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Tag: chairs

  • Branch’s Sale of the Year Brings Great Discounts to Our Favorite Home Office Gear

    It’s hard to find home office furniture that looks great at a palatable price. That’s why you’ll find Branch’s products among our top recommendations in many of our guides. Whether it’s an office chair or a standing desk, the company’s products look good, work well, and are reasonably priced. That makes its Sale of the Year all the more appealing.

    From now through December 3, you can snag 15 percent off sitewide at branchfurniture.com, and 20 percent off bundles (like if you pair a desk and chair together). You may need to make sure you add code BFCM to your cart, though it should be there automatically. Not sure where to start? I’ve tested several Branch products over the years; here’s what’s worth the cash.

    Chair Deals

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    • Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    • Courtesy of Branch

    Branch

    Ergonomic Chair Pro

    This is my top recommendation for most people in my Best Office Chairs guide. There are dozens of cheaper chairs on the market, but it’s hard to find an option under $500 that’s comfortable and highly adjustable while also being attractive and offering various style options (Branch now even offers it with bouclé upholstery). The headrest is optional—I don’t think you need it—but you can adjust the seat depth, the lumbar support can be aligned and pushed inward, and you can tilt the seat forward, too.

    An orange and aluminum modern designed chair

    Courtesy of Branch

    On a tight budget? You won’t find a better chair at this $300 mark. The Ergonomic Chair has many of the same adjustment points as the Pro, including seat depth, and has a similar design. Some of those finer adjustments aren’t available, like pushing in the lumbar or the upright seat tilt. It generally won’t keep your back as upright as possible, but if you like to recline a bit, this is a great buy at this price.

    Front view of blue office chair in a room soft pink walls and hardwood floors

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    I think the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro is the better buy, but the Verve is arguably more stylish. It doesn’t have all the adjustment capabilities as the Pro, and my biggest gripe with it is the fixed arms. It’s comfy, but not a great option for folks who need a wider seat.

    Image may contain: Furniture, Chair, Armchair, Computer, Computer Hardware, Computer Keyboard, Electronics, and Hardware

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Like to cozy up in a chair on a crisp fall day and read a book? That’s pretty much what the Softside feels like. The arms are fixed and box you in, and there’s not much to adjust on the chair, but it’s very cushy and comfortable. It’s decently built for the money, but if you’re prone to back pain or generally want to improve your seating experience, you may want to look at the ergonomic options above.

    Branch chair in an office

    Photograph: Branch

    I’ve tested several active chairs, and I don’t think they’re worth the money. The experts I spoke to also said you’re better off just going for a walk than spending your time on one of these wobbly chairs. However, don’t think of Branch’s Saddle as an active chair or as “posture-improving.” Just think of it as a really nice stool. I like how the sides slope down, allowing your thighs to rest on them; it’s one of the most comfortable stools I’ve tested. You may not want to spend hours on the Saddle, but if you’re at a desk for a short time, this is a nice alternative, and it takes up very little room.

    Desk Deals

    Front view of Branch Four Leg Standing Desk with computer monitors, keyboard, microphone and other work items on top

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Branch

    Four Leg Standing Desk

    Standing desks can be a little ugly due to their standard T-shaped legs. This Branch Four Leg Standing Desk breaks the mold with an attractive design that makes it look like any other desk. The telescoping legs have motors that smoothly move the desk up and down

    Branch Duo Standing Desk with light brown top and white legs that has a small cabinet, black cutting mat, and lamp on the top

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Branch’s Duo is a great compact desk if you’re limited on space, though the company now has more size options. I like that Branch has several accessories tailor-made for this desk, including the desk tray, desk hook, headphone stand, desk perch, and even a drawer. Raising and lowering the desk via the paddles is easy, but setting up the height presets can be clunky.

    Branch Laptop Stand on a desk

    Courtesy of Branch

    Branch

    Adjustable Laptop Stand

    A desk for your laptop, this Branch Adjustable Laptop Stand is our top recommendation in our Best Laptop Stands guide. It can lift your screen as high as 7 inches above the desk, can be adjusted to almost any viewing angle, and it’s sturdy, so the laptop doesn’t bounce or shift during use. Adjusting the angles and height requires a bit of effort, but that just makes it more stable.

    Other Great Home Office Gear

    Outside of desks and office chairs, Branch has several accessories to kit out your workstation. It also doesn’t just sell its own goods on its storefront. You can find items from other smaller companies as well. Here are some other goodies I’ve tested and like that are also on sale.

    Front view of Branch Clamp On, a white electrical power strip gripping the edge of a wooden desk

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Why fish around for outlets underneath your desk when you can have them readily accessible on the desktop? Branch’s Clamp-On Power is an easy add to any desk or shelf. You get three AC outlets, a USB-A port, and a USB-C port. It’s UL-certified, has a six-foot cord, and comes in black or white.

    Image may contain: Furniture, Chair, Appliance, Device, Electrical Device, Refrigerator, Home Decor, Rug, and Filing Cabinet

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Branch

    Small Filing Cabinet

    If you need to store physical files or just want some under-desk storage for various odds and ends, the Small Filing Cabinet from Branch doesn’t take up much room. The wheels make it easy to place in a room, and assembly doesn’t take very long.

    Branch Most Modest Desk Caddy in dark green, a rectangular container with components and a wooden handle, sitting on a yellow metal locker

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Most Modest Elin Desk Caddy

    You might need a large empty space for this desk caddy because it’s much bigger than it looks, but it’s also amazingly attractive. There are four little areas for your pens and pencils, then a cavernous room for notebooks and papers you want to store on the front and back. It’s like a toolbox for your desk! It’s made from aluminum with a white oak handle and comes in several fun colors.

    Branch Mustard Made Standard Locker in bright yellow beside a chess board in a room

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Mustard Made Standard, Lowdown, and Midi Lockers

    Mustard Made’s metal lockers are on the pricey side, but they’re fairly easy to assemble (just a little time-consuming). I’ve tried several sizes and designs of these lockers, and they’re stylish! There are several colors you can choose from, and there’s plenty of space inside to house all your home office gear (aka board games).

    Julian Chokkattu

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  • The LiberNovo Omni Office Chair Has a Built-in Battery for Motorized Lumbar Adjustments

    The Omni looks nice. It’s a step up from your average office chair design, with a bit of class and a design language on the backrest that resembles the spine-like look of the Herman Miller Embody. It comes in Midnight Black or Space Gray (creative names), and my unit is the latter. The company says the Omni can support people up to 300 pounds.

    I don’t think I’ve sat on an office chair with softer padding than the Omni. The multi-density sponge cushion material of the seat and backrest is plush without feeling like you’re sinking in, because it isn’t super thick. It’s very comfortable, and the softness of the material is still what surprises me the most about the Omni after sitting on it for weeks.

    It’ll be interesting to see how the fabric holds up after more than a year of use. So far, it still looks great after close to a month of sitting, though it likes to collect hair. It’s hard to gauge breathability as we’re now in the cooler months, but my back feels a little warm after a few hours on the chair. If you’re in a hot environment, you’ll likely feel sweaty. It’s not as bad as the vegan leather-covered foam on most gaming chairs, but it won’t offer the breathability of a true mesh.

    The armrests aren’t much to write home about—you can move them up or down, forward and back, and angle them inward or outward. You can’t push them toward or away from your body like on the Embody, but this is standard for a chair at this price (which is $1,099 MSRP, though the company seems to have a persistent sale of $848). I appreciate that the arms don’t easily shift or slide around, which is a common problem with many chairs. The armrest itself isn’t too hard, and the material feels fairly durable.

    A Battery-Powered Chair

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    The Bionic FlexFit Backrest is the Omni’s highlight, which uses the battery-powered ErgoPulse Motor System for configuration. It’s essentially a motorized way to ensure the backrest lines up perfectly against your back; no need to fiddle around with an awkward lumbar support. There are three buttons on the left armrest. The front two shift the backrest support up or down, and the third is a spinal massage function, which I’ll address later.

    Julian Chokkattu

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  • Lumbar Support Can Make a Huge Difference in Your Office Chair

    I also spoke to John Gallucci, a licensed physical therapist and athletic trainer who specializes in treating symptoms from poor office posture, and he confirmed much of what Egbert said. Closed case, right? Well, it’s certainly not just marketing speak so that office chair manufacturers can charge you extra. But there are some important factors to consider.

    Not All Lumbar Support Is Equal

    Gallucci was quick to point out the benefits of lumbar support, but he also issued some warnings about how to proceed. Turns out, not all lumbar support is equal. “The most important thing to look for in a chair is ergonomic adjustability,” he says, referencing the need for adjustable lumbar support. “A good chair should support your posture for long periods without causing discomfort or fatigue. That means it should allow you to adjust the seat height, seat pan depth, armrests, lumbar support, and backrest tilt.”

    Chairs with fixed lumbar support mean it isn’t adjustable to your body. Lumbar support and adjustments come in different forms these days. For example, some chairs have lumbar height adjustment but not depth, also known as “two-way” adjustment. Some use a dial for adjustment, and others use a ratchet or lever system. Other chairs let you adjust the entire backrest to find the right position, and some cheaper chairs resort to just a simple pad that can be manually moved. These can, in theory, all be good solutions, so long as you’re able to find the right position.

    “That curve has to be adjustable as to where it is,” Egbert says. “My butt might be lower than your butt, and you want it to match where that curve in your lower back is. You want to be able to slide it up and down.”

    A good example of an ergonomic chair with “two-way” lumbar adjustment is the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro. We’ve tested dozens of chairs, and this excellent lumbar support is one of the reasons WIRED’s office chair reviewer, Julian Chokkattu, found it so comfortable. It also doesn’t cost over a thousand dollars like so many high-end office chairs.

    If you aren’t ready to shell out $500 on an ergonomic chair, that doesn’t mean you have to be doomed to lower back pain. Some DIY solutions can even be better than a chair with inadequate lumbar adjustment. We’ve even tested some add-on lumbar cushions that we like, such as this LoveHome model you can find on Amazon.

    When it comes down to it, though, lumbar support isn’t the first thing to tackle when setting up your workspace. If you’re sitting at an old desk working from only a laptop, lumbar support is never going to solve your posture issues. Fix that first, with either a laptop stand or a height-adjustable monitor.

    After that, yes, lumbar support is a good thing. It needs to be adjustable and well-implemented, but it’s something you’ll want to make sure is available on your next office chair. If you’re sitting for eight hours a day, your back deserves it.

    Branch

    Ergonomic Chair Pro

    Luke Larsen

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  • Stop Using Your Laptop at the Dinner Table Already

    Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro

    Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

    Kristianne Egbert has worked in occupational ergonomics for nearly 20 years and is now a senior corporate ergonomist at Briotix Health, a workplace injury prevention company. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Egbert also says that repeated use of a laptop alone on a desk is going to have a huge effect on your overall posture.

    Egbert referred to what’s known as the 20-degree rule. If you’re holding your neck at an angle of 20 degrees or more, you’re officially crossing the risk threshold. “You’re probably bending over because you’re leaning forward to see that screen and be able to reach the keyboard,” she says.

    Sitting back farther in your chair might seem like a fix to the problem temporarily, but in reality, bending beyond 20 degrees isn’t the real issue. Most people aren’t comfortable holding that position for long periods of time, which means it’s what else your body does to compensate that’s problematic.

    “Nobody really wants to bend their head that much more than 20 degrees,” Egbert says. “So, when you don’t want to bend your neck forward, then the rest of your body is going to try and accommodate.”

    You might tilt your whole back forward to avoid that extreme neck posture to type on the keyboard and see the screen of your laptop. That’s where bad posture habits really form. It’s not that you need to just suck it up and have better posture. You need to change the way you’re working, not necessarily your discipline.

    “The other thing that ends up happening when your back starts getting tired is you’re like, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna scoot back a little bit to keep my back a little straighter,’” she says, demonstrating the position over the Zoom call. “But then, my arms are going to come out a little bit more, and I’m anchoring my wrist down while I’m typing.” This position can cause all sorts of other problems.

    It’s even worse for shorter people, who are often working from chairs that aren’t tall enough. Egbert often recommends putting the laptop down on the lap, so that your arms can be down “where they belong.” You can tilt the laptop screen and look down at it, cutting the risk of leaning forward too much.

    What to Do Instead

    Image may contain Computer Hardware Electronics Hardware and Mouse

    Hansker Productivity Mouse

    Photograph: Henri Robbins

    Fortunately, there are some simple (and even affordable!) solutions to this ergonomic disaster. Both experts I interviewed indicated that your office chair is a good place to start for better posture and office ergonomics. (We have an excellent guide that can help.)

    Luke Larsen

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  • Best Heated Outdoor Chairs and Sofas: 5 Favorites

    Best Heated Outdoor Chairs and Sofas: 5 Favorites

    Entering autumnal phase but not yet willing to phase out your outdoor space? One option is heated outdoor lounge chairs and sofas, as an alternative to overhead heaters. For colder months, cold mornings, or transient weather, add a wool blanket or fire pit and the concentrated heat doubles. Here are our 5 finds. For more […]

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  • The Best Midcentury Modern Outdoor Chairs by Iconic Designers

    The Best Midcentury Modern Outdoor Chairs by Iconic Designers

    Design classics aren’t just for interiors. In fact, a crop of notable 20th-century designers made dining and lounge chairs for the outdoors (and/or their designs were later reworked for outdoor use). From the Eameses to Jens Risom to brands including Tolix and Fermob, here are our 12 favorite classic outdoor chair designs. Looking for more […]

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  • Small Container Garden Balcony in San Francisco: Steal This Look

    Small Container Garden Balcony in San Francisco: Steal This Look

    Here, we present the concept of a dry garden applied to an urban balcony. The project is located in Hayes Valley of San Francisco and is designed by Daniel Nolan, landscape designer and former in-house designer at Flora Grubb Gardens. The garden features a cohesive look created by way of “the repetition of specific plants […]

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  • Give Your Back a Break With Our Favorite Office Chairs

    Give Your Back a Break With Our Favorite Office Chairs

    Not every chair is a winner. Here are a few others we like enough to recommend, but they’re not as good as our top picks above.

    Hinomi X1 Chair for $669: Hinomi’s X1 mesh chair has a trick up its sleeve—a built-in footrest! Just extend and flip out the footrest; voilà, your feet are now propped up. This might not be very practical for fellow tall people, as my legs often hit the wall behind my desk, but it’s quite comfy. The chair is otherwise well-built. I like the lumbar support here, and there’s a good amount of adjustments you can make. The seat itself is a bit firm, but I got used to it after some time. Hinomi offers a 12-year warranty, but best of all you can snag it in a dusty pink from the company’s website. I’d buy this over the X-Chair mesh chair listed below.

    BodyBilt Midcelli Mesh Chair for $949: BodyBilt’s chair looks quite average, but the seat pad is plushy and soft, and it’s contoured to your butt and legs, which I liked more than I expected. The mesh back has some give to it, so it doesn’t feel rigid, and there are all the usual points of adjustment, including moving the seat forward and back. I wish the arms could lock to a position. It has a lifetime warranty on select parts, while other chair areas are covered for 12, seven, five, or three years. There are more customization options on BodyBilt’s website—with the option to get a consultation—but I just think it’s overpriced.

    Razer Fujin Pro for $1,049: Razer is asking for Herman Miller and Steelcase prices despite offering a measly five-year warranty on this $1,000-plus chair. Still, my colleague Eric Ravenscraft likes the Fujin Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends). There are a good amount of adjustments you can make, the armrests are useful, and the mesh is breathable. Oh, and it doesn’t have the over-used gaming chair race-car seat aesthetic.

    Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Lumbar Support Office Chair for $352: I think this is a nice alternative to the Branch Ergonomic Chair, our top pick. The Tempur seat cushion is, perhaps unsurprisingly, wonderfully comfy to sit on for hours at a time. And most chairs that have a thick lumbar cushion end up causing me back pain, but not here—I’ve had no issues sitting on this chair for a month. The mesh back is nice for airflow too. The arms tend to move around a bit though, and the mechanism to adjust them is not elegant. Installation wasn’t too hard, but the instructions weren’t as simple as Branch’s, and the overall build quality feels cheap.

    Cooler Master Motion 1 Gaming Chair for $2,500: I don’t recommend most gaming chairs—that’s coming from someone who sat on one for several years. They are quite adjustable, but they’re not terribly comfy, breathable, or ergonomic. They also mostly go after a particular racing car aesthetic. For most people, the above chairs will work better. However, the Cooler Master Motion 1 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is different. WIRED contributor Simon Hill says it’s quite literally built for gaming—the seat rumbles when you move on bumpy terrain in Forza Horizon 5, and it’ll throw in a few jolts if you crash. You do need to make sure the game you own is supported, but there are more than 100 AAA titles on the roster. It works with a catalog of more than 2,000 movies and TV shows too, in case you want to feel the power behind Batman’s blows. As a chair itself, it’s OK. It’s decently comfy but lacks the adjustability you might find on a normal office chair. The armrests are fixed, and prolonged sessions might leave you nauseous. But it’s unique and worth considering if you love racing games and flight sims.

    Knoll Newson Task Chair for $1,195: This minimalist chair looks best in the graphite and petal colors; it’s a bit drab in black and umber. It’s nice that I didn’t have to fuss with any levers or knobs much—it’s comfy out of the box and decently adjustable if you need to make some tweaks—and it feels especially nice when you recline. (The red knob adjusts the tension of the recline, but you need to twist it for five rotations, and I found it hard to turn sometimes.) The Newson didn’t give me trouble in the two months I sat in it. I’m just not a huge fan of how the elastomer mesh backrest distorts, depending on how you sit. It feels lumpy. This chair also doesn’t let me sit as upright as I’d like, but maybe you’re fine with a bit of give. Ultimately, it’s the price that pulls it out of our top recommendations, but you do get a 12-year warranty.

    X-Chair X2 K-Sport Management Chair for $879: This used to be our top mesh chair pick but it has been supplanted by the Steelcase Karman. Sitting in the X-Chair feels like lounging in a hammock. Every part of my body feels well supported, and you can adjust nearly everything on the chair. Pull the seat up and push the armrests up, down, and side to side, or angle them in or out. The lumbar support feels like a cushion, and it adjusts as you move in your seat. If you want to rest your head, you can pay extra for the headrest. It has held up extremely well after three years of near-continuous sitting, but I don’t like how bulky it is. X-Chair has a number of models to choose from. I tested the X-2 K-Sport with the wide seat, and it fits my 6’4″ frame really well, but it was too wide for my partner, who is 5’1″. Most people should be fine with the standard X1.

    Ikea Markus Chair for $290: The Markus is a perfectly fine office chair. It’s not the most comfortable, but it’s far from the worst. The mesh design keeps you cool, and the tall back lets you fully lean into it. It’s rather thin and isn’t obtrusive in a small home office or bedroom. It was annoying to put together (lol, Ikea), and you might need someone to hold up the back of the chair while you properly attach the seat. Unfortunately, if you often sit with at least one leg up or with your legs crossed, the width between the arms will make you uncomfortable.

    X-Chair X-Tech Executive Chair for $2,049: Functionally, the X-Tech is similar to the X-Chair above. In this version, the M-Foam cooling gel seat is indeed wonderful to sit on, though it’s not as heat-wicking as the all-mesh X-Chairs. It’s the Brisa Soft Touch material that impresses the most—it’s ridiculously soft. I recommend you stick with the standard armrests instead of the FS 360 armrests, which tend to move about too much. But my biggest gripe with this model is the price. Why on earth does it cost that much?

    Mavix M7 Chair for $677: If it looks strangely similar to the X-Chair (see above), that’s because both are owned by the same company. WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe ran into some issues with assembly, but customer service was able to exchange the model without much effort. The M7 has similarly adjustable armrests and seat angles, but you get wheels that lock. The mesh back and wide seat construction keep you cool and comfortable during sweaty League of Legends sessions, and the lumbar support does the job. If you’re short, contact customer support while ordering—Mavix offers shorter cylinders so your feet touch the ground.

    Hon Ignition 2.0 Office Chair for $425: This chair is easy to set up and looks great, but it gave me really bad back pain, which is why I originally placed it in our “Avoid” section. I thought it was perhaps the long hours I was working, so I switched back to the Knoll Newson Task chair and my pain quickly began to ease. Sometime later, I gave it a shot again. After a few hours, the pain came back, and switching to another chair dissipated it. Color me confused, because this chair has positive reviews around the web. I then asked a friend who is around 5′ 4″ to try it for a few weeks, and she has had zero issues. This seems to be the answer. It’s possible the Ignition doesn’t work for my 6′ 4″ self and is better suited for smaller folks.

    Hon Ignition 2.0 Big and Tall for $712: I had a much better experience with this Hon chair, which, as the name suggests, is suited for big and tall people like me. It has a reinforced steel frame that can support up to 450 pounds with a wider seat. It’s comfy, transfers heat away well, and does a nice job supporting my back. However, it looks incredibly dull in Boring Black. I had a fine experience in the chair, aside from the arms that tend to slide left and right whenever you put some pressure on them. I’m just not sure it’s worth the weirdly high price.

    Pipersong Meditation Chair for $369: Have a problem sitting in a traditional chair? If your legs need to be bent and twisted for you to be comfortable, you’ll want to check this chair out. It has a 360-degree swiveling footstool that can accommodate pretty much any sitting position you want. I can go from kneeling to cross-legged to one leg up, one leg down. It’s possible to sit regularly too, with the footstool behind you and your feet flat on the floor. It’s the only chair I’ve found that’s designed for odd sitting habits. There are no armrests, which I didn’t mind because that’s what makes it possible to sit in many of these positions. The actual stool and chair back could stand to be bigger and taller, respectively. I had to use a pillow to keep my back comfy.

    Julian Chokkattu

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  • An Artful and Eclectic San Francisco Garden by Talc Studio: Steal This Look

    An Artful and Eclectic San Francisco Garden by Talc Studio: Steal This Look

    In San Francisco’s often foggy, dune-filled Outer Sunset neighborhood, landscape design firm Talc Studio transformed a small “sand pit” into a lush and characterful garden. While the garden is equal parts custom and artful, there are a number of design details and useful sources to glean. Here we detail our favorite components. Materials Furniture & […]

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  • The Best Stylish Folding Chairs for When You Need to Add Extra Seating ASAP

    The Best Stylish Folding Chairs for When You Need to Add Extra Seating ASAP

    These aren’t your run-of-the-mill variety.
    READ MORE…

    Olivia Bowman

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