringbone floors, terracotta tiles and walls in off-white, deep green, navy or warm grey. It holds its own in a study lined with books, and it looks settled in a Scandinavian-style living room where most of the other wood is pale.
What Each Part of the Chair Does for You
Aniline leather. Aniline hide is dyed through rather than coated with a pigment layer, so it feels soft and warm from the first sitting. The trade-off is honesty: it records use. Over months, the arms and headrest darken slightly where hands and hair touch them, and many people choose aniline for exactly that reason.
Rosewood veneer on both sides of the shell. The back of a lounge chair is often on show, especially if you place it at an angle or in the middle of an open-plan room. Because the veneer continues on the reverse, there are no raw or unfinished surfaces, whichever way the chair faces.
7-layer laminated veneer. Thin layers are bonded with the grain running in alternating directions. This construction resists cracking and warping, which matters in European homes where central heating dries the air for half the year.
Hand-sewn, welted and piped cushions. Piping gives each cushion a crisp edge, and welted seams help the leather hold its shape where it bends around the shell.
Shock-mounted shells. The shells connect through shock mounts rather than fixed rigid joints. When you lean back, you feel a small amount of give, which is what makes the recline feel deep and relaxed instead of stiff.
Polished aluminium base with a 360-degree swivel. The polished aluminium base lets you turn from the fireplace to the window without getting up. The matching ottoman completes the lounging position the design was drawn around: feet raised, back reclined, head supported.
The Eames Style Lounge Chair and Ottoman: The Design Behind It
Charles and Ray Eames introduced their lounge chair and ottoman in 1956. Charles wanted it to have the easy, broken-in feel of a well-worn baseball glove, and the design took its cue from the traditional English club chair. You can read more about the pair on our Charles and Ray Eames designer page, or see the design’s background on Wikipedia.
Rosewood veneer is the finish the chair first appeared in, which is why many people still picture it with dark, striped grain. Choosing tan leather with rosewood keeps that early character while giving the chair a lighter, warmer face than the classic black.
Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Sederica |
| Product | Eames style lounge chair and ottoman (reproduction) |
| Colour | Tan brown leather, rosewood veneer |
| Upholstery | Italian aniline leather, hand-sewn, welted and piped cushions |
| Shell | 7-layer laminated veneer, rosewood veneer on both sides |
| Base | Polished aluminium 5-star base, 360-degree swivel |
| Chair dimensions | 87 × 87 × 82 cm |
| Ottoman dimensions | 65 × 54 × 54 cm |
| Weight | Chair 24 kg, ottoman 9 kg |
| Included | Lounge chair and matching ottoman |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Feature | Chair | Ottoman |
|---|---|---|
| Overall width | 87 cm | 65 cm |
| Overall depth | 87 cm | 54 cm |
| Overall height | 82 cm | 54 cm |
| Seat height | 42 cm | – |
Will It Fit Your Room?
The chair takes up a square of about 87 cm on each side. With the ottoman placed in front and a small gap for your legs, plan for a floor area of roughly 90 cm wide by 150 to 160 cm long.
Leave a little space behind the shell so the chair can swivel without touching the wall. Together, the chair and ottoman weigh 33 kg, so it helps to know which room it is going to before it arrives. For placement ideas, our guide on how to style an Eames lounge chair covers corners, lighting and rugs.
Who This Tan and Rosewood Version Suits
If you have been looking for a tan leather Eames chair with a more formal feel than the usual walnut version, this is it. It is a good match if you want a lounge chair for a reading corner, study, library wall or quiet bedroom corner, and you prefer brown leather that softens and deepens with use. It also works well in a home office where a black chair would feel too severe.
It may not be the right choice in a few cases. If your chair will sit in strong, direct sun without blinds, aniline leather can fade, so a darker leather is more forgiving. If you have cats that climb furniture, tan aniline shows scratches more readily than black. The recline angle and headrest are fixed, so if you need an adjustable seat, a lounge chair of this type will not give you that.
How It Compares With Our Other Finishes
If tan and rosewood is close but not quite right, these nearby options change the mood:
| Finish | How it looks | Consider it if |
|---|---|---|
| Tan brown and rosewood (this chair) | Warm leather, striped dark grain | You want warmth with a more formal feel |
| Chocolate brown and rosewood | Deeper brown, lower contrast | You want a darker, quieter brown |
| Cognac brown and walnut | Lighter wood, softer grain | You prefer a more relaxed look |
| Black and walnut | Classic high contrast | You want the easiest leather to live with |
You can see every leather and veneer combination in our Eames lounge chair collection.
Caring for Tan Aniline Leather and Rosewood Veneer
Dust the leather weekly with a soft, dry cloth. If something spills, blot it straight away rather than rubbing, because aniline leather absorbs liquid quickly. Every six months, apply a neutral conditioner made for aniline leather, testing it first on a hidden area.
Wipe the rosewood veneer with a barely damp microfibre cloth and dry it at once. Keep the chair about a metre from radiators, stoves and underfloor heating outlets. If it sits near a window, turn it now and then so the leather ages evenly.
Our Honest Note on This Reproduction
This chair is a Sederica reproduction of a 1956 design. It is made by us, has no connection with any other company that produces this design, and is not associated with the Eames family or estate. We list only the materials and measurements we can confirm, and natural rosewood grain varies from one shell to the next, so your chair will not match the images line for line. See our Legal Disclaimer for terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What shade is the tan brown leather?
It is a warm mid-brown with a slight red undertone. It is lighter than our chocolate brown and less orange than our cognac. Screens show colour differently, so if you are matching it to a sofa or rug, email hello@sederica.com and we will describe it against the other leathers in the range.
Will the tan leather change colour over time?
Yes, gradually. Aniline leather deepens with light and handling, and the arms and headrest usually darken first. If you want the colour to stay as close to new as possible, keep the chair out of direct sun and condition it twice a year.
What is the shell made of?
The shell is 7-layer laminated veneer finished in rosewood veneer on both the front and the back. Because it is a wood veneer, the pattern of stripes differs slightly on every chair, so no two shells look identical.
How much space does the tan Eames style chair need with its ottoman?
Allow roughly 90 cm by 150 to 160 cm of floor space for the chair and ottoman together, plus a small gap behind the shell for the swivel. The chair on its own measures 87 × 87 × 82 cm.
Why is it called an Eames style lounge chair and ottoman?
“Eames style” tells you the chair follows the 1956 design by Charles and Ray Eames, while being made by Sederica rather than by any other manufacturer of the design. It is a reproduction built to our own specification, and we use that wording so you know exactly what you are buying.
If you are still deciding between tan and a darker leather, send us a note and we will help you pick the one that suits your room.
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