Log #16: A wild chair appears

There’s not too much to say on the project side of things this week. Article progress has been decent. I think I have everything in place to write something good – images, references, ideas. The next step is a first draft.

The chair saga has finally come to an end. Or has it?

The Haworth Fern I ordered over eight weeks ago arrived earlier this week. It was easy enough to put together, and it looks nice.

I don’t have too much to say about the comfort of it yet - I’m still getting used to it. My posture was pretty poor on my old chair, and I had a habit of leaning heavily to one side and using the headrest. This chair doesn’t really allow you to do that, so I need some time to adapt. The first few days didn’t feel great, but I think it’s getting better.

Is it worth £1,000? Absolutely not. I paid £740 because it was on sale, and then got another £50 partial refund thanks to being messed around, so it cost £690 in total. This is the ‘base’ model that you can buy in the UK - black on black. Other models use a metal base and metal arms (and colours), but this one uses plastic on plastic. They’re not the best materials given the price, so it doesn’t feel premium. It feels a bit overpriced even at £690.

All of the adjustments are nice. I like the tension winder and the staged backrest limiter. The seat is firm but comfortable and I expect it will ‘break in’ a little. The backrest is nice too, I like how it moulds to your back and how flexible it is - I can really stretch in it and I don’t feel restricted in any way. My biggest complaint is that the armrests are far too easy to move; a slight touch causes them to shift completely out of position. I kind of wish it had more lumbar support, you can option one, but I heard it’s too pronounced, so I didn’t order it.

I have a few more days to decide whether to keep the chair or get a refund and buy another from somewhere else. If I have a few more days of comfortable sitting, I’ll keep it. I’ve been struggling to ‘lounge’ in it though - the backrest basically forces you to sit upright, which is what I want when I’m working, but not when I’m taking a break. Maybe it will force me to not take breaks at my desk?

What’s next

• Get to a first draft of the article.