OK, I tried sitting on a ball and ended up buying an expensive chair. Well, two...we both work from home a fair bit and have a lovely home office. My 2nd grader sits on a ball all day and loves it. Me, I'm too lazy for this.

The Eames chairs are fantastic. Go for it. We got a different chair, the Knoll Sayl chair, which everyone that sits in says "aaaaah." Go sit in a lot of chairs first. It's worth it to get a good chair, it really is.

There are knock-offs of that Eames chair if it's the look more than the Herman Miller quality that draws you in. Z Gallerie has one for about $250. The arm is not a complete circle, and the mechanism is a bit different, and it is vinyl. I would check out the quality of both, particularly the casters. I have one of the knock-offs and after about two years broke one of the caster wheels (just a hollow molded plastic). I'm sure I can order replacements somewhere, but for the time being have pulled one of formerly-exiled puffy black chairs into the room.

Angc,

I am looking for the same thing and for the same reasons. I have a very nice tufted high back swivel leather office chair. I got it years ago for its old world look. It says "Laurent leather' on it.

I think i need to forgeo from and go ergonomic. I don't want to spend over $1000 per chair ( we have a double office).

Your faves?

We each have a desktop and there's no way I could use that chair because of the arms. I have to rest my forearm on the molded chair arm while using the mouse. Isn't that the ergonomical way??
I think you need to find a store that specializes in office furniture....not office depot.....and try out different chairs. We bought ours from such a place and have had it 14 years. Only recently have the arm pads needed replacing.

I've linked the brand that ours is and I'm pretty sure we have the Chiroform Midback model.
If you want to see a variety of chairs.......check out Youtube.

Here is a link that might be useful: office chairs

Before you fall totally in love, get thy arse to a store and sit in it. DH too.

I was ready to give in and get a very expensive Eames lounge chair about 7 years ago for my DH's music-listening set-up. We drove four hours to visit it and lo and behold, it was wicked uncomfortable. I found another Herman Miller office chair on CL a while back (different design) and really did not find it all that comfortable, even for a terrific price.

All that said, I just splurged on two Hans Wegner chairs and, despite their heirloom price tag, I couldn't be happier. So, when it's right, it's right!

We had two Eames knock-offs and they lasted 2 years before they fell apart. Don't fall for that.

They aren't very attractive, but you can get a ball chair from Amazon

One of our friends had one of those ball chairs. I tried it several times and found it uncomfortable for longtime use. By that, I mean sitting on it for over 20 minutes at a time. It may just be me, but I didn't care for it . . . plus, I think that they're just plain UGLY . . . kind of like those spring shoes (LOL)!
Lynn

That particular office chair found a little "flat" from side to side. These are starting to be used more as hip dining chairs, I think, because you don't sit on them as long. I think the bar for comfort has been raised in each generation. These were an improvement over their predecessors but there are much better, now.

At less than this price point I would look at something along the lines of the Aeron chair also Herman Miller, but a true office chair that comes in three sizes and is very adjustable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Herman Miller Aeron Chair

So sorry long in getting back to the thread. So the Eames is an old design? It does have a retro look. I would think ergonomics have improved alot even just in the past couple of decades.
DH actually tried the ball chair thing. It was a disaster. I know it's great for your core, but I hated it too. My daughter was the only one who could sit there for more than a few minutes.
We haven't sat in the Eames chair, which we would definitely do first. I can't imagine a $2000 chair *not* being comfortable! Actually, I know price and comfort often do not go hand in hand.
I don't like the look of the Aeon chairs. They look like evil robot dentist chairs (smile), but they do seem to have much more adjustability and support than the Eames. I guess that that price point, I want the chair to be crazy comfortable, incredibly sturdy, and gorgeous.
I do need to head to a commercial office warehouse so we can test out dozens of chairs rather than the 2-5 in most stores.

Does anyone have an Areon or the Eames chair?

A company I worked for had the Aeron chairs in an attempt to be hip. I found them to be very adjustable, but I could never adjust the chair to be comfortable. They do look hip, as long as you don't have to sit in them for any length of time and you can look at them from across the room.

I suppose that makes them ergonomically correct, since you HAVE to get up and walk around to work the aches out, thus preventing blood clots in your legs.

i have a knock-off from Staples. It only came in black though, at least at the time I bought it. I think it was under $200. It's quite comfortable!

But, it doesn't get a lot of use, so can't comment on how it would hold up to heavy duty use.

I can totally sympathize with wanting the real thing. I want 2 Knoll Barcelona chairs and ottomans for my living room - which would cost me in the $16,000 range!

someday...

I've had the Aeron at work too, and found them to be too hard to get right. Almost too many choices, you know?

We narrowed it down to the Knoll Sayl chair (which we bought), which they have at many DWR stores along with the Eames chair you like. We also considered the Steelcase Think, which they have at Crate and Barrel, and the Herman Miller Embody, which is insanely comfortable and easy to adjust.

Buy a good chair, it's worth the investment.

I have a Haworth Very task chair, which run about $700-950. It's similar to the Aeron in adjustablility and ergonomics, but I find it much more comfortable and a lot more attractive.

An Aeron chair that is the correct size (it comes in three sizes) for you and that is properly adjusted for you will be more comfortable than the Eames chair.

I use an Aeron chair at my desk, and the Eames Aluminum Group chairs (without arms, without tilt, with swivel) that have the new Cygnus mesh seats as dining room chairs.

Buy from a dealer that supplies businesses. The dealers that sell to consumers are sometimes sufficiently dimwitted to allow FedEx Ground to leave your chairs in the driveway. Two of my Eames chairs were delivered that way. One of the boxes was so badly damaged that anyone driving by would think they were empty boxes being prepared for recycling. Neither chair was damaged.

I had an Aeron chair at a former job and loved it. The managing partner bought them after sitting on an associates's chair and declaring it a crime that they made us sit in those for 70 hour weeks. It 'kind of' made up for the long days.

I currently have an Embody chair at my home office and love it. It is made by one of the same creators as the Aeron.

Here is a link that might be useful: Embody

Regardless of which chair you decide to buy, you might enjoy this film:

Here is a link that might be useful: The Aluminum Chair, by Eames Demetrios

I have a Recaro leather office chair, from the same company that makes race car seats. It was expensive and I bought it when living abroad, so I'm not sure what they cost today in the US. I find it very comfortable, but my DH doesn't!! You have to try out any office chair before you buy it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recaro office chair

I don't know if this helps you but I saw an ad for Design Within Reach and they are having a sale from 11/23-12/12. According to the ad, the Eames aluminum management chair is included in the sale.

I don't know anything about the store but others here are familiar with them. They have multiple locations across the US. The website is dwr(dot)com.

The ad was in the 11/6/11 NYTimes Style magazine.

We're going to try the Steelcase Think chair. The thing that worries me about the Aeron is it takes a lot to get it adjusted perfectly for it's user and we have a few people who will use the chair. The Think adjusts to the sitter which no adjustments. It's also pretty cool looking, not too bulky. I was also referred to an office surplus and 2nd hand warehouse nearby, so hopefully we can find a deal. Regardless, a new Think is half the price of the Eames, and more highly rated.
Does anyone have experience with Think?

I sat in the Think and it was very comfortable. The most comfortable one was the Embody, but it was too expensive and I wasn't all that wild about how it looked.

My all-time favorite desk chair for comfort is the Knoll Pollock chair. I have a Steelcase version that is upholstered in fabric that I have been using for over 20 years. I bought it used for $15.

Don't know where you are, but at least near Boston there is an office furniture place with vintage Eames chairs at great prices.

OMG No I would not pay $2000 for an office chair, and that one looks terribly uncomfortable to me! My DH just converted his desk to a standing desk - better for you, and no chair to worry about.

Ikea has a number of good quality office chairs with different looks.

I have tested the Ikea office chairs and can't imagine sitting on them for any length of time.

this is a 1.5 year old thread revived by a spammer...spam has been removed, but that's why it's showing up.

If there's a Healthy Back store near you, it's worth checking out. I bought an office chair that is great. While I can't find the name on the chair, it looks similar to one called Global Granada Office Chair. I've had it for about eight years and have no complaints at all.

Besides being comfortable and supportive, it has held up very well and still looks good. I'd buy the same again if I needed a new one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Healthy Back Store

OP here. The Eames chair wasn't an option in the end. No local store had it and most if the reviews were not enthusiastic. We ended up with a $700 Think chair from Steelcase. I was able to sit in about a hundred chairs at an commercial office supply store. The Think looks fabulous and you don't need to be an engineer to adjust the darn thing! It also has a lifetime warranty, but after a year it sits like new. DH would have destroyed his big box store chair by now.

Rediculous! for that amt of $$$$ it should give you a total body massage and pump out a nice cup of java. Besides it's ugly.

If anyones still shopping for decent office chair I'd recommend checking out a swingchair. Hubby bought me an Aeron and while it works great for him, I hated it and kept looking. For a much more reasonable price I ended up with a swingchair and my only complaint is the back has a tendency to loosen with time and change its height, doesnt matter much to me because the low back setting is perfectly comfortable and since I bought mine they may have corrected that design flaw.

Hope you got it, did't read all comments (37) here but that chair is a definite go.

It was designed c. 1958 and that it's very still popular, should say a lot.

In Design Within Reach lists for around $2450 last I saw that may say something too. Plus it should last forever. And be out-of-this-world comfortable from the start. He - its designer, Charles Eames, along with designer wife Ray to be fair, pioneered ergonomics.

Notice the black and aluminums airport chairs you've seen all your life; same mfr, same designer. they.hold up

If you get a knock off, make sure it's exact, not just the concept but in welded steel and polyester The steel welds can break and will render a bulky foot piece in any case, it's tat elegant star base that carries a lot of the visual appeal and always will. And poly can make you sweat.