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The Best Ergonomic Office Chair Suppliers in 2021

When it comes to buying a new office chair, ergonomics matter. As we spend more time working in front of computer screens, often spending late nights busy with quick turnaround deadlines for multiple projects, our bodies take strain even if we can’t feel it right away. A modern working person spends upwards of 40 hours a week sitting down to work, which can have serious long term consequences for their back, neck and shoulders. If you’re on the market for an ergonomic office chair that will help avoid this, we’ve got you covered with some ideas about the best suppliers in South Africa in 2021. 

Why Buying Ergonomic Matters

Aside from the health benefits, ergonomic chairs are designed in a way that is practical and adaptable. These chairs typically modify themselves based on the needs and comfort levels of the user, which some studies suggest even add to overall productivity levels. By providing the user with options to adjust seat height, depth and lumbar support, a more personal experience is offered, and when buying ergonomic chairs in bulk for an office environment, you don’t have to worry about pleasing everyone with their own preferences and spending a lot of time buying individual chairs. Ergonomic chairs provide options, giving you (and the user) peace of mind right away. 

Redline Office Chairs

If you’re starting your search for ergonomic chairs, try Redline Office Chairs. Seating specialists with a wide range in their catalogue, they pride themselves at selling high quality products at factory prices. We’re particularly impressed by their diverse catalogue, which features just about any chair type you can think of. They’ve got an entire section of their online store dedicated to ergonomic chairs, featuring models in the mid-to-high end range. You’d be hard pressed to find a more diverse catalogue than the one they have on offer.

Ergotherapy

Ergotherapy aims to help reduce workplace injuries by encouraging business owners to invest in ergonomic office chairs. They claim that nearly 90% of the people who have been tested using their chairs have seen a reduction in sitting-related pain in comparison to when they were sitting on a non-ergonomic alternative. Perhaps this is related to their founder Gary Arenson, a physiotherapist who prides himself on what he calls “physio designed solutions” for the office chair market. Consider their Metro, NetOne and GetOne models if you’re on the market for chairs that have been tried and tested and confirmed to be ergonomically sound. 

Ixaxa Office Furniture

We can’t have a discussion about office furniture without bringing in Ixaxa Office Furniture, which is based in Johannesburg. With over 20 years of experience in crafting immaculate furniture solutions across the country, they are distinguished from competitors based on the quality and pricing of their catalogue. Many of their products come with a 5 year warranty and when it comes to buying the right office chair for your needs, they have many options to choose from. If you’re after an ergonomic solution that can be found in many office spaces across South Africa, try the WAU Ergonomic Chair, which has been a staple in their catalogue for a couple of years. 

Where To Buy Lumbar Support Office Chairs in 2021

If back pain is getting you down, especially after an 8 hour day in front of your computer, it might be worth taking a closer look at the chair you’re sitting on while you’re working. For many of us, home spaces have turned into makeshift office spaces, as companies adjusted and responded to the lockdown restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. This has meant that many people are carving out spaces to work wherever possible at their homes and apartments, with little consideration for the chairs they are sitting on. A lumbar support office chair can be just what you need to combat aches and pains, and to ensure that your body isn’t taking major strain while you wait to return to the office once the pandemic subsides in the coming months.  

The Importance of Lumbar Back Support

Helping with nagging back pain aside, lumbar support chairs also help to promote good posture by filling the gap between the lumbar spine and the seat. This involves supporting the natural inward curve of the lower back. A decent lumbar support office chair will provide stability and total support from above the buttocks right to the top of your spine. If you spend years sitting on chairs with poor back support, this may affect your mobility as you age, which can really take away from your quality of life in the latter half of your life. 

Choosing The Correct Type of Lumbar Support

When it comes to the right lumbar support, there is no “one size fits all”. There are guidelines as to which kind of support is good for most people, which includes a suggestion that lumbar depth of 1.5 to 5cm should typically be fine for a majority of the general population. Keep in mind that women tend to have increased curvature in their lower backs, implying that they need additional lumbar support more so than their male counterparts. 

Too Much Lumbar Support Is Not a Good Thing

While getting a chair that has you covered for lumbar support is important, recent studies have suggested that those with too much support may actually do more harm than good. As people come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some types of lumbar support chairs may not provide the same posture benefits to everyone. If you’re considering a lumbar support chair, an important consideration is to see if the seat forces your spine into an exaggerated forward curve. If this is the case, the support may be too much for your size and frame. Hitting the sweet spot will take some trial and error, so be prepared to try a couple of options and to speak to a chiropractor if you need some extra advice before you buy. 

Where To Look Once You’re Ready To Buy a Lumbar Support Chair

The furniture industry is a competitive one, and suppliers of office chairs come in all shapes and sizes. Knowing where to look for options to buy lumbar support chairs can make the process all the more easy, and companies like  Ixaxa Office Furniture — who offer a five year guarantee on their chairs — are a great place to start. Chat to them about their high back chair range, and the different makes and models within this part of their catalogue. You’ll be more comfortable and taking care of your posture and spine health while working from home before you can even say “vaccine”. 

The boardroom is a sacred space in the office, reserved for high profile meetings, important decisions and sometimes even staff functions. After a couple of months of use, the chairs in the room can get through noticeable wear and tear, especially if the office consists of a large team with regular large meetings between departments. So what should you be looking for when it comes time to buy new chairs for this special space in the workplace? Today, we’ll dive into the considerations you should be making before making what could be a relatively expensive investment for the business. 

The Amount of Space You’re Working With

First and foremost, when buying new boardroom chairs you should consider the amount of space you’re working with. Some boardrooms have an abundance of space, especially if the table is smaller and more accommodating to departmental meetings. If you’re with one of the few companies that still has an excess of office space, it does give you some more wiggle room with regards to the chairs you can consider. An executive chair takes up more room than a traditional office chair, and if you’re in a business looking to impress investors and partners, filling the room with executive chairs (if space allows it) can be a good way to show that you mean business. 

The Types of Chairs You Want

Our example of the executive vs. standard chair aside, there are a multitude of office chair options you can explore before filling up the boardroom with chairs. A good place to start is to count how many chairs you’ll need, and to look at ranges that are roughly the same size as what you’ve been using previously. Chairs come with all kinds of bells and whistles these days, including removable headrests, ergonomic features and more. If you have a sense of what type of chair you’re looking for, and how many, it makes the job of whittling down comparative quotes all the more easier down the line too. 

The Budget That You’re Working With

We can’t talk about an investment towards office furniture without mentioning the ever important budget. Make sure that you have a rough figure in your mind before you start doing research, being mindful that the cheaper you go, the more likely the chairs will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Going cheaper can be useful if the company is in a phase of tighter cashflow, but remember that there are a multitude of perks around buying a higher quality product, including making an impression on potential collaborators, changing the tone of the room for meetings and showcasing that the business is one to be reckoned with. 

Learning More About Tech-Friendly Furniture

A final consideration you should make before buying new boardroom chairs is somewhat of an unconventional idea that is set to be more important as we get deeper into the 2020’s. Tech-friendly furniture is the way to go, especially as we live and work in society that places a lot of emphasis on improving efficiency through technological innovation. While not front of mind for many people yet, companies like Ixaxa Office Furniture are already thinking about how to incorporate tech into their office furniture, as well as how to optimise desks and other types of furniture for the future. Give them a call if you’d like to learn a bit more, which may well end up saving you a bit of money in the long run as well. Happy boardroom chair hunting!

For many of us, working from home has become the new norm, and with it, we’ve had to make quick plans to bring a viable office space into our homes in the wake of the pandemic. An office chair is one of the most important pieces of furniture you can buy in this regard, especially as most of us spend upwards of eight hours a day in work-mode and perched in front of our computers. Going for an ergonomic choice when choosing an office chair for this space can make a world of difference to your comfort and your health. So which models are particularly popular among South African consumers in 2020?

Why It Pays To Have an Ergonomic Desk Chair At Home

While first instincts might just choose the first chair you stumble onto on Google, taking some time to research your options can mean the difference between a comfortable sitting experience, or one that accentuates back pain. An ergonomic chair is specifically designed with lumbar support in mind, meaning that it provides the type of support that encourages spinal health, and caters itself to the shape of your body, adjusting as you find a comfortable position. An ergonomic desk chair at home – especially if you foresee many months of having to be away from the office itself – ensures that you don’t pick up any preventable back injuries, or that you overexert your muscles by using a makeshift chair that hasn’t been designed to be used for hours on end. 

WAU Ergonomic Chair

The first chair on our list is an exceptional choice, not only for it’s sleek design, but because it comes with all the back support you’ll need for your workday. The WAU Ergonomic Chair doesn’t only have the major benefit of providing good lumbar support. It has also been designed with parts that are able to be recycled, giving the user peace of mind that it is a sustainable purchase as well. Equipped with adjustable backrests, height adjustable armrests and tilt lock, this die-cast aluminium alloy chair goes over and above what you can expect to pay for it.

Sohum Mesh Managerial Chair

The Sohum Mesh Managerial Chair might be sold as a managerial chair, but who says you can’t feel like the boss at home? This chair comes with adjustable lumbar support and back rest features, four locking positions which can be changed using a synchro mechanism, and has the capacity to hold up to 150kg. While not making a tremendous splash about its ergonomic design, this chair has been particularly crafted to ensure sufficient back support regardless of who ends up sitting in it. Did we mention it comes with a 5 year warranty? Sold!

Apollo High Back Chair

Last but not least, the Apollo High Back Chair is a great choice for your home office, not only because it is one of the most beautiful chairs on the market right now. Coming in black or grey alternatives, this chair is 100% recyclable and has been moulded with a polypropylene shell. Some customers have suggested that it looks so sleek that it may well be found in a futuristic space movie. In terms of ergonomic design and ensuring your seat is secure (captain!), it won’t let you down. You also won’t be let down when you see how competitively it is priced relative to competitors in the market. Your work from home experience will be better than ever if you add it to your inventory this year. 

If you’re on the market for a new office chair, you might be wondering about whether to choose between a chair with wheels, or one without. What are the core differences between the two, and what should you be keeping in mind before you decide about which one to buy? Today, we’ll delve a little deeper into the benefits of either, looking at why some companies opt for one type, and others go for the alternative. We’ll also point you in the right direction if you’d like to explore both options, but need a bit of help getting a sense of the pricing options available between both types. 

The Benefits: Office Chairs with Wheels

An office chair with wheels has one major bonus to consider, which is added mobility. If you have a hotdesking environment and the office, for example, allowing for flexibility for people to move to and from various parts of the room (and the ability for them to take their chairs with them) can have an understated effect on company culture. People are strangely possessive over their office chairs, even in some of the most relaxing office environments out there. Chairs with wheels are also typically associated with chairs that take into account ergonomic benefits, and to some this means that they are often made with more concern about the wellbeing of the user. Chairs with wheels can bounce between departments, and be a great help when you’re a chair short in a meeting room during the course of the day. 

The Pros: Office Chairs Without Wheels

Office chairs without wheels come with a major positive in the form of their renowned stable and sturdy statures. These chairs are not going to require the same type of maintenance you may come to expect from chairs with wheels, and don’t leave you worrying about having to buy replacement nuts and bolts when wear and tear starts to show over time. A chair with no wheels is also less dependent on the flooring used in the office – chairs with no wheels operate in the same way irrespective of whether the floor is tiled, carpet or wood. The same can not be said for its counterpart, which may have some safety hazards depending on the type of flooring. Keep this in mind if you are furnishing an office space across various departments or if specific workers are in areas with different types of flooring altogether. 

The Best Options For Your Company Setup

When it comes down to it, it helps to break down the chairs that will work best between departments. Sales departments typically need to be on the go and often have to scramble to a quiet area in the office in order to answer an important call. A chair with wheels can be a major benefit in this instance. Marketing departments, on the other hand, rely on employees that are firmly planted at their desks, with web development and website-related positions requiring razor focus with minimal distractions. Chairs without wheels are a great fit for this type of setup. Whatever you’re looking for, to get a sense of some of the best options for your company, talk to a reputable supplier like Ixaxa Office Furniture. With over 20 years of experience in the business, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction in no time. 

2020 has been a year of ups and downs, with the coronavirus pandemic changing the way we work forever. As the world slowly starts to emerge again and businesses reopen in this interesting new climate, it may be time to consider an office refresh in order to motivate your employees once they return to the office in the “new normal”. Leather office chairs can be a great addition to various sections of the existing office space, and finding a good deal on a high quality product may be easier than you think. We’ve got you covered in terms of how much you should be thinking about spending, and where to look to find the best possible deal right now. 

Are Leather Sofas Still Fashionable?

We thought it might be good to check in about a common question that lots of interior designers hear from their clients, especially when designing an office space. Leather style sofas and chairs may be considered to be somewhat more traditional than some of its fabric counterparts, but they are certainly still considered to be trendy in regard to these other options. Leather allows for a mix between a contemporary and modern workspace, depending on the way it is used relative to the other pieces of furniture in the space, while also adding a sleek and high-end touch to spaces that feel like they need a little bit of sprucing up to begin with. 

Tips To Consider Before Buying Leather Furniture

Whenever you’re thinking of buying a new piece of furniture, it’s important to consider a couple of tips to make the process easier, and to know exactly what you should be looking out for if you’ve got a fabric in mind already. You can identify genuine leather by the texture and the smell. It should be soft and warm to the touch, and should have a rich and distinctive aroma. Often, faux leather will emit a chemical smell. Consider the grain too, and if you see variations, the likelihood is that you’re buying genuine leather. If it’s very uniform, you are likely buying a fake. This can affect how long it lasts, what you end up paying at the store, and potential resale value down the line. 

How Much To Spend on a Leather Office Chair in 2020

The million dollar question indeed, knowing how much to pay for a leather office chair in 2020 can mean the difference between buying at a competitive rate and getting taken for a ride. Office chairs can retail from anywhere upwards of R2000 in the lower-end of the spectrum, but if you’re serious about a leather model, don’t expect to pay less than R5000. These prices are subject to disparities due to the onset of COVID-19, which will still have a major effect on prices based on international imports and price hikes brought on by companies trying to cover overheads. Expect the unexpected, but don’t accept any price, and do thorough research on competitor prices before you make a buying decision. 

Starting Your Search For The Perfect Office Chair

Leather or not, your next office chair should come from a reputable supplier that has you covered from the moment you pick out the chair, until it arrives at the office space. Reputable companies like Ixaxa Office Furniture are renowned for offering a full-scale service irrespective of whether the customer is placing an individual or a bulk order. While you need to call them directly to find out about the prices related to their catalogue, it’s worth getting in touch, as their experts will also be able to direct you to the best places to look if they can’t assist with what you’re looking for. You’ll be on your way to the refreshed office space you’re craving before you even know it.