Tips to Help in Choosing the Right Office Chair for You
So you are in the market for office chairs! Oh the choice…
There are a wide array of office chairs on the market today. The choice is so vast – there is something for everyone!
How do you narrow this down? Where do you start?
The following tips are designed to help you choose something to suit you, your space and your budget!
1) Office Chair Price – Budget or Top End ?
Think about how much you can afford. A top of the range ergonomic office chair is not an option for everyone. For many it is quite simply out of the budget.
So, decide on a budget. There are chairs available for under £100 but you will get what you pay for. These will have a maximum guarantee of 1 year. With regular 8 hour a day use they are unlikely to last much beyond this time frame. Equally you can pay well over £1,000 for a chair. However, there are much more cost effective, quality office chairs available without the need to rob a bank!
2) Office Chair Finish – Leather, Faux Leather, Mesh, Plastic, Fabric ?
… and What About Colour?
So now you have narrowed your choice down a little more it is time to think about the environment for this office chair. Where is it for? For a laboratory, cafe, canteen or a kitchen for example you would ideally be looking for something you can easily wipe clean such as faux leather or plastic.
Perhaps you are looking for something a little more plush for an executive office or a home study and would rather have full leather. Maybe you are looking for a specific colour you can match with green and orange company branding or other furniture.
Your office furniture supplier will have a selection of materials and leather and fabric samples in a range of colour choices to help you decide.
3) Finally Features of an Office Chair
By this stage, you should have narrowed your search parameters down quite considerably and made the search for your perfect office chair much easier.
Other things to consider include do you require arms? Sometimes, for a home or smaller office, arms can be a hinderance particularly, if you need to tuck it under a low table or desk at the end of the day or the weekend.
If you do require arms – you have a choice of fixed or adjustable? Adjustable arms can be lowered or raised some are also depth adjustable too. Remember if they are fixed they may not tuck neatly under a desk or table.
In an office or workplace environment office chairs with castors (i.e. wheels) are more popular. To make it even more difficult there is not simply one choice of castor! However for a home office, wheels may not be a requirement particularly on carpet.
Think about the users whether at home or in the workplace. How many hours will the chair be used? What is the weight of the user? Will there be many different users?
Some office chairs have small gas lifts and are recommended for only 3-5 hours usage a day. Many of these are unsuitable for anyone over a particular weight. For a student studying a couple of hours at home of an evening they are often a good economical choice. Other office chairs are much more heavy duty and can be used for up to 24 hours a day. These are perfect for an environment with shift workers or for use by gamers! Height and back adjustable chairs are a better choice in an environment where there are many different users such as a call centre. These allow each user to adjust the chair to their own individual comfort requirements.
The above tips will have you well on the way to choosing the correct office chair for you. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or email. A member of the team will be happy to help.
