I’m finally getting around to setting up the office in my new house. While I’m still really pleased with my old IKEA Jerker desk, the stool that I bought to go with it at the time has no back support and isn’t really suitable for anything more than occasional use. So I’m currently looking to buy a new office chair, but because there are so many available I’m finding the choice a little bewildering. As I’ve had back problems in the past I’d like to get a chair that is both comfortable and ergonomic. I have a few options on my shortlist, but I was wondering if the WebWorkerDaily readers had any suggestions or tips? This chair is fully adjustable, including the lumbar support, but at £170 ($250) it’s also quite expensive. It has great Amazon reviews, but is it worth the price? Ryman High Back Mesh Chair Doesn’t look to be as adjustable as the Lindo chair. Nor does it have stellar Amazon reviews, but it costs much less — £60. Lincoln Black Leather Office Chair
I quite like the idea of a leather chair, and this one is adjustable and reasonably priced at £90, but I’m not sure that they’re all that practical compared to mesh chairs. The most expensive chair on my list at £230. Adjustable, with lumbar support. I’m going to go test out this chair at the IKEA store this weekend. One of my colleagues in Australia used to sit on a fit ball at work which, apparently, helped with his back problems. Have you tried replacing your office chair with a fit ball? How long did it take to get used to it, and did it help to alleviate back problems? That’s my current shortlist. Any other suggestions that I should be looking at? Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman Click on image to zoom Designers: Charles and Ray EamesThe lounge chair and ottoman have their origin in Charles and Ray’s investigations into molding plywood and a desire to improve upon a familiar fixture in many living rooms: the lounge chair. Citing the English club chair as inspiration, Charles said he sought to design a modern version of that chair, one that had “the warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt.”
Almost immediately, the design became an icon of American design. Today, these pieces not only live in museums, but continue to offer comfort and style to interiors around the world. A universally recognized form, the set is available in a variety of veneers, multiple leather options, and two sizes. Whatever selection you make, you can be assured of the quality and authenticity of this design. Configure Your Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman Add to Wish List Own a True Icon of Modern Design When the set was introduced in 1956, there was nothing like it, and there is still nothing to equal it. The Eameses' modern take on a 19th century club chair has not only endured for more than 50 years, it has become one of the most significant furniture designs of the 20th century—instantly recognizable and enduringly fresh. Like all classics, the chair and ottoman get better with age, in part because of how they are made. From the innovative hardware that fastens the cushions to the shells without marring the appearance of the wood to the fact that each piece continues to be assembled by hand, the combination of craft and manufacturing consistency results in pieces that are genuinely authentic.
"A special refuge from the strains of modern living." The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman has become so recognizable that its configuration is now a registered trademark. That form and the materials used to create it are an integral part of the experience the set delivers. Today, the chair and ottoman are available in a variety of veneers, multiple leather options, and two sizes. The same high level of quality and workmanship is guaranteed, regardless of the selection you make. Choose contract-grade or our MCL Leather, which possesses a striking balance among softness, durability, and color-fastness. MCL Leather is a premium, semi-aniline, dyed leather with 100 percent natural full grain. Color variations and surface marks are an inherent characteristic of this material, which will acquire wrinkles and creases and develop a rich patina over time. An oiled finish is available for walnut and santos palisander veneers. It closely matches the look and feel of the finish used on the original rosewood chair, and will need to be maintained with periodic hand oiling.
You can also choose the standard, high-performance lacquered plywood shell in wood veneer. The lacquered finish requires nothing more than dusting. Luxurious Comfort and Support The comfort and support built into the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman help explain their enduring popularity. A dynamic blend of hand-craftsmanship and mass production techniques makes this possible. The cushions will not flatten or clump over time. As Charles Eames described them, "The leather cushions do have built-in wrinkles to start with, but that is a clue that spells comfort to come, like the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." Each hide used for the cushions possesses variations that are a natural occurrence in leather, and each will age to reveal its own unique personality. The seat is permanently tilted to take the weight off your lower spine and distribute it properly to the back of the chair. The lower cushion piece supports your lower back, so you feel relaxed.
The angle supports your chest so that you can be comfortable as you read, watch a movie, or have a conversation. A Place of Rest The ottoman also provides a health benefit. Most of us sit or stand all day, so blood collects in the lower extremities. Resting your feet on the ottoman helps restore normal blood circulation. Like all classics, the chair and ottoman get better with age. Both are hand-assembled with great attention paid to the details. Shells are 7-ply veneers. Cushions are individually upholstered and replaceable. The back braces and bases—of both the chair and ottoman—are die-cast aluminum. The chair base has a built-in swivel mechanism. Shock mounts are resilient natural rubber. Stainless steel glides are adjustable.An Aeron would have been a pretty big expense for me fifteen years ago when I bought my first office chair. Just a few years later, though, and the price wouldn’t have been too big of a big deal. I should have bought one a decade ago. I’d have been sitting more comfortably the entire time, and in the long run it would have been less expensive than buying a new, cheap chair every few years.
Not everyone finds the Aeron to be a comfortable chair. Fortunately there are plenty of other good chairs to choose from. I’d definitely recommend spending some time sitting in them before you buy one, though. At some point when I was in school, probably shortly before starting high school, my parents bought me a wooden office chair like this one. I remember them saying they got it at a yard sale for five or ten bucks. I would guess that I started sitting in that chair sometime around 1990, and I continued to sit in that chair through most of high school. I don’t remember it being uncomfortable, but very little is uncomfortable when you’re still under 140 pounds. At some point that chair finally broke, and I upgraded to another wooden office chair, like this one. This one once belonged to my grandfather, and it is still at my parents’ house today. I replaced it with a random, cushioned, high back executive style chair at some point after I got out of high school, most likely sometime around 1997.
Over the next decade or so I bet I bought a half dozen of these chairs, each for between $150 and $250. They weren’t well made, and I often left them behind or gave them away when I moved. I finally convinced myself to buy an Aeron chair in the latter part of 2009. I ordered a used “Cobalt Classic,” fully adjustable model through a vendor on eBay for around $450 shipped. The chair was in pretty good shape, and the label said it was manufactured in 1997. The sides where the arms meet the chair were pretty scuffed up, presumably from twelve years of adjusting, and it was a bit squeaky when leaning back. About a year later, my father had a heart attack. I knew I’d be spending some time up there, so I drove the 900 miles up to my parents’ house with the Aeron in the back seat. I was up there for about two months, and in that time we ended up ordering another Aeron for my father, and I left my “Cobalt Blue” Aeron behind for my mother. Shortly before I left to return home I found another chair on eBay for myself.
This one had the more common “Carbon Classic” color scheme, which is a black chair with a dark gray weave in the pellicle. This one was “new”; I believe it was some sort of floor model or something, fully adjustable, and has the newer levered locking mechanisms on the arms. I have been visiting my parents again for the last six weeks or so, this time for back surgery. I am in my old bedroom, at my 20-year-old desk, sitting in that same “Cobalt Blue” Aeron chair. I’m not exactly sure why, but it no longer has a squeak when I lean back. I still miss the blue chair a bit. It was a very nice-looking chair; the “Carbon Classic” is pretty boring in comparison. I’m pretty certain it is the same color as Sheldon Cooper’s Aeron chair. I’m certain there are better chairs available now. I can’t say I’ve ever sat in any of them, though. The major selling point of the Aeron was the fact that I’d spent some time sitting in one in the past and I already knew I liked it.