How to Find the Best Home Office Chairs: An In-Depth Guide

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Barry has been working from home for about five years now. He's spent a lot of time finding the best home office products for his space. He's even ventured into the world of DIY to make sure he gets the most out of his home office! He loves sharing all of the knowledge he has amassed over the years with you!

My Top Office Chair Recommendations at a Glance

Hbada Office Task Desk Chair – This chair is perfect for those looking for an inexpensive home office chair.
Flash Furniture Office Chair – Retailing at less than $200, this is a reasonably-priced chair with excellent lumbar support.
Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Series – Consider this chair if you sit for prolonged periods.
X-Chair K-Sport Mgmt Chair – This is the most ergonomically friendly chair, offering the best lumbar support.
Steelcase Leap Office Chair – This is an ergonomic chair ideal for those looking for high adjustability.

Why a Good Home Office Chair Matters

Improves Sitting Posture

Have you ever noticed how your back and neck start aching after a prolonged work session or Zoom meeting? That’s because your sitting position may be poor, perhaps because you’re using a bad home office chair. A good chair will prevent you from hunching over or slouching at your desk.

According to Healthline, a good sitting posture is achieved when your feet rest flat on the floor, there’s even weight distribution on both hips, and your back is generally straight but with its natural lumbar and thoracic curves. Your home office chair should properly support your back to promote a good sitting posture.

Improves Productivity

With an improved sitting posture, your back, neck, and shoulder muscles will endure less stress. As a result, you’ll experience less fatigue, meaning that your concentration level will improve, allowing you to achieve more within your workday.

In fact, Healthline tells us that a poor sitting posture causes tension headaches because of muscle tension. I doubt you’d be able to do much work with these headaches – perhaps a good home office chair will solve this problem to help you become more productive.

Improved Mood

According to this research paper, a proper sitting posture was discovered to boost a positive mood. This is consistent with what this article on health.com says, that the muscle stress caused by poor sitting posture results in the feeling of tiredness and irritability.

Therefore, getting a good office chair might be the solution to your foul mood at the end of the day.

What to Consider When Buying a Home Office Chair

Chair Dimensions

A good home office chair should be able to comfortably support anyone. Unfortunately, there are seats with different dimensions, meaning that not everyone will comfortably fit in all office chairs.

Consider your body size and make sure that the chair’s depth (the seat’s length from the front to the back) as well as the width, are spacious enough for you. With the right seat dimensions, your back should rest against the chair’s backrest and leave at least four inches between the back of your knee and the seat.

Also, consider a home office chair with a backrest width of 12 to 19 inches. The chair’s height should also be adjustable – we’ve talked more about adjustability below.

Adjustability

As standard, office chairs have height adjustability of 16 to 21 inches from the ground to accommodate users of different heights.

The chair’s backrest should also have a forward or backward tilt adjustment, allowing you to change its angle to your specific requirements. Make sure that the backrest’s angle can be locked in place to ensure that you don’t have to constantly adjust the settings.

In chairs that have an independent backrest, you should be able to also adjust the backrest’s height. However, these office chairs cost more than those with a single piece for the backrest and seat. Still, these are excellent chairs for lumbar support since you can configure the curve on the backrest to align with your back’s natural curve.

Also, consider a chair with adjustable armrests (both height and width), allowing you to find the most comfortable position for your shoulders. Your elbows should be just above the armrests when your arms are relaxed.

A good home office chair should be easy to adjust while you’re seated so avoid any chair with an adjustment mechanism that’s hard to use. Ensure that the knob or lever for adjustment is within easy reach while in a sitting position.

Highly adjustable office chairs are considered ergonomic. According to the Occupational Hazard and Safety Administration (OSHA), ergonomics means fitting a job to a person to reduce muscle fatigue. An ergonomic home office chair, therefore, can be adjusted to fit your body for utmost comfort while working.

Build Quality

Consider a home office chair that’s built with comfort and durability in mind. The chair’s base can be made of steel, aluminum, or polypropylene. The most durable of the three is steel but it’s also the heaviest.

Heavier users should consider chairs with a steel base as they have a high weight threshold. Aluminum is also durable and it’s lighter than steel. This material is a fine balance between durability and portability. The most affordable option is a polypropylene- base home office chair, however, these aren’t as durable as steel and aluminum.

Also, the user weight capacity for polypropylene is lower. I would recommend looking for a chair with either a steel or aluminum base.

The chair cylinder links the seat to the base and it’s the part that allows the chair’s height adjustability. It needs to be durable enough to support the weight of the seat. Therefore, a good home office chair should have a cylinder that’s made of premium metal like aluminum.

The seat and armrests should have rounded edges as well as thick padding for extra comfort. The backrest, on the other hand, can be made of mesh material for breathability, padded upholstery, or even plastic.

Again, ensure that the backrest aligns with your back’s natural curve and that it’s strong enough to hold your weight when you sit back or recline.

Your Budget

There are office chairs for as low as $100 and as high as over $1000. The price of the chair depends on the materials used, adjustability, and design, among others. As you’ll see on our list of home office chair recommendations, the best chair for you doesn’t have to be the most expensive.

Decide how much you’re willing to spend and that should help narrow down your options. However, if your budget is on the lower end, you might have to forego some features like premium upholstery and height-adjustable backrests among others. Thankfully, there are good office chairs at all price points.

Warranty

The minimum warranty you can get for a home office chair is 1 year. However, some manufacturers offer three-year, five-year, seven-year, twelve-year, and even lifetime warranties. Consider a chair with a long warranty period as this is an assurance of the durability of the product.

Selection Criteria of Recommended Home Office Chairs

Adjustability – I only considered home office chairs that are adjustable enough to accommodate users of different sizes. The chairs also need to have a tilting mechanism to offer different sitting positions.
Ergonomics – The chairs on this list are ergonomically designed, allowing the user to remain comfortable for prolonged periods.
Durability – The recommended models have either steel or aluminum bases as well as strong cylinders to support hours of sitting.
Price – I’ve picked the best chairs for buyers with different budgets. So, there are both inexpensive and premium chairs on the list below.

5 Recommended Home Office Chairs

Hbada Office Task Desk Chair

Depending on where you buy it, this office chair can cost anywhere from $100 to $150, perhaps even cheaper if there’s a sale. This makes Hbada’s office chair the best for you if you’re on a tight budget. Despite its low price, it offers a lot of attractive features that make it easy to recommend.

First, this office chair is height adjustable from about 17 inches to 21 inches. This makes it ideal for people of varying heights and weights. In fact, the Hbada office chair can support up to 250 pounds (113 kgs). The armrests aren’t adjustable by width, however, you can flip them up if you don’t need them.

The backrest is designed to curve with your lower back but, sadly, you can’t adjust the backrest’s height independently to properly align it to your spine. Still, this isn’t an issue at this chair’s price point.

Main Features

The Hbada office chair has an ergonomic backrest curve.
It has a mesh back for breathability.
The chair has a five-caster base.
Its height is adjustable from 17 inches to 21 inches.
Its armrests can be flipped up by 90 degrees.
The chair can recline by 120 degrees.
It can support up to 250 pounds.

Pros

This is an affordable home office chair.
You can flip up the armrests if you need more width space.
The Hbada office chair has an ergonomic backrest design.

Cons

You can’t lock its recline angle in place, it only tilts when you lean back.
The armrests aren’t height or width adjustable.

Flash Furniture Mid-Back Task Office Chair

This office chair from Flash Furniture has similar features as Hbada’s option above, but with a few differences. Let’s start with the similarities: this chair has flip-up armrests, it is height adjustable, it has a mesh back, and its backrest has a tilt feature.

This chair, however, has a slightly different backrest design although it offers mid-back support, just like Hbada’s option.

The seat’s design makes it perfect for extended sitting; it has a pronounced downward curve on the edge that Flash Furniture calls a waterfall design. This relieves pressure from your legs, especially your thigh muscles. Speaking of the seat, it is upholstered with three-inch padding for extra comfort.

If you want to jazz up your home office space, Flash furniture offers about 13 color options for this chair, so there’s definitely a design that’s perfect for you.

Related: How to Find the Best Upholstered Home Office Chairs.

Main Features

This office chair has a mesh back.
Its backrest is designed to support your mid-back.
The seat has three-inch padding.
The chair’s armrests flip up by 90 degrees.
Its height is adjustable.
Its backrest has a rocking feature that can be deactivated.
There are five dual-caster wheels at the base.
You get 13 color options.

Pros

You can flip up the armrests if you need more space.
The chair’s height is easily adjustable.
It’s reasonably priced.

Cons

There isn’t much adjustability.

Secretlab TITAN Evo 2022 Series

Designed specifically for gamers, the Secretlab Titan Evo chair’s qualities are meant for prolonged sitting periods that gaming demands. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t buy it for your home office if you aren’t a gamer; it’s actually perfect for those who spend hours at their desk working.

Like most gaming chairs, this one has a high back design with Secretlab’s proprietary foam padding. The backrest’s sides are slightly contoured for a bucket-seat design that cradles your back. There’s a similar curvature on the seat base. In fact, some reviewers observed that it looks more like a high-end car seat and I agree.

The backrest can recline up to 165 degrees either independently or together with the seat base and armrests. You can also adjust the lumbar support to properly fit the curve of your back.

Durability has always been a priority for Secretlab and this chair is no exception; it has an aluminum base and it’s upholstered with the company’s faux leather that they call NEO Hybrid Leatherette. Secretlab claims that it’s 12 times as durable as regular leather.

Main Features

The Secretlab TITAN Evo chair is height-adjustable.
It can recline up to 165 degrees.
The chair’s lumbar support can be adjusted to fit your back.
It’s padded with Secretlab’s proprietary cold-cure foam.
The chair comes in three sizes: small, regular, and XL.
The different sizes can support up to 200, 220, and 395 lbs respectively.
Its armrests’ tops are held magnetically so they can be easily replaced.
The chair’s base is made of aluminum.
There are five casters.

Pros

It has lots of options for adjustability.
You can choose one of three available sizes.
It has premium upholstery.

Cons

This chair is expensive.

X-Chair K-Sport Mgmt Chair

The X-Chair K-Sport is the most adjustable chair on our list, but it’s also priced significantly higher than the recommendations above. If you have a budget of over $800, you can get this premium home office chair, which is designed to give the best lumbar support. So, despite its premium price tag, it’s certainly worth the price.

Its main feature is the variable lumbar support – this is gotten from an independent lower-back section that freely adjusts as you shift your sitting position.

The entire backrest is also height-adjustable, the same for the independent headrest. Still, this chair has what X-Chair calls 4-dimensional armrests, which means that they can be adjusted by width, depth, height, and angle.

If you choose to spend about $100 more, you can get in-built heating, cooling, and massage functions as well. These extra features are ideal for those who spend hours in their chair.

Main Features

The X-Chair K-Sport Mgmt Chair has meshed upholstery for breathability.
Its entire backrest is height-adjustable.
The headrest can be independently adjusted.
The chair has a Dynamic Variable Lumbar feature that adjusts each time the user shifts in the seat.
Its armrests are adjustable by height, width, depth, and angle.

Pros

This chair is adjustable in many ways, allowing you to find your perfect setting.
You can get extra features like heating, cooling, and massage functions.

Cons

It’s expensive

Steelcase Leap Office Chair

Let’s get the negatives out of the way; this chair costs about $900, which is even more than the awesome X-Chair featured above. And it doesn’t help that the Steelcase Leap office chair looks like any other office chair. However, its features make it worth your consideration.

This office chair offers lots of adjustability options that make it one of the most ergonomically friendly options on our list. Just like the other chairs we’ve recommended, you can raise or lower this one’s height as well as recline.

However, the Steelcase Leap’s backrest can also be adjusted and you can also change the firmness of the lumbar support. Moreover, the backrest’s contoured shape has been designed to change each time you shift your sitting position, making this the ideal home office chair for those who spend entire days in their chair.

Steelcase calls this LiveBack technology. The armrests are also fully adjustable, as you’d expect at this price, able to be adjusted by height, width, depth, and angle.

Main Features

The Leap chair can support a weight of up to 400 lbs (180 kg).
Its base has five arms and dual-wheel casters.
The seat’s height can be adjusted by five inches.
The lumbar height is also adjustable by up to five inches.
The firmness of the lower back can also be adjusted.
Its armrests can be adjusted by height, width, depth, and angle.
It has Steelcase’s LiveBack feature.

Pros

The Steelcase Leap chair is ergonomically friendly.
It comes in over 15 color options.

Cons

It’s an expensive home office chair.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Are Ergonomic Chairs Worth it?

Answer: Yes, ergonomic chairs are worth it because they provide lumbar support and improve your sitting posture, making them perfect for those who spend hours sitting for work.

Question: Is an Expensive Desk Chair Worth it?

Answer: An expensive desk chair is worth it if it has a strong build quality and excellent lumbar support as well as breathable upholstery.

Question: Should my Feet Touch the Ground on a Chair?

Answer: Yes, your feet should be flat on the ground as you sit in order to stabilize your back.

Finally

To find the best home office chair, consider the chair’s adjustability features to ensure that it offers excellent support for your back.

Find a chair that can support your specific body size and weight and make sure that it’s comfortable enough since you’re likely to be sitting in it for hours working. There are good office chairs at all price points so whatever your budget, you’ll certainly find one for your needs.

Are you also looking for a home office desk? Take a look at this guide or continue reading related home office chair ideas, guides, and reviews:

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