Don't try to make one if you want a chair for ergonomics unless you are ready to many MANY prototypes, chairs are one of the hardest things to design. What looks good usually doesn't feel good and what feels good most of the time looks like crap.
Just save up and go Eames. The lounge chair is almost impossible to beat in a living room situation. You can find the molded plastic chairs with a leather coating at University Surpluses (public universities in texas is my reference)...they for some reason have a bunch of them from the 70's and 80's. I got 5 without arm rests and 3 with arm rests that way...unfortunately not with the eiffel base, they spin however and that can be fun at parties.
I don't care how cheesy it is, the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in, by far, was the Womb Chair. If you have a few grand lying around, I'd go with that.
The Eames lounge is a bit cold for my taste -- literally, cold to the touch. I'm not a fan of slippy-slidy leather. If I fall asleep while reading I like the book to stick nearby.
not to hijack this thread, but if anyone knows of any affordable, reasonably attractive desk chairs that are good for posture, I'd love to hear of them.
oo, nice. thanks, switch. it looks a bit more attractive than the Aeron chair, perhaps easier for my desk to accommodate, and definitely more affordable. spot on!
finally a thread i actually can contribute something to....
i have (or had) all of the following and will just rank them per my taste (a 6' male who tends to get restless in anything after a while). i'm quite sure different body types will have different experiences.
hans wegner - the 'papa bear' chair. by far the best i've owned. we picked it and an ottoman up for 50 bucks in boston and had it recovered with a knoll boucle. i've sat in an ox chair many times as well. both are great because you can shift positions a lot and it just works. expect to pay through the nose if you buy them new, although modernica sells knock offs of both (i believe).
bertoia bird chair - pretty good, definitely non-slouch. your butt sits pretty far back though, so it's hard to sit in it and watch tv (for example) without having to crane your neck forward some. a pretty good reading chair though.
womb chair - i'm just not that big a fan of it sitting wise. not structured enough sitting area. we got rid of ours after a couple years.
eames lounge - another one i love the design on but we jettisoned when we left boston. problem for me was the back hit my shoulder blades. like the bird, you're sitting so far back it's hard to sit in it and crane your neck up.
peter hvidt - some chair we found of his -it's in the oda book on danish design. swoopy rail arms and cushioned seats. we had to recreate the seat cushions but it works pretty well as a living room type chair. i can't stay in it too long though.
others i've had a lot of time with but haven't owned...
pierre paulin slice chair - these are on my covet list. love the look, love the fit, love the feel. you can get them new for around 1600 each, less if you go the modernica route. i don't think they work well for people who have issues getting up or out of a chair, but once your're in...
the barcelona chair and tugendhat chairs by mies - for my money, the tugendhat chair is far superior from an actual use position. knoll made a few waaaay back when, so some are available on the antique market. i hear there's a firm in brooklyn who makes them to order, off the original knoll specs. the barcelona just doesn't do it for me at all.
ed wormley - the chaise. dunbar is reproducing this design - maybe the best chaise lounge ever made. expensive as hell and worth every penny.
vermelha chair - campana brothers: i wanted to hate on this the first time i saw it, but it fulfills what your criteria asks for and it may be the best chair of recent design that i've sat in. not sure what they run...
lastly (for now) - the 'mr. impossible' chair by phillipe starck. again, i really wanted to hate this chair, but for a non-slouch posture (and definitely for being a plastic chair), it really works. kartell has just started shipping these.
50 bucks for the 'papa bear & ottoman' ? quite a treasure find - wish i had that kinda luck.
really like my eames lounge & ottoman, got it new for 40% off from Herman Miller years ago (they still give great discounts to architects/designers as far as i know); niece enjoys spinning around in it, guests enjoy falling asleep in it, too.
wouldn't mind having the ox chair & otto in my house...a little pricey, but maybe a used one will pop up somewhere with some luck.
50 bucks was a steal. funny thing is, we went over to this person's house because they were advertising a danish sofa. when she mentioned she'd sell the chair (we clearly weren't interested in the sofa), it took everything i had to not jump up and down on the spot. it was in horrible shape - it had been recovered in a pink velvet, the foam was in bad shape, etc. we still ended up putting 8-900 into it to have it redone properly...
An easy and cheap relese ; if it is a chair with only seat and back and the back can be rotated frim vertical to horisontal, -- do that turn the chair 180 deg. around --- not upside dovn, just rotated, --- now try sit "backwerds" on it resting your arms on the back seat.
Try it.
I think I have to look for a new chair that is better for my back. When I sit on it for more than two or three hours my back starts to hurt. Either I don't sit in a good position or the chair is not the best one for me. Probably both things work together and that's torturing my poor back. The Herman Miller chairs look interesting, I will check them out.
y chair just kinda broke (the bottom side literally snapped, proll due to extended lean pressure..) and am in need of a good one. I have an Amazon credit I would like to use. Looking for something super comfortable under $200 from Amazon
Feb 16, 18 9:49 am ·
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Cool chairs that are good for your back?
I have an Aeron chair and it's brilliant to sit in. If I don't want one of these in my living room, what other choices are there?
LIke a lot architects, I feel somedays like I am turning into Quasimodo.
Do you know of any cool chairs that are good for your back and won't look like office furniture in your living room?
Or should I try to make one?
it's been done, but they are cheap and will help your body.
Just to clarify, you're looking for a chair for the living room, correct?
Do you want a (comfy) armchair? Or are you actually looking for a desk chair you could put in your living room?
Give me a budget and I will be glad to list some of my favorites.
Something that's good for your back...
a non-slouch chair that looks good in the living room.
Don't try to make one if you want a chair for ergonomics unless you are ready to many MANY prototypes, chairs are one of the hardest things to design. What looks good usually doesn't feel good and what feels good most of the time looks like crap.
Just save up and go Eames. The lounge chair is almost impossible to beat in a living room situation. You can find the molded plastic chairs with a leather coating at University Surpluses (public universities in texas is my reference)...they for some reason have a bunch of them from the 70's and 80's. I got 5 without arm rests and 3 with arm rests that way...unfortunately not with the eiffel base, they spin however and that can be fun at parties.
I don't care how cheesy it is, the most comfortable chair I've ever sat in, by far, was the Womb Chair. If you have a few grand lying around, I'd go with that.
The Eames lounge is a bit cold for my taste -- literally, cold to the touch. I'm not a fan of slippy-slidy leather. If I fall asleep while reading I like the book to stick nearby.
Here are a few of my favorites...
Slow Chair by the Bouroullec brothers for Vitra
http://www.vitra.com/en-gb/home/products/slow-chair/gallery/#
Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll
Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair for Herman Miller
Bird Lounge Chair by Harry Bertoia for Knoll
Low Pad by Jasper Morrison for Cappellini
-----
All of the above also have tons of options in terms of color/material/etc - especially the knoll and herman miller chairs.
Ah, I could talk about chairs all day.
not to hijack this thread, but if anyone knows of any affordable, reasonably attractive desk chairs that are good for posture, I'd love to hear of them.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/ProductGroup.aspx?Prodid=11300479&whse=BC&topnav=
Herman Miller Caper Chair at.....costco! $329 w/free shipping
(above post was @FrankLloydMike)
oo, nice. thanks, switch. it looks a bit more attractive than the Aeron chair, perhaps easier for my desk to accommodate, and definitely more affordable. spot on!
I have an Aeron at work, but usually I take one of the Caper chairs from the breakout space b/c I find them much more comfortable.
Side note: The Caper is on sale at DWR for $237.15.
juhl or wegner...can't go wrong with their arm chairs. they'll kick anyone's living room up a notch.
http://www.denmark50.com/designers/07a.html
make -
finally a thread i actually can contribute something to....
i have (or had) all of the following and will just rank them per my taste (a 6' male who tends to get restless in anything after a while). i'm quite sure different body types will have different experiences.
hans wegner - the 'papa bear' chair. by far the best i've owned. we picked it and an ottoman up for 50 bucks in boston and had it recovered with a knoll boucle. i've sat in an ox chair many times as well. both are great because you can shift positions a lot and it just works. expect to pay through the nose if you buy them new, although modernica sells knock offs of both (i believe).
bertoia bird chair - pretty good, definitely non-slouch. your butt sits pretty far back though, so it's hard to sit in it and watch tv (for example) without having to crane your neck forward some. a pretty good reading chair though.
womb chair - i'm just not that big a fan of it sitting wise. not structured enough sitting area. we got rid of ours after a couple years.
eames lounge - another one i love the design on but we jettisoned when we left boston. problem for me was the back hit my shoulder blades. like the bird, you're sitting so far back it's hard to sit in it and crane your neck up.
peter hvidt - some chair we found of his -it's in the oda book on danish design. swoopy rail arms and cushioned seats. we had to recreate the seat cushions but it works pretty well as a living room type chair. i can't stay in it too long though.
others i've had a lot of time with but haven't owned...
pierre paulin slice chair - these are on my covet list. love the look, love the fit, love the feel. you can get them new for around 1600 each, less if you go the modernica route. i don't think they work well for people who have issues getting up or out of a chair, but once your're in...
the barcelona chair and tugendhat chairs by mies - for my money, the tugendhat chair is far superior from an actual use position. knoll made a few waaaay back when, so some are available on the antique market. i hear there's a firm in brooklyn who makes them to order, off the original knoll specs. the barcelona just doesn't do it for me at all.
ed wormley - the chaise. dunbar is reproducing this design - maybe the best chaise lounge ever made. expensive as hell and worth every penny.
vermelha chair - campana brothers: i wanted to hate on this the first time i saw it, but it fulfills what your criteria asks for and it may be the best chair of recent design that i've sat in. not sure what they run...
lastly (for now) - the 'mr. impossible' chair by phillipe starck. again, i really wanted to hate this chair, but for a non-slouch posture (and definitely for being a plastic chair), it really works. kartell has just started shipping these.
o...
50 bucks for the 'papa bear & ottoman' ? quite a treasure find - wish i had that kinda luck.
really like my eames lounge & ottoman, got it new for 40% off from Herman Miller years ago (they still give great discounts to architects/designers as far as i know); niece enjoys spinning around in it, guests enjoy falling asleep in it, too.
wouldn't mind having the ox chair & otto in my house...a little pricey, but maybe a used one will pop up somewhere with some luck.
50 bucks was a steal. funny thing is, we went over to this person's house because they were advertising a danish sofa. when she mentioned she'd sell the chair (we clearly weren't interested in the sofa), it took everything i had to not jump up and down on the spot. it was in horrible shape - it had been recovered in a pink velvet, the foam was in bad shape, etc. we still ended up putting 8-900 into it to have it redone properly...
...$900 is still less than $4 to 7K (used), more for new, and a lot more for an original (as much as $14K at auctions) in good condition.
talk about a return in investment.
how a Kosuth three and one chair...
xaia, that Juhl desk is beautiful.
An easy and cheap relese ; if it is a chair with only seat and back and the back can be rotated frim vertical to horisontal, -- do that turn the chair 180 deg. around --- not upside dovn, just rotated, --- now try sit "backwerds" on it resting your arms on the back seat.
Try it.
What I suggest would work with this type og chair, case the back seat can be turned horisontal , then sit like this backwerds ;
Here a cheap chair that is like the type of chair that offer this trick;
Not as good as the way it shuld be, like here, but a relive ;
But some plain office chairs can be adjusted so the seats are in yhat posision,
I think I have to look for a new chair that is better for my back. When I sit on it for more than two or three hours my back starts to hurt. Either I don't sit in a good position or the chair is not the best one for me. Probably both things work together and that's torturing my poor back. The Herman Miller chairs look interesting, I will check them out.
michelle, can find less expensive aeron chairs on ebay, and up to 40% off from herman miller if you are an architect or designer as noted.
flm - yeah, juhl desk is pretty nice. makes a great contrast piece next to the inflatable.
y chair just kinda broke (the bottom side literally snapped, proll due to extended lean pressure..) and am in need of a good one. I have an Amazon credit I would like to use. Looking for something super comfortable under $200 from Amazon
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