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Office Chairs (you wouldn’t mind having at home)

As you may remember, i’ve been having some trouble with the ole home office set up. My cheap-y Eiffel inspired chair had outgrown its comfort levels for the sheer amount of time I was now finding myself sat at a desk. Thank you to everyone that left super helpful comments on where to find a decent chair that might float my boat, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me and my crook back out.

Small home office with magnetic wall

Whilst I wasn’t averse to buying a decent office chair. Ya know, a really good quality one (the amount of physio i’m currently having would have paid for a set of 4 good office chairs, so one really good one would certainly be a very cost effective move),  I was loathed to spend £300, £400, £500 upwards on a chair that I hated the look of. Like this guy…

I know it’s shallow to choose form over function, but I can’t help it. The way something looks is as equally important to how something performs for me. And probably to a lot of other people actually. Because most people I know have to have their home office set up either in the corner of the living room, in a guest bedroom or on the landing, like me. So the furniture we choose for them is there for all to see.

Desk Chairs at Westelm

Quite like the Slope… if only it didn’t have castors…

Anthropologie Elowen Swivel Chair – £498

I came across these courtesy of Kimberly Duran of Swoon Worthy blog (thank you Ms D!) Absolutely gorgeous, but not quite right for my pad.

Here is my office chair wishlist:

  • Decent quality office chair. As in a chair made specifically for a long periods of sitting at a desk and working at a computer.

  • No castors. We have carpet and a rug, so they’re pointless for me. I’m not swooshing between a fax machine and a printer. I sit and face the same way, typing. I also don’t like how they look.

  • I would like to be able to swivel though. That’d be good and to be able to adjust the height so I can finally get my feet flat on the floor. My feet dangle at a standard 45cm seat height, so the ability to lower it down to small child height is a must.
  • Something with a higher back than I currently have. And for the chair to look half decent from behind. That’s how we normally see our office chairs. Rarely from the front. The back view has to be clean, simple, no fussy gadgets and the like.

  • No leather. No chrome. No mesh. No arms. No plastic. No black. All those things scream office chair to me. Preferably i’d like something upholstered, blonde wood is good, metal too as long as it’s not shiny, office-y chrome.

I’m sure you’ll agree, I’m not asking for much am I!?

Affordable-ish, customisable options at EAMSI,  again spotted after another lovely comment from my post two weeks ago (thank you Lucy!), but alas too many no-no’s on the looks list for me. I just can’t hack shiny chrome.

Wayfair have the Beckett and Becker mid-century inspired, bentwood office chairs on their site (£138.99 and £169.99), along with this below which is pretty minimal for an ergonomic office chair.

 

Fjord & Co Osoyoos Office Chair – £139.99

 

.John Lewis Soren Office Chair – £379

I would have been quite interested in trying this swivel chair actually if it had been in birch, but the arms would do my head in, it’s not height adjustable and the back is a little low. Looks gorgeous from the back though doesn’t it!? Definitely an investment purchase at £379.

Office Chair MADE.COM

MADE.COM have a decent selection ranging from £70 to £180. Lots with castors and arms though….

Office Chair MADE.COM

For a part time home office, the Keira and Lule look rather attractive, but hard to see what back support they offer and again not height adjustable.

Office Chair MADE.COM

Office Chairs from MADE.COM

 

Argos Home Button Back Office Chair – £119.99

Not a bad option for a bedroom workspace set up. Height adjustable, swivel, no castors and looks decent from the back.

 

HOME Fabric Office Chair – Charcoal – £79.99

Unlike this one, which was looking so promising until I saw they’ve put a hunking big zip right down the back. Bad move Argos.

Ok so moving on…

At the same time as my office chair search, i’d been working on the Aquamarine project, which is a guest bedroom come home office, so as well as looking for an office chair for yours truly, I was also on the look out for an office chair that wouldn’t look completely out of place surrounded by vintage goodies.

Anaglpya Wildacre Little Greene Aquamarine

Cue Ikea. Now bear with me here. On first glance these chairs may look a little office-y, but let’s just take a look shall we?

Ikea LANGFJALL

The LANGFJALL comes:

  • in four colours of fabric (blue, charcoal, beige and light green)
  • with optional arms
  • medium or high back seat
  • adjustable height
  • swivel base with either castors or fixed feet
  • arms and base comes in either white or black

It’s basically a perfect pick n’ mix of options to configure your ideal office chair set up with prices ranging from £90-£135 depending on which base, arm and chair height option you go for.

After a trip to Ikea to check out the chairs for the aquamarine project (and fill my boots with other goodies for this room), I plumped for the LANGFJALL in light green and black base.

Ikea långfjäll

And it worked out pretty well, the subtle green fabric blends in rather nicely with the walls and acts as a nice contrast to the mid-century desk.

Ikea långfjäll

This particular client wanted castors, which made sense for her as she has floorboards so will no doubt be swooshing between the desk and the…. erm… the other side of the desk? This little corner isn’t quite finished yet, so don’t judge but I added a lil blanket to soften the silhouette of the chair making this home office corner not feel out of place in a bedroom with Anaglypta on the walls.

This brings me back onto my own personal chair search. Whilst at Ikea (with back in spasm and my right thumb filled with pins and needles) it was time for me to just get a damn office chair and say adios to the Eiffel of pain.

 

Ikea långfjäll

And it was this at £100 that seemed to tick everything on my office chair wishlist. Yeah it’s not the most beautiful chair in the world, I grant you that, but it’s not black, plastic, chrome, leather, gadget-y and comes with the option of no-castors. WIN!

Ikea långfjäll

And here it is in my lil office. Sure, it doesn’t photograph as nicely as my Eiffel chair, but my back has been so much better since i’ve a) lowered my seat so my feet plant flat on the floor and b) not had to pack out the chair with four million cushions to get me sitting up right.

Ikea långfjäll

I went with a white base to tie in the white Ikea Adil desk legs and Helmer drawers and the beige fabric to keep it light in this greyscale space. And of course an old sheepie thrown atop because a) it keeps the seat clean, b) feels nice and c) keeps the cat happy. I’ll no doubt continue to look for the holy gail and will be sure to update you guys if/when I ever find it, but for today. I’m happy with this solution, well not happy, but i’m not unhappy. You know what I mean.

So, any chairs here you like the look of? Any you wouldn’t mind having in your home? Has today’s post helped anyone at all? I’m off to make some tea and toast…

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25 Comments

  1. The LANGFJALL chair is _really_ comfy, thank you. Obviously I need the castors so I can go from desk to bed without having to stand up. Maximum efficiency. That’s what it’s about.

    • Karen Knox says

      Ah I see. Straight into bed after a hard day at the home office? Should have requested some kind of ejector seat so you didn’t have to get up after wheeling across the 37cm journey. You’ve made stranger requests than that!

  2. Me again, was just mooching on made.com this weekend and was going to mention the Kiera pine green to you! Non-height-adjustable is madness though. Accidentally bought 2 x Kendall dining chairs for myself whilst there though so all is not lost.

  3. Oh I’m so pleased you found a chair that suited both you and your client! It really does look beautiful once it’s all styled up and surrounded by pretties and it fits right in with your office nook! As for the Anthro one, it’s still on my own wishlist but well, I’m a bit of a glam girl as you know but also, I’m not made of money here 😉 There are some others, however, that have caught my eye like the Keira chair from Made.com – shame they are not adjustable though. I too need the seat adjusted for small child height! lol xxx

    • Karen Knox says

      So many office chairs that aren’t height adjustable… not really office chairs then are they? They’re just… chairs.
      And yeah, I can totally see the Anthro chair at yours, it’s perfect for you… with 50% off mind!!xx

  4. The Helvetica leather number from western! Oh my. I need it in my imaginary office space. 😍😍😍

  5. Good ol’ IKEA! Glad you’ve found a comfortable chair for your client and yourself. Some other really gorgeous options here. I find it such a shame that the Keira isn’t height adjustable, because I adore it! I’ve seen one at Cult Furniture that I’m currently eyeing up, except I have no acceptable reason to replace my decade-old yet very ergonomic office chair 🤷

    • Karen Knox says

      I know, so many of them aren’t adjustable which kinda defeats the object doesn’t it?
      And yeah, Cult Furniture do nice looking ones too, but i’ve boycotted them after they shafted a colleague of mine. Not impressed at all! So no link for them 🙂

  6. bloody great post – i must sort a new chair out too for all the reasons you listed. the soren chair is totally lush to look at so wouldn’t mind a trial run in that one but as you say, no adjustments…… the ikea one may be the best bet as i think it looks more than fine – good job 🙂

    • Karen Knox says

      Ah cheers partner. “More than fine” is as good as I could hope for right now. I’ll take that 😉 x

  7. Karen Harper says

    I’m also on the look out for the perfect office chair. Was gonna ask you to head the hunt, but looks like you’ve already done all of the legwork!

    I’m putting the MADE Kendal Office Chair, Tan and Black on my birthday wishlist! The hairpin legs match my desk and the tan leather is perfect for my 70s decor. 😁

    Thanks Knox! 🙌

  8. We definitely need one without castors because the husband and his wobbly legs, no balance and castors on a hard floor = accident waiting to happen. At work he’s had them remove the castors and we need to do the same here. I’ll take a look at the ikea options, they look pretty decent and customisable. And cheap!

  9. Alexandra says

    I have FINALLY gotten around to buying this chair after reading your post all those months ago. FYI it now comes in a dusty pink. Thanks so much for the detailed post, really made me think about what would be right for me.

  10. Grant says

    Highly recommend the Ikea chair. Simple design, easy to put together and doesn’t cost the earth. Thanks for the tip!

  11. Stefano says

    Great post Karen. Bookmarked it for future purposes. I’m looking for a nice to look at chair to replace my piano bench which doesn’t do good to my back. High back, adjustable seat and adjustable height, no castors and no armrests. The järvfjället or LÅNGFJÄLL from Ikea could be great options if the swivel mechanism could be blocked in some way. It’s important to play sitting on something stable. Any idea?

  12. I’ve had a ball chair for years. My hubby got me one for work, and it was the only thing I could sit in for the hours I had to sit. 😉 The office was changed, and I took my chair home and the ball went flat. I really missed it, and we finally got the ball replaced. Now it’s the chair at my home desk, and I’m debating taking it to work because the chair at work makes my hip go numb. They are awesome! When I do sit in it for a LONG time, my hips will be a little sore, but it’s great. 😉

  13. I have been searching for the chair that you’ve described (no castors, adjustable height, back rest, preferably with an adjustable armrest) during this period of extended home working! I was going crazy thinking I am the only person who ever wants a chair like that. So happy to see this post – it wasn’t obvious from the IKEA website that the chair is customisable but I am totally getting this now – thank you!

  14. Aghh! Yes to your commenst about the doggone shiny chrome stuff. I hate that, and wherever I look for ergonomic chairs (with arm rests in my case), there is either an inflated price tag or that darn chrome! 🙂 Nice article. Thank you.

  15. Just come across this and have the exact same issue! I’m a graphic designer, now working long hours at home and my Eiffel (knockoff) would be costing me in physio (if I could get it in lockdown!). Home office is in my midcentury styled living room and I cannot bring myself to introduce a giant black mesh centrepiece! Also loathe castors and don’t need them. Soren, Lule and Keira are the only ones I’ve liked so far but almost £400 for Soren :/ Would’ve assumed from a pic the Ikea one would feel too similar to the Eiffel so it’s handy to read your review. This search is a strangely hard task! Thanks for posting 🙂

  16. Sandy Ortega says

    I’ve been looking to do a similar set-up as you, but I’m unsure how to fix the Elmer Ikea drawers to the table top. Would you be able to tell me how you did that? Or is the table top fixed to the wall instead? Thank you

  17. Monica says

    Thank you, I was in need of an additional office chair as working on the sofa doesn’t quite cut it. I work on a TOBIAS from Ikea which is super comfy (and can be moved around the home), and in the past had a proper office chair from them (Markus) for studying and they are both comfy, but now were are both wfh now and I don’t want anything ugly!

  18. arianna says

    Great post. Most desk chairs ars soo ugly. One question: the version with medium back seat looks much better. Why did you choose the high one? According to Ikea they are both ergonomic.

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