Buying guide: Home office chairs My first chair was too big. The enormous leather monstrosity offered no back support and I had to stretch my arms flat to reach the armrests. It was too low for my desk and couldn't be adjusted properly so I sat on my feet or crossed my legs for height. Besides, it swiveled too easily, leaving me unstable. My second chair was too small. Cute and covered in a cowprint material, it was adjustable but offered no lumbar support or armrests. If I leaned back, I was in danger of falling over. But my third chair is just right. It's a $500 ergonomically designed, fully adjustable model -- the first two chairs cost less than $100 each. In my quest to find suitable seating, I learned that a great chair quickly pays for itself in increased productivity and decreased downtime. My bad chairs gave me headaches, muscle tension and wrist-strain. Now, I have a renewed love of work, improved quality of life and I save the costs of physiotherapy, Aspirin and sick days.
What to look for:FeelMany people test chairs by sitting in an awkward position, with their backs ramrod straight or slouched. Test it by sitting the way you want to sit after adjusting it to your size. If your back naturally presses against the back of the chair and you feel comfortable and supported, then it is probably the chair for you.FlexibilityYou should be able to customize your chair, adjusting it so that your feet are flat on the floor and your knees make an angle of about 100 degrees. Your armrests should move independently -- position them so your forearms are supported and your shoulders are relaxed.ControlThe chair's mobility should vary in degree and optionally lock, so that it will not roll away at the slightest push. You should be able to swivel to the side gradually and stay there without making a full rotation, and lean back slightly without danger of falling over backwards.MaterialLeather may look prestigious but it can be slippery or sticky in hot weather. This material also tends to lose its shape and rips easily.
Opt for a chair that has an absorbent, breathable material cover with soft -- but firm -- padding, a steel spine, beveled plastic armrests and solid footing. Top-of-the-line chairs may be expensive, generally ranging anywhere from $300 to $700. But a good chair will last longer, decrease your likelihood of acquiring stress- and strain-related ailments, and increase your productivity. It's a good investment. Creating an ergonomically-sound work environment• Your monitor should be directly in front of your face and you shouldn't have to incline your neck to get a good view.• Your work room should be well ventilated and lit, ensuring that no light source (including sunlight) causes glare. • Your keyboard should be level to - or slightly below - your armrests so your hands fall gently and your wrists are flat while typing. Clean or replace sticky keyboards. • A plastic mat provides mobility and stability on a slippery or thickly carpeted floor. • Make sure your mouse fits your hand – bigger is not always better.
• If you talk on the phone while working, try using a headset.Image courtesy of Crate & BarrelWhen your office was furnished, did the shopping list go something like this: You know – the usual stuff. I’m not going to claim that a fancy desk or a weird chair is going to magically improve your creativity and productivity – but I am damn sure, that all that sameness and eternal corporate grayness, does nothing good for your ability to come up with great new ideas. Here are some ways to spruce up a workplace that may actually inject some color and fun into your work environment. The Milk desk is a new design to match your Apple gear with it’s white surface and rounded edges. It lowers and raises electrically, it has ways to hide the cable clutter, and it also has four compartments at one end that can be configured for storage, trash or, yes, as an aquarium. is a great way to flexibly partition a room. It’s made of paper with a felt core, and I love it because it doesn’t eat all the light in the room (if you go for the white one).
It can be twisted into just about any shape or rolled up when you don’t need it and it dampens sound more than most room partitioners. Plus it looks amazing! Or how about a desk made from the wing of a DC3 plane? The starting point for the Haag Capisco is just your average, garden-variety office chair – but they’ve moved on from there. The saddle seat gives you a more erect posture and doesn’t cut of the blood flow to your legs. The seat and back are constructed so you can sit sideways or reversed on it and still support your arms. And the whole thing tilts back into a very comfortable reclined position. I’ve had one of these myself – they rock. Bean bags look great and can be used in a million different positions. Four bags and a coffee table and you have a great meeting room! I’m partial to the the (pictured above) myself. Disclosure: They once sent me a free one to review here on the blog. Where do you keep all your reference manuals and handbooks?
Close to where you can sit and read them, of course! I don’t know what it is, but I like it. Since I first saw these, I’ve wanted one and only the huge price tag has kept from picking one up. It looks strange, but is actually supremely comfortable and allows you to sit/lie in many positions. I know, I’ve spent quite some time in a showroom testing one thoroughly :o) When your business is innovation, your office can’t really look like any other corporate wasteland. London-based innovation agency ?know that – as evidenced by e.g. the life-sized plastic cow statue painted like Spiderman in the lobby and the big red couch/bed they use for meetings: This has got to be the coolest idea in a long time. 7 people pedal along, one of them steers. It’s the and I want one!! I also mentioned this in my post on . I was sitting in my usual caf� writing this blogpost when I spotted a lady at the next table looking through some pictures of weird and beautiful desks. Of course I had to ask her what the story was.
Turns out she’s Marie Westh, an artist and these are one-off tables she created, first for exhibitions and then later on as usable art pieces. with many more weird and fantastic creations. This is more a metaphor than a piece of furniture – but it’s pretty cool all the same. The idea is that three people can have a meeting where they must work together to hold their balance during the meeting. Like we must each contribute to a conversation, to make it balanced. Impractical – but cool! . Or how about an entire wall covered in cordwood? Not only is it amazingly beautiful, it’s also great for the acoustics and it gives the wall a great texture. I saw my friends at and their roommates build this from a huge stack of cord woodon the floor to the finished wall. So is it the furniture that determines whether a company is creative and fun or staid and boring? But the type and variety of furniture does reflect the mood at the company. If you have row upon row of identical, gray desks and chairs then odds are this is not the place wild ideas are born.