apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi Sarah,

I was in the same situation a few weeks ago. I looked at this chair:

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/collection.do?method=get&id=378352&cat=51

However, it seemed a bit wide. I settled for a wooden, folding chair made in Italy. Unfortunately, I don't know the manufacturer, but you can find similar chairs around the city. You may like the Enzo chair at Room & Board. Good luck; you'll find something.

i've always liked the Jules chair from Ikea.

what about one of those cool old industrial metal stools, the ones that are so ubiquitous in art classes and such? it's hard to tell what your aesthetic is from that picture.

How about the traktor chair/stool from IKEA.

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15600&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=11426&langId=-1&categoryId=15879&chosenPartNumber=40074150

It's backless, and actually really comfortable. I use one at my sewing table and I love it.

I bought a dining chair from Target to serve as my office chair 2 years ago and it's been fantastic. Comfortable and yet, it's great-looking. Just check that the height of the chair works for you.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_3/602-0277346-3373427?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000BANMH2

here are some ideas, some pricey, some not:

Arne Jacobsen 7 Chair (from Fritz Hansen)
Eames Plywood dining chair
Eames Molded Side Chair
Modernica Fiberglas side chair
Room and Board's "Jake" Chair
Room and Board's "Radius" Chair
Room and Board's "Boxy' Chair

Room & Board's Boxy Chair. Good idea.

I've always liked the Sprezzatura Desk Chair from Levenger. Its wheeled which might make it too officey for some but its simple and elegent and comes in three colors.

http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATES/PRODUCT/Product.asp?Params=Category=5-21-519|Level=2-3-4|pageid=2040|Link=Img

Covey Model Six stool from Herman Miller looks great-not sure if it's comfortable, but I presume it is. I have a Caper-very happy with it-expensive but will probably last forever. Comes in a lot of color options.

I use this Philippe Starck stool.

http://www.retromodern.com/item_detail.asp?3974.

Definitely the Giulietta chair from Design Within Reach.

http://www.dwr.com/productdetail.cfm?id=4724

And its on sale this week!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions - great selection of styles and prices. I like so many of them, especially the very trim Sprezzatura and the 'Jake' and 'Boxy' chairs from Room and Board.

Another IKEA suggestion on the low end of a budget:

- VITAMIN swivel stool ($44.95)

And this uncoventionally but surprisingly comfortable solution from HAG:

- HAG balans
http://www.hag.no/hag_us.nsf/pages/hag_balans

It's pricey ($300 - $500). It's the original knee chair and the best one. You can get it with nice chrome legs and modern upholstery. The plus is that it's low, minimal and easy to tuck away.

Aliza,
The Giulietta looks totally sexy. And I love the fact that you can stack them to save space.

But how comfortable are they to sit in?

Try the Rex chair from DWR. Tres comfortable and will fold up for storage behind a fridge.

I used the Melker chair from Ikea as a desk chair in a similar situation. It's very comfortable and compact, and now that I've moved I'm using it as an outdoor chair. http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15564&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=52956&langId=-1&categoryId=15656&chosenPartNumber=20091730

I love my Herman Miller Caper task chair. It's on the pricey side, but it's comfy and lovely to behold and comes in great colors. Click my name to see....

I have the Patrik chair from IKEA. it's great and definitely an eye-catcher. most people are immediately attracted to it.

We just bought the Patrik as a desk chair, too. But we got the Patrik visitor chair which is less officey looking and cheaper, to boot!

But if that's too big, what about an armless dining room chair or a foldable stool with a back, like Ikea's Franklin?

I use an Eames side shell chair with an Eiffel for my desk and it works well for me. The sitting position is comfortable, it is light and comes in plety of colors. For backless options I've seen the "tractor style" stools which are usually metal or plastic and fairly common. Also, Thomas Moser makes some nice and incredibly comfortable wooden stools in a variety of styles and heights(You didn't give a budget so I'll assume you're loaded :-). Of course, similar stools can be found for much less.
Good luck!

I have been investigating the Swopper since seeing it in an issue of Real Simple involving an office reorganization project--anyone have any experience with it?

http://www.sitincomfort.com/swopper.html

re: swooper chair.

maude, i hope that you're taller than ~5'3". i'm 5' & tried the swooper chair, but it doesn't compress enough for my legs to be at the correct position -- i had to rest my feet on the base instead of the floor.

since it moves in all directions, you have to place your rear exactly so on the seat so that you don't tend to wobble preferentially in any one direction.

I'm about to purchase the Calligaris folding chair called Skip. It'll double as an extra dining chair and is very compact for small spaces.

Well, I don't know if you are still interested in buying a chair, but if you take a look at this it won't hurt. I think this is the one that better fits Little Tulip chair.
But I prefer this one Globus chair.
Good luck and I hope you finally found a comfortable chair.