The name Edra is derived from the Greek word exedra, meaning a space for conversation and socialization. True to its name, the Italian furniture manufacturer creates beautiful seating like sofas and armchairs, as well as coffee tables and end tables to go with them. Its unique and heritage-quality modern pieces are sure to become the classics of tomorrow.

Edra was established in 1987 in Tuscany with the goal of combining traditional craftsmanship and technological innovation into a new style of collectible design. The company wanted to challenge established ideas about how living room furniture such as chairs, tables and cabinets are to look and function, deploying cutting-edge materials and working with unique shapes to produce exciting designs that disrupted the design world.

Part of Edra’s success has been due to its fruitful collaborations with acclaimed designers. The company has worked with Italian designer Francesco Binfare since 1992, producing the iconic Tangeri, Angels, Flap and Essential seating collections. Jacopo Foggini, known for his own innovative designs, is another frequent Edra collaborator. In 2022, Edra and Foggini released the sea-inspired A'mare collection of translucent blue outdoor furniture made from polycarbonate.

Edra has also represented Italy on several international sporting stages. The company was an official furniture supplier for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 2022 Alpine Skiing World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Since its founding, the company's contemporary furniture has been added to museums around the world. Today, Edra's designs are held in the collections of New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

In 2022, Edra also exhibited at the Salone Del Mobile, where the brand debuted a chic, pebble-inspired sofa — On the Rocks — that demonstrates the company's continued commitment to originality and ingenuity.

On 1stDibs, find Edra seating, tables and case pieces.

Finding the Right armchairs for You

Armchairs have run the gamut from prestige to ease and everything in between, and everyone has an antique or vintage armchair that they love.

Long before industrial mass production democratized seating, armchairs conveyed status and power.

In ancient Egypt, the commoners took stools, while in early Greece, ceremonial chairs of carved marble were designated for nobility. But the high-backed early thrones of yore, elevated and ornate, were merely grandiose iterations of today’s armchairs.

Modern-day armchairs, built with functionality and comfort in mind, are now central to tasks throughout your home. Formal dining armchairs support your guests at a table for a cheery feast, a good drafting chair with a deep seat is parked in front of an easel where you create art and, elsewhere, an ergonomic wonder of sorts positions you at the desk for your 9 to 5.

When placed under just the right lamp where you can lounge comfortably, both elbows resting on the padded supports on each side of you, an upholstered armchair — or a rattan armchair for your light-suffused sunroom — can be the sanctuary where you’ll read for hours.

If you’re in the mood for company, your velvet chesterfield armchair is a place to relax and be part of the conversation that swirls around you. Maybe the dialogue is about the beloved Papa Bear chair, a mid-century modern masterpiece from Danish carpenter and furniture maker Hans Wegner, and the wingback’s strong association with the concept of cozying up by the fireplace, which we can trace back to its origins in 1600s-era England, when the seat’s distinctive arm protrusions protected the sitter from the heat of the period’s large fireplaces.

If the fireside armchair chat involves spirited comparisons, your companions will likely probe the merits of antique and vintage armchairs such as Queen Anne armchairs, Victorian armchairs or even Louis XVI armchairs, as well as the pros and cons of restoration versus conservation.

Everyone seems to have a favorite armchair and most people will be all too willing to talk about their beloved design. Whether that’s the unique Favela chair by Brazilian sibling furniture designers Fernando and Humberto Campana, who repurposed everyday objects to provocative effect; or Marcel Breuer’s futuristic tubular metal Wassily lounge chair; the functionality-first LC series from Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret; or the Eames lounge chair of the mid-1950s created by Charles and Ray Eames, there is an iconic armchair for everyone and every purpose. Find yours on 1stDibs right now.