apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hoenstly, Though an office chair might stick out at first, comfort and practicality will win out over style - Especially if you game or work on the interwebs for long periods. When it comes down to it, unless you're a real nitpicker, you won't even notice it in the room. In fact, if might become your most used chair. A always sit on my friends chair when i'm at her place.

Just try to find a chair that isn't too hideous or in a color that compliments the decor.

Might seem strange but I use a yoga ball, good for your posture, a small amount of exercise (gotta use your muscles to keep yourself upright), can help your balance too.
I have a back up red leather upholstered chair that I picked up off the curb (it has a small tear in the arm) for those really late night programming sessions that make me hate the world.

I am with chusmabilly- the chair MUST be super practical and comfortable. If you can design nicely the rest of the area (desk, shelves, pictures, etc) and you add an ergonomic black chair you should be fine.
BTW- take a look at this amazing bedroom with the office area and the ergonomic chair-does it really matter here?...
http://www.houzz.com/photos/10323/KANNER-ARCHITECTS-modern-home-office-los-angeles

If you really need to work at the desk, you owe it to yourself to use a comfortable chair. If you have bad posture and are typing a lot, you can end up with serious RSI -- and trust me, it's not worth it. When you can no longer grasp your silverware to eat dinner, you won't care what your chair looks like.

There are plenty of attractive office chairs, if you're willing to spend the money. Try an Eames soft pad chair or (if you're really spendy) a Time-Life chair.

i third the comfortable chair. you just have to get one that looks halfway decent. if i only used my computer/desk to surf the net for an hour or something i might feel differently. but having to work, write papers, edit pictures, etc means some serious seat time and i'd rather be comfortable than looking good. say, like this:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1080&f=24062


Cheers,
M

Comfort over Appearance - Unless you enjoy carpal tunnel and backaches...

My husband has an Aeron and I have the Mirra, both by Herman Miller. We both work from home and agree that no other chairs can rival the Herman Miller in terms of comfort and style. It works for us because our house is decorated in very clean lines.

Ergonomics entered my vocabulary at age four but I live in an itty bitty studio where a huge office chair would be way too much of an eyesore. I settled recently on a vintage office chair which I thought was a perfect balance. Petite enough for the space yet still comfy and functional. The upholstery is kinda funky, I won't lie. But I plan on reupholstering it.

how is this even a question? use the comfortable one!

I frankly think the Aeron chair is way more stylish than the other chair pictured here.

Comfort-wise, it makes an INCREDIBLE difference to have the right chair. Unless you only use your desk a couple times a month to write bills or thank you cards, go for the ergonomic chair. Seriously. This isn't even worth debating.

(And I usually take the girl side in these debates.)

Both my husband and I work from our 600 sq ft apartment.

We have a combination office-dining room in an 8' x 9' room.

We simply cannot have one of those god-awful bulky office chairs. Not only are they an eyesore, it just won't fit.

I agree that the Aeron chair looks nice, but it's WAY out of our price range!

Anyone have more affordable suggestions?

I'm considering dropping the 400 bucks (gulp) on this Eames one from EQ3:
http://eq3.com/cat-eq3/process/locale/en_CA/currency/en_CA/page/3020-508.html

There are plenty of us who do serious work in graphics or photoshopping photos and the like and end up at our desks for hours at a time and yes, some of us still use desktops for they are still the best for serious pc stuff such as gaming.

Hell, even surfing the net can be a time waster, I know so having a comfortable chair that helps w/ posture is crucial and let's not forget all of us who write, all that typing can be hard on the ol' carpal tunnel if posture is not right.

Currently I use a vintage Eames office shell shair w/ the swivel base w/ castors as my office chair, has no back support but it is comfy and back support is definitely a must for long term sitting.

Even w/ a comfy chair, it helps to get up every so often and move around and stretch.

Yeah, we've been using beautiful wood antique chairs at our home office, and decided the beauty just isn't worth the discomfort. No tilt, no swivel, the seat is hard, and worst of all, the chairs have arms that are too tall to fit under the desk, so you have to sit away from it.

SO, can anyone tell me where to find a chair like that Crate and Barrel one Matt M. posted or the Eames one that jac7890 posted that 1) is NOT leather, 2) comes in some version of brown, white, cream, or red, 3) doesn't cost a zillion dollars--I'd like to buy 3 of them, and that adds up fast, and 4) maybe preferably doesn't have arms, so I know it will fit under our desk?

Thanks!

jac7890-
I'd steer away from the imitation Eames office chair - that particular knock-off tends to be of VERY shoddy quality (I've seen many where the metal just beneath the seat breaks after a year or 2 of use, dropping the person onto the floor). The Crate and Barrel chair above is probably of better quality if you want to go for that look.

I am not a huge fan of the Aeron but have been using the Steelcase Think for about 18 months in my home office. It is a good combo of ergonomics and design. Looks like it is now being carried at Crate and Barrel:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1080&f=29359

My desk is in our living room, and we got the Patrik from Ikea in dark gray. It's very comfy, and pretty enough. I only wish we'd gotten it without the wheels, then it'd be even more stylish.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70074950

Oh, and I work from home, so it really IS comfy.
And at under $200, it's a bargain.