When it comes to office chairs it usually means function over form. Frankly, it’s such a boring but necessary thing to buy. We have all committed the crime of giving up on style in the office when it comes to chairs and just end up running to the local office supply store to buy an affordable, albeit comfortable option, that makes you embarrassed to call yourself a creative.
But, just because slews of stylish office chairs aren’t being introduced to the market every day or gracing the cover of the September issue of Vogue doesn’t mean they aren’t out there, waiting to be pranced around, twirled in and shown off on the (red) carpet.
We recently used this little leather number in a moody office project we finished up, and below we went with an always classic white and copper combo for our studio. And because we couldn’t just find two pretty ones and call it a day we have pulled together 54 below at all different price points, styles and sizes. FIFTY FOUR. That’s a lot of butts in seats.
A few tips before you start clicking through:
If you get an arm-chair make sure that the chair can go up or down so that you can fit it under your desk. Otherwise you might run into the issue of both not being able to push it under when it is not in use and being too far away from your desk when you are working. Also be mindful of wheels on your chair. If you are constantly getting up and down then something with wheels will be a much friendlier option for you than to trying to scoot yourself in and out every few minutes.
1. Dark Gray Pitch Rolling Chair | 2. Bentwood Office Chair | 3. Rouka Office Chair | 4. Black Leander Swivel Office Chair | 5. Cooper Mid Century Leather Office Chair | 6. Helvetica Upholstered Office Chair | 7. Saddle Office Chair | 8. Orwell Desk Chair | 9. White Emerson Office Chair | 10. Cartwright Italian Leather Desk Chair | 11. Soho Desk Chair | 12. Bentwood Office Chair | 13. ÖRFJÄLL / SPORREN | 14. Toledo Desk Chair | 15. FJÄLLBERGET | 16. Form White Office Chair | 17. VÅGSBERG / SPORREN | 18. Nash Leather Executive Swivel Desk Chair | 19. Remix Side Chair | 20. Waller Woven Office Chair | 21. Pacifica Desk Chair | 22. South Shore Clear Acrylic Office Chair | 23. Mid Back Desk Chair | 24. Vintage Toledo Chair | 25. Low Back Armless Swivel Task Chair | 26. Pike Office Chair | 27. Slope Leather Office Chair | 28. Tenley Office Chair | 29. Dark Blue Pitch Rolling Chair | 30. Black Leather Chair | 31. Sand Beige Office Chair | 32. Rylan Desk Chair | 33. Teaberry Lane Desk Chair | 34. Saddle Slope Leather Office Chair | 35. Griffith Fabric Desk Chair | 36. Wethersfield Estate Desk Chair | 37. Azure Mid Back Desk Chair | 38. Helvetica High Back Upholstered Office Chair | 39. Madison Leather Accent Chair | 40. KULLABERG | 41. Rose Gold & White Italian Leather Office Chair | 42. LÅNGFJÄLL | 43. Airgo Swivel Desk Chair | 44. Arlo Desk Chair | 45. Liam Desk Chair | 46. Chartreuse Office Chair | 47. Alessandro Desk Chair | 48. Coup Grey Office Chair | 49. WhiteTeaberry Lane Desk Chair | 50. Alessa Velvet Desk Chair | 51. Mad Snakeskin Office Chair | 52. Serta Leighton Mid Back Desk Chair | 53. Kalmar Desk Chair | 54. Montgomery Mid Back Desk Chair
Have you guys tried any of these out before, or are there any that you love? Let us know below in the comments.
***Moody Office photography by Zeke Ruelas, Our Studio & Brian’s Office photography by Tessa Neustadt
EVERY time I love something from your roundups, it’s from west elm. Maybe because they all have that “thing” below them (oh, my great vocabulary!) that I love… I wish I could find something similar in Buenos Aires! (I’m speaking about number 7 in particular, and by “thing” I mean that additional horizontal wood like in here: http://www.westelm.com/products/mid-century-console-large-h414/?cm_src=PIPRecentView)
Emily you read my mind – we just redecorated the home office and need new chairs! Great round up! I have sat in the Ikea one before (#15), and although it looks good, I found it super uncomfortable – the back dug in just below my your shoulder blades. Might work if it’s for light use, but I’d definitely try to sit in it before buying if it’s one you plan to spend any significant amount of time in.
Ooh good to know. xx
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I just bought an office chair last week for my new apartment and I’m excited to see it made the list (#15!). Love these roundup posts!
Love the west elm option and the pteen (wish that was available when I bought my office chair!)
http://www.shopthecoconutroom.com
I’ve had #7 (the West Elm saddle chair) for 3 years now and I still LOVE it. No wheels, but the swivel seat enables me to stand up with scooting the chair. Very worth the money. And it’s so beautiful and classic.
Oh. Thanks! I was only considering wheeled options but you’ve given me more options.
I have always loved the look of this chair, great to know that it swivels!
How comfortable is it? Can you sit for many hours a day? I have struggled to find an attractive and comfortable chair that can hold up to 12 hours of chair time most days. That west elm chair is beautiful and i love a swivel seat 🙂 Thanks!!
I love this round up! I feel like you should make a disclaimer though. Many of these chairs are not meant for working for long hours at a time. There’s a reason why functional but “ugly” chairs like the Aeron chair are so pervasive in work environments—they’re ergonomic and provide proper back support so you don’t end up with bad back pain. Believe me, I wish they were much cuter, but there are times when function SHOULD come before form. Chairs #14, 15, 16, 17, 26, and 33 absolutely shouldn’t be purchased if you expect to spend more than an hour or so with your butt glued to it. Like I said, I love this round up, and I think all of these chairs have a time and place depending on how you expect to use your chair (shoot off some emails vs. 8-hour marathon work session).
Hi Melissa, I very much agree with you. Eight years of running the operations of a property management company confirmed this for me. I tried out numerous office chairs over the years. I finally decided that for me a slimline armchair was the way to go. My back, arms, and shoulders thanked me for it. Cheers, Ardith
Emily,
I love this round-up! These are great options for my desk at home where I do emails and etc. So many good and beautiful choices.
Ardith & Melissa,
Do you have any suggestions for a decent office chair where you DO spend hours in it? I looked up the Aeron chair – thanks! Any other great ones out there?
Liz,
I agree wholeheartedly with Melissa – the chairs listed above are beautiful (thank you for the wonderful round-up, EH team!!), but most will not work as an 8-hr-a-day office chair. In addition to the Aeron chair from Herman Miller, you should check out companies like Steelcase, Haworth, and Knoll for high-quality ergonomic chairs. Not all ergonomic chairs are ugly, I promise!
And, even though stylish new chairs (and tons of other contract and residential design offerings) aren’t introduced every day…they ARE debuted once a year at the NEOCON design trade show in Chicago. It’s to-the-trade only, but the EH design team should check it out. It’s pretty amazing 😉
I’m with you on the issues of comfort and health. You can really mess up your back with the wrong chair.
Agreed! I’m in desperate need of a new office chair but I need one I can sit in for 5 hours, and most of these look like they’re more for show than function. I feel like it’s a roundup of “walking” shoes that are all just really pretty high heels.
I have an Aero chair, too. It’s not pretty. But it’s much better for my back than my Ikea Patrik was (which was so much prettier, but alas…)
I also have a steelcase buoyi wobble chair.
It’s great to alternate with that, it’s not for hours, but it’s better for my slouchy posture.
https://www.allmodern.com/Steelcase-Turnstone-by-Steelcase-Desk-Chair-BUOY-L10-K~SCA1422.html?refid=GX87243740596-SCA1422&device=c&ptid=153162251580&targetid=pla-153162251580&gclid=Cj0KEQiAot_FBRCqt8jVsoDKoZABEiQAqFL76Hbq6IocDnoKIN7c7Tm4131EvdLI8bg9B56jWBBwSOIaAjyM8P8HAQ
Completely agree! I work full-time from home doing all computer work, and if I don’t have an adjustable arm-rest for my “mousing” arm, I would be cramped up and sore very quickly. Ergonomics are very important.
I agree with the need for a good chair if you’re sitting a long time. My husband and I each have Mirra chairs from Herman Miller. They aren’t cheap but we got lucky and got one on sale at a DWR store model sale. We’ve had them at least 10 years and they are still great. My husband spends at least 8 hours per day in his and has no complaints. Personally the look doesn’t bug me because our office is a separate room. Function over form for me when it comes to extended time at a desk.
Function over form for me as well. I also have an Aeron chair, and I also have separate office to make sure this doesn’t destroy the look of my other rooms. Unfortunately home offices where you actually work for hours tend to be ugly, for reasons such as books, papers, printers. I still haven’t figured out how to stay organized in a small office where I use many resources daily.
Steelcase might be more stylish than Herman Miller. Yes it’s expensive, but back problems can be even more expensive. And it’s just like an expensive computer you need for work, printer, shelving, cameras, software, subscriptions, and many other things. It’s an expense.
Best ergonomic chair I ever sat in was the Knoll Generation chair at neocon several years ago. Dumb name great chair. The one I have now is the skate chair from Staples. My workplace got them for everybody and we all seem to really like them. I’m in mine 55+ hours a week and no back problems. If sitting is the new smoking I’m a 2 pack a day sitter… :/
Whoa!!!!!
This is just what i needed.
I just got my daughter an oak roll top vintage desk…. No lower drawers all open under the desk.
Her room is like the tween room you did.
Any thoughts on the chair?
Unfortunately the France and Son chair, #36 is $595 not $249.
I currently have #7. I LOVED it in store, and LOVE the design, but HATE sitting in it. So I’m on the search for a new one!! My biggest problem is that I want both heigh adjustment AND tilt adjustment (because I want to sit upright in a chair while working on my laptop, not leaning back as if I’m relaxing in front of a movie). The combination of the two makes finding an aesthetically pleasing chair SO HARD!!! But I think I have a few contenders now, thanks to this list!!
Just a suggestion for the future, but maybe break these out into three groups: Best under $100, Best under $300, and Best over $300. It’s a lot of scrolling up and down to compare one chair to another otherwise. I do love the content here and these roundup-type posts.
This. Or maybe they could simply be listed in ascending order of price.
I have the gray office chair from Target pictured in your first photo. It’s stylish, nicely sized and very comfortable. The wheels rotate and glide seamlessly. The best part is that my feline’s sweet, furry body aligns perfectly into the back curvature of the chair, whilst still giving me (barely) enough room to sit in the front. A happy and productive work day is working “cheek to cheek” with your best friend”!
Will you please share the link for the chairs? I can’t find the chair anywhere on the website and it would be a lovely addition to my office!
Yes, please! I can’t seem to find where the link is for those chairs within this post. I searched the Target site, too, and got nada!
I bought it, too. Sadly, it’s not available anymore.
I have #7 from West Elm. Loved the look of it and obsessed over it for ages before I pulled the trigger.. and now I regret it. It’s probably ok if you’re going to sit in it for an hour or two/day but I telework full time so I’m in that thing for most of the day and it’s obvious that the padding isn’t great quality.
Really wish I could’ve tried out my office chair before purchasing – it’s not at all comfortable on the butt (but with a back there are at least no butt cracks).
Thank you for this, Emily! I’ve been eyeing #34 for a while. It’s so comfortable… just waiting for it to go on sale.
I fell IN LOVE with that Lars Dining table when I read the post about the office. I was looking for a new dining table, and I knew instantly it was the one, so I pulled the trigger. Now I’m having the same dining chair dilemma that you’re having!
The Ikea patrik office chair is actually very nice!
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80068166/
We have one of those in a dark gray, and it’s held up for almost 10 years now.
I got an Aero for free (!) so while it’s ugly, it’s such a quality office chair, I do that now…
And a hilarious Turnstone Buoy wobble chair, that I alternate with the Aero,
I got it in white & dark gray. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s supposed to be 😀
https://www.allmodern.com/Steelcase-Turnstone-by-Steelcase-Desk-Chair-BUOY-L10-K~SCA1422.html
I am very glad to see some options from Pottery Barn, since I always lean toward their style. I’m surprised, though, that nothing from Ballard Designs made your list. Maybe they’re too traditional? I haven’t pulled the trigger on one yet because they’re pricey BUT many of them have over 200 fabric options for a totally custom looking desk chair — they definitely look like furniture and not boring office supply store chairs. Just saying.
#18 in Sunbrella fabric is on sale for $359. It’s ergonomically designed and has extra padding in the lumbar region.
Thank you, Thank you. I have needed an office chair, but not at all inspired by what I have seen. I think 35 or 37 will do very nicely in a Florida apartment.
Great topic – very helpful – thanks so much! I noticed the Ikea chairs don’t have wheels – do you happen to know if they can be retrofit with casters? It’s not obvious on their website, but I know somethings their furniture can be effectively “hacked.”
The main issue i’ve found with designer chairs is lack of comfort, even though they look cool. Which one would you suggest that does both?
Your roundups are Epic and I want to thank you because I use them all the time. Desk chairs’ are tricky and these are all great for a home office with minimal use. I still love that vintage brass/regency one you used recently. Honestly, most of my work is done on the sofa with a my laptop on my lap.
I have #2 from West Elm. It’s gorgeous, but THE WORST for working all day. It slants forward, so you constantly feel like you’re sliding off the chair. There isn’t any adjustment to tilt it forward or backward, so you’re just stuck with constantly standing up and sitting back down, or curling into a fetal ball and destroying your back. Gorgeous, but definitely not a full-time chair!
That said, thanks for rounding these up! Fingers crossed my future chair is in here somewhere!
whoa whoa whoa where was this awesome round up 6 months ago when I needed a new office chair? I am blown away by your finds; I really struggled to find something that fit my aesthetic, but could work as an office and sewing chair in my multi-function space. I ended up working with BoConcept on a custom chair from one of their dining room chair shapes, and I love it! Its quirky but still functional and I love that I was able to pick the color and fabric from their showroom. I highlighted it on the full post here:
http://thestylesafari.com/designing-custom-office-chair-boconcept/
Thanks for this post Emily and Team!
-Stefanie
Will you please share the link for the Target grey chair in your office? I can’t find the chair anywhere on the website and it would be a lovely addition to my office!
Not on your list, but I like the swivel desk chair by Land of Nod. I bought it because I’m short, and it’s one of the few chairs I’ve found that will lower the seat to under 16″. I hook a pillow sham + pillow over the back for padding and color (though they recently started making it in different colors/ metals), and it works great.
thanks for your good web
My Serta Leighton arrives tomorrow, thank you! By the way, did you know Wayfair has a business program? I thought it would be limited to those in the interiors industry, but it’s not — as long as you’re purchasing for a business, even if it’s just you in your home, you can get the business discount. It saved me a little over $10, but hey, I’ll take it!