Monthly Archives : June 2016

We literally want you to sit back and relax as you read this post.

Hopefully, you’re sitting in the kind of office chair that allows you to do that. If not, then you’re going to like the suggestions we’ve gathered for you.

You see, office chairs have a rich history in the United States and abroad. Some say the ancient Egyptians invented it, while others point to the 19^th century. Either way, I think we can all agree that your chair is what dictates your level of comfortability.

We’ve all sat in one of those rickety old “chairs” that can tie our back muscles into nasty little knots. And hopefully we’ve all felt the relief when we finally sit in a solid, well-constructed chair that supports our alignment and keeps us happy for eight hours (or more) a day.

Which chair is right for you? Only you can decide that, but we’ve put together a few suggestions we think you’ll enjoy.

Herman Miller Aeron:  The King of the Workplace Castle

The good news? The Aeron occasionally goes on sale on Amazon. In fact, right now it’s 15 percent off. The bad news? The sale price is $798.15 (it’s regularly $939).

There’s a reason why this chair is so expensive: It’s arguably the best office chair on the market… ever. The Aeron was originally designed by two ergonomic geniuses, Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf. Herman Miller loved the chair and it soon became a favorite among discerning customers.

Gear Patrol calls the Aeron “the chair against which all chairs are measured.”

Aeron is everything an office chair should be: stylish, unique and an absolute champion of good posture. Take a moment to watch this promotional video. You’ll get a pretty good idea of the mechanics and design behind this treasure:

Sitting in this beauty of a throne all day doesn’t seem so bad, does it? If your bottom line can bear it, you might want to invest in the Aeron. The chair, according to Omincore, comes in three different sizes: A, B and C.

Sayl Away with Me: The Herman Miller Sayl

If you can’t pony up nearly $1,000 for the Aeron, consider the ever-modern Sayl. This chair, according to Herman Miller, contains the most complex part the company has ever created.

“Most chairs tend to be overwhelming,” designer Yves Behar said in the video below. “Everything was done for (the Sayl) to be really simple.”

You know the chair is going to be good when the designer says the back support is the most complex part ever created in the 80-year history of the company.

The chair can be had on Amazon for about $510, around half the cost of its more famous big brother, the Aeron. Plus, the Sayl has a 97.22% customer satisfaction rating on Smart Furniture’s Top-10 office chair list.

“The Sayl earns its reputation as one of the most beautiful office chairs in Herman Miller’s stable,” Smart Furniture wrote.

Word to the wise: This chair is better used as a conference-room piece. Task chair it is not, Smart Furniture says.

A Modest Choice: The Office Star Air Grid

This suggestion comes from the reviewers at Gear Patrol. The Air Grid is workmanlike in its design. It’s not flashy and it’s not fancy. It’s a simple, efficient piece of furniture.

But don’t take Gear Patrol’s word for it, or even ours. Head to the chair’s Amazon page, where 952 people have given the Air Grid 4.7 out of 5 stars.

 

 

Like the Sayl, this chair has a breathable back that provides enough support to keep you feeling cool and strong as you slave away at your keyboard. Here’s a video of the product:

 

 

 

 

 

While the Air Grid doesn’t give you that same legendary feeling that you’ll get from the Herman Millers we mentioned above, it does its job well. And for $144, it’s a steal for the level of quality it offers.

To find out more, head to the chair’s Office Star product page.

Creating the Complete Office

In the overall masterpiece that is your office’s layout and organization, chairs are just one part of an intricate orchestra of furniture elements.

Stop by our website and take a look at our gallery, where you can see photos of our products at work in an office space.

Staring into the bright abyss of an old monitor isn’t what we’d call a workplace perk.

Dead pixels and terrible resolution can make your 8-hour workdays seem like never-ending eye torture. Hopefully, your employer is wise enough to refresh your monitors with a new batch of easy-on-the-eyes screens. If they don’t, or if you’re in charge of procuring a new fleet of monitors, you’ll want to select a product that offers great value and solid resolution.

We took a few minutes to search through some recent articles to find the best monitors, cross-referencing them on Amazon. their highest-rated items to provide you a list of four monitors that would be a great fit for the day-in, day-out work you do in front of the screen.

We selected each of these monitors because of their price, reputation, size and functionality.

The LG 29UM67 29-Inch LED Ultrawide

In case you haven’t heard, ultrawide monitors are becoming a thing. Many companies like them because they provide a wide viewing surface without the hassle of buying multiple monitors. If you’re a design firm, publishing house or heavy into pagination, these screens will increase your productivity (not to mention the number of smiles per capita in the workplace).

If you want to get a sense of how ultrawide monitors can help you and for whom they fit best, check out this 2015 video from LifeHacker:

The LG 29” Ultrawide (2560x1080p) is relatively affordable at $330, ranking on the low end of the price spectrum. For a sense of scale, the next model up, the LG 34UM67, is currently selling on Amazon for $499.

 

The monitor gets great 4.5 stars from 109 reviews, with customers praising the monitor’s color accuracy, 75Hz refresh rate and overall performance.

 

 

 The Acer G236 HL 23” LED Monitor

You can consider this monitor the budget option for people who want decent screen size without the massive surface area of an ultrawide. Acer’s monitors are price-friendly workhorses with a great reputation.

You can snag this tried-and-true monitor on Amazon for $109.99. However, you’ll need to keep a few caveats in mind. First, the monitor doesn’t have any HDMI ports, so your computers will need DVI or VGA, or, at least, DVI/VGA adapters that will pair with your monitor. Also, this G-Series Acer doesn’t have screw holes to mount on a wall or partition.

As for customer reviews, the G236 is reaching hall-of-fame status. Nearly 4,000 people have reviewed it, amounting to 4.3 stars. More than 80 percent of those reviews are four or five stars, while just 10 percent are one or two stars.

Coincidentally, several of the more recent comments show people who’ve purchased multiple monitors to get an ultrawide effect.

 

Considering how much a new ultrawide costs, you may want to stick with the LG we mentioned rather than linking two or three Acers. But, of course, that’s entirely up to you.

The Lenovo ThinkVision Tiny-In-One 23”

This recommendation comes to us by way of PC Mag’s 10 Best Business Monitors of 2016 list. We think it’s an interesting choice because its appeal has very little do with how it looks (quite stodgy and uninspiring, if you ask us), but because it’s an excellent solution for IT departments who’ve deployed Lenovo’s Tiny-In-One.

“The ThinkVision Tiny-In-One makes it easy for IT personnel to deploy an upgrade for one … or many clients without having to tear apart the entire system,” PC Mag’s review reads.

Think of this solution as Lenovo-centric, as it’s very easy to plug a Lenovo desktop into this screen. No tools are necessary.

The monitor doesn’t have any reviews on Amazon, but is available for $245.

 

 

 

Philips 19DP6QJNS

Torn between getting double-barreled screens or an ultrawide? This unique Phillips monitor wants you to know that you don’t have to worry any longer. You can get both options in one.

PC Mag noted this monitor has great style (which it does) but some annoying drawbacks. For instance, the highest resolution is 1280×1024.

Users will appreciate how you can adjust each monitor individually, as well as the plentiful options for connectivity (HDMI-HML, VGA, Display Port, USB 2.0).

The dual-screen Philips sells for $425.92 on Amazon. Reviews are few and slightly above average – 3.7 stars is the current rating. If you’re looking for dual-screen capability, we suggest going with the Acer monitor mentioned first in this list.

 

 

The Final Pixel: Fit Your Monitor to Your Needs

Don’t try to force yourself to like a monitor you don’t love. Since you’ll be using it for dozens of hours a week, it’s important to select something that meets your criteria.

The same principle goes for your office furniture and organization. We can help you select the perfect solution for your needs. Contact us today to find out more about what we offer.