NWR Office Chairs

B

Ben Halton

Location
Broadstairs
I know we have at least one expert on the forum but I thought I'd canvas opinion. I'm looking for an office chair and wondered what people recommend, obviously I can't get out to a showroom at the moment so I'm going to have to order blind. I'm happy to spend whatever it costs to get the best chair, I work from home full time (and have been for a few years) and my back is knackered! I've been considering the Humanscale Freedom and the Hermann Miller range but happy to hear any recommendation.
 
If cost is no issue then yes, Herman Miller Aeron. I’ve been using mine for well over ten years - had to replace an arm last year (easily done) but otherwise it’s just about as good as new.
 
I've put myself on a waiting list for a used Aeron just in case as used seems to be the only way to get one in under 2 mths at the moment. I have used Aerons before and found them to be fine but not exciting, maybe I'm expecting too much!

Thanks for the suggestion Eric - actually my dream would be to turn one of the seats from my Mercedes W124 into an office chair but I suspect that's not very practical :)
 
There are plenty of used Herman Miller Aeron's on eBay for a few hundred.

I've got a second hand Eames Office chair with a high back in beautiful dark brown leather. It costs a pretty penny but I've found it more than a match for the Aeron I have at work and it's much, much prettier to look at.
 
The critical thing with Aerons is getting the right size - most people who don't like them either have the wrong size, haven't adjusted it properly, or a combination of both.

That aside, doing a good stretch of hamstrings a few times a day has pushed me from mild sciatica to complete comfort, so I'd encourage you to explore stretching too, Ben. Get that yoga mat out.
 
Of course I am biased. In normal times I would recommend that you visit a shop and try all the relevant chairs from Steelcase, Humanscale, Herman Miller and choose the one you like most. But we are not living in normal times. In this case I recommend to buy a used Mirra2 which is quite cheap these days. Of course if money plays no role than buy a new one. I should mention that my wife designed the chair. But this is not the main reason for my recommendation. In the last days I saw a lot of praising for Mirra2 via Twitter from people in home office.
 
I got on quite well with the humanscale saddle
stool. I actually have a couple of spares, although they need cleaning. In normal times I’d offer to lend you one to see what you think, but suspect a journey to Cambridge would be irresponsible right now.
 
Had a look at the COSM mentioned somewhere a few months ago. I thought the mesh construction was excellent and was quite tempted but just to flag that the chair does a lot of the work for you, so fewer levers which allow you to adjust various settings iirc. At 6ft 3 and with poor posture I guess I just wanted a bit more input. I was also looking for a chair I could tilt back a long way for the 'trying to look thoughtful but really listening to music' image but couldn't find I could tilt as far as I wanted...may have been doing something wrong.
In the end I reverted back to a Mirra 2 also mentioned which seems to suit me better. Lots of variables etc
 
Ben Halton said:
I know we have at least one expert on the forum but I thought I'd canvas opinion. I'm looking for an office chair and wondered what people recommend, obviously I can't get out to a showroom at the moment so I'm going to have to order blind. I'm happy to spend whatever it costs to get the best chair, I work from home full time (and have been for a few years) and my back is knackered! I've been considering the Humanscale Freedom and the Hermann Miller range but happy to hear any recommendation.
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Hi Ben,
Can I urge you to ditch the chair and invest in a standing desk, you will never look back .

Churchill, Hemmingway, Leonardo, Franklin & Myself amongst others were /are champions of the standing desk.
It is liberating
 
P.S. I should also mention that Mirra2 was designed with the main purpose working for 12h+ and for all body types. You have a lot of knobs for adjusting, very easy to handle and you don’t need an instruction book. For example you can adjust your back for perfect ergonomic sitting or make a relaxed sitting for listening music or dreaming. Including 1-2 other positions if you like.
 
hi all wanted to say thanks for all the input, in the end I went for a refurbed Aeron from a company based just up the road partly because they had availability and getting hold of any chair at the moment is problematic.

The recco for a standing desk is an excellent one and I'm going to investigate further.
 
Ben Halton said:
hi all wanted to say thanks for all the input, in the end I went for a refurbed Aeron from a company based just up the road partly because they had availability and getting hold of any chair at the moment is problematic.

The recco for a standing desk is an excellent one and I'm going to investigate further.
Click to expand...
There are lots of options - my first one was a very basic one from Ikea - basically got the four longest extendible legs and a basic tabletop - total cost was around $80, then I recently got the electric Bekant desk for around £400 - it is adjustable so you can sit or stand as you feel during the day.

There are better electric ones, but the ikea quality / price point for this seemed fair.

This thread has inspired me btw...have been using the home office a lot more and both Karen and I have been finding our current office chair unsatisfactory. Will take a look around for Herman Miller availability locally...
 
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