Office desk chair recommendations

[NuclearFart]

I'm looking for a new desk chair for my home office, and figured this sub-forum would have a higher concentration of people sitting in front of a computer all day

I want something comfortable/ergonomic, but also professional stylish and ideally with leather. Bonus points for brushed/satin brass. Not too concerned about price (within reason). I don't need a gaming chair (unfortunately). I'm thinking something along the lines of Herman Miller, but I have no idea if those are as great as the hype would indicate.

Anybody have some recommendations?

[Table 5]

I believe rotten42 is the guy to ask as I believe he works in the industry.

I personally have a classic Herman Miller Management Chair, and it's been excellent...although it doesn't necessarily have the same innovations as the newer chairs. The Aeron chair is excellent for sitting in for long periods, but isn't particularly pretty. I had a chance to test out the Embody for a couple of weeks once, and I also found it to be excellent to sit in...but then it too was a little too spacey for me. Steelcase makes some chairs that I think straddle the line of being ergonomic without being hideous.

In general though, I find aesthetics and ergonomics to be a bit mutually exclusive when it comes to task chairs. You kind of have to heavily lean towards one or the other.

[psyang]

I highly recommend sitting in a prospective chair - it makes a difference.

I had a chance to sit in 4 chairs I was eyeing: Humanscale Freedom, Herman Miller Aeron, Herman Miller Embody, and Steelcase Leap.

I found Humanscale's chair looked great, but was really uncomfortable for me despite all the adjustable features. Aeron was next - comfortable but not as much as I was expecting. Steelcase Leap was really comfortable, and the clear winner until I sat in the Embody about 3 years later. It was the first time I sat in a chair and thought "what am I sitting in, it's so amazing". Embody was out of my price range, and I was able to find a Leap for very cheap on kijiji.

[Hack&Lube]

After 5 years of Herman Miller Aeron, my new job has Herman Miller Embody and man...this chair is so much better! Some days I sit in this thing for 15 hours and forget I'm still at work.

[psyang]

So jealous - such a fantastic chair! The one I sat in was at a conference room for one of my old clients. The room didn't seem used much, and there were at least 20 Embody chairs just sitting there. I should check to see if they ever have a surplus sale...

[nik-]

I have an Embody and I love it. Super comfortable and the fabric is breathable, which is a pretty underrated feature on hot summer days. No one wants swass.

[Ashasx]

I got the Amazon Basics high back executive chair for less than $100 and I am very impressed.

I can't justify spending some of these prices for an office chair.

https://www.amazon.ca/AmazonBasics-H...xecutive+chair

It looks a little more expensive now.

[rotten42]

Whatever chair you decide, make sure you sit in it first and can return it after a week if you find you don't like it. There are a lot of good chairs out there but whereas you may like an Aeron, many people will also do not like the chair because of where the posture fit lumbar hits their back. Same thing with a Herman Miller Mirra chair. I've never seen such a polarising chair. People either love it or hate it.

As for the OP's post, you really aren't going to find anything highly ergonomic with "professional stylish and ideally with leather. Bonus points for brushed/satin brass". You will probably only get height adjustment and an older style synco-tilt mechanism. Most of the major manufacturers have going away from this style of chair. Your best bet is probably a chair by Global (Canadian company) There are many deales for this in town but there is also a manufacture's office in town too.


https://www.globalfurnituregroup.com...gement-seating

Maybe National has something you might like too.

https://www.nationalofficefurniture....y-type/seating


Like I said though, most manufacturers are going away from this type of seating.

If anybody is looking for a high quality ergonomic chair, there are typically the models that get evaluated side by side on large tenders.

Herman Miller - Aeron, Mirra (cheper price point) and sometime Embody. (When I was at the Herman Miller dealer we almost never sold these because of the price and warranty issues.)

Haworth - Very Desk and X99 and Zody

Humanscale - someone mentioned it. This chair is a bit different because the seat is gel filled. It definitely "sits" different from the other chairs on this list. Again, a kind of love it/hate it type of chair. I personally like this chair with the head rest.

Steelcase - The top of the line chair is Gesture. Imperial Oil standardised on this chair at their Calgary campus and now throughout NA. There are some innovative features on this chair but I'm not going to get in to it. The leap chair is still Steelcase's most popular chair. There is a new chair out called the Series One. It has all the ergonomic features of the Think chair but at a price point closer to what Global chairs sell for.


If you are looking for one of these chairs I can probably give you a name of a person to talk to at the prospective dealerships. Remember also that every one of the major dealerships have a used department. It is much better to buy a used chair though them because you get the full warranty. Very handy if the pneumatic cylinder should crap out. Also, in times like now when companies go under, quite often we get their furniture back and then sell it off at a discounted price. One more thing, if you are buying a used Herman Miller chair make sure you know which size it is. HM chairs come in A,B and C size. Most people need a B size chair. For the Aeron you can tell by running your finger on the underside of the top of the chair back frame. There are either 1,2 or 3 nubs there which tell you the size.

[Mccree]

https://www.lifeformchairs.com/

Local Calgary company but on th expensive side for sure.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by rotten42

If you are looking for one of these chairs I can probably give you a name of a person to talk to at the prospective dealerships. Remember also that every one of the major dealerships have a used department. It is much better to buy a used chair though them because you get the full warranty. Very handy if the pneumatic cylinder should crap out. Also, in times like now when companies go under, quite often we get their furniture back and then sell it off at a discounted price.

Do you know what the average discount is for used chairs? Some of these chairs are so expensive that I'm pretty sure they'll still be too expensive for me after a hefty discount.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Do you know what the average discount is for used chairs? Some of these chairs are so expensive that I'm pretty sure they'll still be too expensive for me after a hefty discount.

F'n expensive - Embody...probably looking at $1000-1200 new

High end - Gesture, Aeron, Leap, Zody...probably looking at $800 - $1000 new

Mid range - Think, Mirra....around $550-$650

Lower end - Series One, most global chairs....$400 - $500

Anything from Staples don't waste your money.


Alternatively if you don't want to spend big dough on a chair, spend it on a height adjustable desk. Best practices would have you changing posture every hour. I'd say about 90% of the projects we do these days involves a height adjustable desk as standard equipment. What to look for there is a whole different story.


I know some people will say it is stupid to spend that much on a chair. I will disagree but not argue the point. Do what makes ya comfortable just try the chair out before you buy it.

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by rotten42

Whatever chair you decide, make sure you sit in it first and can return it after a week if you find you don't like it. There are a lot of good chairs out there but whereas you may like an Aeron, many people will also do not like the chair because of where the posture fit lumbar hits their back. Same thing with a Herman Miller Mirra chair. I've never seen such a polarising chair. People either love it or hate it.

As for the OP's post, you really aren't going to find anything highly ergonomic with "professional stylish and ideally with leather. Bonus points for brushed/satin brass". You will probably only get height adjustment and an older style synco-tilt mechanism. Most of the major manufacturers have going away from this style of chair. Your best bet is probably a chair by Global (Canadian company) There are many deales for this in town but there is also a manufacture's office in town too.


https://www.globalfurnituregroup.com...gement-seating

Maybe National has something you might like too.

https://www.nationalofficefurniture....y-type/seating


Like I said though, most manufacturers are going away from this type of seating.

If anybody is looking for a high quality ergonomic chair, there are typically the models that get evaluated side by side on large tenders.

Herman Miller - Aeron, Mirra (cheper price point) and sometime Embody. (When I was at the Herman Miller dealer we almost never sold these because of the price and warranty issues.) Desk and X99.

Humanscale - someone mentioned it. This chair is a bit different because the seat is gel filled. It definitely "sits" different from the other chairs on this list. Again, a kind of love it/hate it type of chair. I personally like this chair with the head rest.

Steelcase - The top of the line chair is Gesture. Imperial Oil standardised on this chair at their Calgary campus and now throughout NA. There are some innovative features on this chair but I'm not going to get in to it. The leap chair is still Steelcase's most popular chair. There is a new chair out called the Series One. It has all the ergonomic features of the Think chair but at a price point closer to what Global chairs sell for.


If you are looking for one of these chairs I can probably give you a name of a person to talk to at the prospective dealerships. Remember also that every one of the major dealerships have a used department. It is much better to buy a used chair though them because you get the full warranty. Very handy if the pneumatic cylinder should crap out. Also, in times like now when companies go under, quite often we get their furniture back and then sell it off at a discounted price. One more thing, if you are buying a used Herman Miller chair make sure you know which size it is. HM chairs come in A,B and C size. Most people need a B size chair. For the Aeron you can tell by running your finger on the underside of the top of the chair back frame. There are either 1,2 or 3 nubs there which tell you the size.

Very informative post, thank you. A couple more questions if you don't mind:

What is your opinion of Haworth?

From a comfort perspective, is leather less desirable than other fabrics?

I tend to slouch and then slide forwards off the seat after a while sitting which is really annoying. Are any of these high end chairs known for that?

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Very informative post, thank you. A couple more questions if you don't mind:

What is your opinion of Haworth?

From a comfort perspective, is leather less desirable than other fabrics?

I tend to slouch and then slide forwards off the seat after a while sitting which is really annoying. Are any of these high end chairs known for that?

Haworth makes some good chairs. There are two dealers in town. HBI and Office concepts. I prefer HBI myself.

Leather is usually not recommended if you sit in your chair for large hours of the day. It doesn't breathe as well as most of the fabrics out there and contributes to that sliding off the front of the chair depending on the seat pan design. There is an artificial leather out there called Briza. It wears better and much cheaper. It also stays at room temperature much like real full grain leather does.

Your slouching is probably because of two things. The first being you need a chair with an sliding seat pan. That allows you to sit with your back against the back of the chair to get your lumbar support but also adjust where the seat pan's edge hits the back of your legs. Never buy a chair without a sliding seat pan...especially if you have long legs.

The other is the type of syncro-tilt the chair has. Most of the cheap chairs have a tilt mechanism that pulls either pulls your arms away from the work surface when they tilt or cuts your circulation off at the legs. This is huge difference ion many chairs.

[NuclearFart]

Thank you again. Last question:

What chair do you use?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Very informative post, thank you. A couple more questions if you don't mind:

What is your opinion of Haworth?

From a comfort perspective, is leather less desirable than other fabrics?

I tend to slouch and then slide forwards off the seat after a while sitting which is really annoying. Are any of these high end chairs known for that?

YMMV but I had an Aeron for 6 years and found myself sliding off as you describe. Terrible lower back support IMHO too.

I have a Haworth now and it's not bad. Better for me than the Aeron.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

Thank you again. Last question:

What chair do you use?

At work I currently sit in a Leap chair. At home I have an HM Aeron and a an Allsteel Acuity chair.

The only reason why I still have an Aeron is that when I worked at the Herman Miller dealer I bought two of them for $400 used. Ended up selling one of them for $550. lol

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

YMMV but I had an Aeron for 6 years and found myself sliding off as you describe. Terrible lower back support IMHO too.

I have a Haworth now and it's not bad. Better for me than the Aeron.

Aeron chairs have two different lumbar support options. The standard and the posture fit which is a $100 upgrade.

I tend to like Haworth chairs better than Herman Miller ones but my favourite is the Steelcase Gesture.

[Coys1882]

I'm sure some people will laugh but I've had some expensive chairs over the years and this is the best I've owned so far.

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00103102/

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

YMMV but I had an Aeron for 6 years and found myself sliding off as you describe.

Yeah, the Aeron I would sometimes call the teflon chair.

[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

After 5 years of Herman Miller Aeron, my new job has Herman Miller Embody and man...this chair is so much better! Some days I sit in this thing for 15 hours and forget I'm still at work.

Came here to recommend the Embody, So I'll just quote this.
I worked at a Herman Miller authorized retailer for 3 years, and sold a lot of chairs. The Aeron was always the best seller, and it was comfortable (especially the Aeron 2.0), but the Embody was really the best chair. If I had an extra $1400, I would have one right now.