Tag Archives: chairs

Virén Chair can pick itself up after a fall to make a sustainability point

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Plastic is almost impossible to get rid of at this point in human history. Despite their known negative effects on the environment, they are still one of the most widely-used materials because of their often superior properties. As part of efforts to at least reduce the amount of new plastics produced and wasted, some have put their focus on recycling plastic instead. Finnish energy company Fortum is showcasing one such material in a chair that has been designed to send a message of resilience and named after an athlete that embodies what it means to make a comeback.

Designer: Fortum

In the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, Finnish long-distance runner Lasse Virén fell in the middle of the 10,000-meter finals. Not only did Virén get up to finish the race, he actually won the gold for that event and set new records, some of which he still holds today. Fortum chose to name its revolutionary chair after the famed athlete as the Virén Chair represents standing up again, without external help.

Some chairs have the tendency to topple over, but none are able to get up on their own, not unless there is some clever robotics involved. Fortum, however, decided to use the very laws of physics that caused the chair to fall down to also raise it up on its own. The chair simply uses the momentum of the fall to roll on its back, where a specially-designed structure causes it to roll upright again.

This “self-rising” action isn’t the only metaphor that can be associated with Virén. Even the very design of the chair is a nod to dynamism and motion. The legs of the chair, for example, almost look like a runner’s in the middle of a sprint.

Fortum is also using the Virén Chair to stand up for a sustainability push, one that uses its plastic recyclate to produce more complicated forms and products. Recycle plastics are not new, of course, but their use has often been limited to simpler applications. Fortum’s Circo, which mixes post-consumer plastic waste with other materials, like cellulose fiber, was created to push the envelope of where recycled plastics can be used.

In truth, the Virén Chair is a showcase of the Fortum Circo can do, particularly in how it can be used to design products with more challenging shapes. Unfortunately, that also means it isn’t yet a product you can buy but more of a prototype for Fortum’s clients to examine. Hopefully, that won’t be the case forever, and we’ll soon see the Virén Chair rise up to the challenge of selling recycled plastic chairs in the mass market.

The post Virén Chair can pick itself up after a fall to make a sustainability point first appeared on Yanko Design.

Sustainable, beautiful and comfy chairs that are made from stacks of factory offcut felt

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Surplus materials and offcuts are often reused to create art pieces that try to send a message. A new system, however, tries to turn what is considered waste into sustainable furniture for the living room that you can actually use and sit on.

The demand for clothing and furniture upholstery has probably gone up in the past few years, as more people become more attuned to well-designed products. That means more materials are used for production, which unfortunately also means more scraps are left on the cutting room floor, quite literally. While some of these materials are biodegradable or at least recyclable, one design firm is putting them to good use to create furniture that not only looks comfortable but artistically striking as well.

Designer: Stacklab

How many ways can you cut felt to turn it into something usable? Apparently, there are a lot of ways, especially if you let a machine decide. More than just a collection of designer furniture in the form of chairs, lounges, and benches, Stackabl is actually a new system that mixes machine precision with human creativity. In a nutshell, a specialized configurator software analyzes choices made by a user or a designer, like colors or dimensions, and selects high-quality felt offcuts that are then cut by robots for use in making furniture.

With limitations set by this configurator, six designers from Maison Gerard set out to create memorable designer furniture that looks almost wasteful if you didn’t know they were made from factory surplus and offcuts. Each designer expressed different ideas and influences, resulting in wildly different designs.

The Raki corner chair, for example, exudes a spirit of play and frivolity with its uneven form and non-uniform legs, while Dulces dining chair might remind you of the cake it’s named after, especially one with a sweet pink filling in the middle. The Madame chaise lounge’s predominantly red hue and sloping “shoulders” make it look exotic, while the Maxine bench’s mix of design influences is just as varied as its colors.

In addition to reusing materials that would normally be thrown away, Stackabl also puts the power and choice into the hands of regional manufacturers and designers. By keeping in touch with regional sources for these materials and allowing designers from that region to exercise their creativity, Stackabl tries to hit two birds with one stone in reducing carbon footprint while also enriching and empowering local economies.

The post Sustainable, beautiful and comfy chairs that are made from stacks of factory offcut felt first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Star Lounger Anthropomorphic Chair: Patrick Star, Is That You?

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Inspired by the shape of a star, the Star Lounger from Troy Smith Studio makes a sitter feel almost as if they’re sitting in SpongeBob BFF Patrick Star’s lap. And who hasn’t ever wanted to experience that? Move over, Santa, there’s a new lap I want to sit on in town!

The lounger measures 54″ wide x 44″ deep x 65″ high with a 20″ seat height and is perfect if you’re an evil villain remodeling your lair and looking for a new chair from which to plot world domination. It’s upholstered with black stretch velvet and brass caps and costs $35,000. Good lord – I think it’s high time you and I get in the ridiculous chair-making business. We just need to make and sell one a year and split the profits and we could live like kings! I mean, provided kings still ride the bus and eat ramen noodles five out of seven nights a week.

Will I be adding one to my evil lair (read: walk-up studio apartment)? Probably not. But only because it isn’t available in coral pink like the real Patrick Star. That’s the only reason. The price tag has nothing to do with it. Because I could totally buy one if I really wanted to and could live without kidneys.

[via Trendhunter]

Meet the newest DIY flatpack stool that takes only 4 steps to assemble without any tools or hardware!

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Small stools can come in handy anywhere. From empty art studios to crowded offices, stools can make the simple difference between sitting on the floor and having a seat. They especially come in handy when they’re designed for easy assembly and storage. Developed by Alondra Elizalde, That Stool is a flatpack DIY small stool designed with easy assembly to provide a practical means of having a stool anywhere, at any time.

That Stool is comprised of only a few parts: a seat rest, five legs, a couple of star-shaped spindles, and some connecting nuts and bolts. All contained within a flatpack corrugated cardboard box, the parts of That Stool are easy to assemble with no additional hardware required. Following the imprinted instructions on the underside of That Stool’s top cover, users will first attach each leg to the corresponding screws on the star-shaped spindles. From there, connecting fasteners secure the legs and spindles in place, providing a sturdy bolster for the seat rest to mount.

Assembled in only four steps without any additional hardware, That Stool is a practical and easy solution where small stools might come be needed at a minute’s notice. Whether you volunteer at an art gallery or tutor youngsters through an after-school program, That Stool is a simple and versatile piece of furniture that can be used anywhere, at any time.

Designer: Alondra Elizalde

The post Meet the newest DIY flatpack stool that takes only 4 steps to assemble without any tools or hardware! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This playful bar stool uses rock climbing hand grips as foot rests to meet your feet wherever they fall!

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12 Steps is a cushioned chair design that features a system of footrests in the style of hand and foot grips on a climbing rock wall.

It’s no secret that stools are usually more functional than they are comfortable. With a hard seat rest, stools aren’t built for long sitting periods, and depending on your height, your feet are either swinging midair or only just touching the floor below.

Built as a whimsical alternative to the traditional stool, 12 Steps is a new cushioned stool from HaYoung Yoo that comes with built-in footrests designed like rock wall climbing steps so that people of varying heights will have a place where they can prop their feet.

HaYoung Yoo’s 12 Steps stool is built on a six-sided wooden pillar that’s punctuated with climbing holds more commonly found on rock walls. The climbing holds that fill up the stool’s wooden pillar are placed so that users can use them as footrests.

The stools also feature a rotating seat designed similarly to traditional bar stools so that the positioning of the footrests can meet users where their legs fall. The footrests can also function as hand grips for when you might want to move 12 Steps around the room. Ideal for a kid’s classroom or whimsical art studio, 12 Steps was built for comfort, functionality, and playfulness.

Designing innovative chair designs is a tough ask–they’ve been around for as long as any of us can remember. Innovation in new chairs might come through with their multifunctionality, adaptability, or simple comfort. 12 Steps reaches for all three, with an adaptable footrest system, rotating seat rest, and cushioned top.

Designer: HaYoung Yoo

These Top 10 Seating Solutions are inspired by your favorite Herman Miller chairs!

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We often underestimate the importance of a great chair! When in reality we really shouldn’t. We spend the majority of our day sitting on chairs, whether we’re working in our home office, enjoying a meal, or simply sitting and reading a book for leisure! We need a well-designed chair for all our tasks. And if they’re any slouchy heads like me here, you almost always find yourself slinking off into some goofy position! As comfy as these eccentric positions maybe, they’re dreadful for our vertebrae! They can have severe long-term effects on our back, and hence maintaining a straight and proper posture is critical. As important as it is to pick an aesthetically and visually pleasing chair design, we also need to pay attention to ergonomics and form. It needs to be comfortable, ergonomic, and good-looking! Quite a lot, isn’t it? So, we’ve curated a collection of chair designs for you that meet all these criteria! These innovative furniture designs are not only a boon to your back, and help you maintain a healthy posture, but are also super comfy to sink into, and will perfectly match the interiors of your modern homes. You can thank us later!

Tai Matlin and Taiwon Choi of Fellowes have designed an office chair with a hanging seating position that follows the body movements. The hanging seat ensures maximum comfort for the spine, hips, and lower limbs at all times – no matter how long you’ve been sitting! The unique chair design with patented Omni-Kinetic Suspension Technology for micro-body movement in multiple directions prevents fatigue during long hours of sitting. Keeping in mind the extended working hours Elea chair has a contoured design to support natural spine alignment and lumbar positioning which all goes well for long-term health benefits. The chair also boasts adjustable tension and balanced support which most of the office chairs simply don’t have.

Primarily designed for workers who spend most of their days sitting down in the office or at home, the 5° Chair features cushioning that forms to your body and posture to ensure comfortable sitting throughout the day. The chair’s seat plate cozies up to and hugs your hips for support from the bottom, with added cushion for comfort. Similarly, the backrest plate forms to the shape of your back to bolster your posture and encourage an upright spine. The 5° Chair’s legs are reinforced in the core with angled wave springs that can tilt in any direction, while the chair’s spindle can lean from side to side, 5 degrees from its center point. The rotatability of the 5° Chair allows it to adjust to your body’s natural movement, offering support from every angle.

Designed by Xue Song, the multifunctional chair christened Dysta looks simple yet has a multitude of uses – ideal for any city apartment, your bedroom, or the backyard. By simply turning it around in a specific orientation, the function of Dysta changes dramatically. It goes from a high stool to a normal chair and then into a low seating in the blink of an eye. The chair transforms – it can turn into a swing lounger when you need to relax and don’t have a rocking chair on your porch. Such is the design simplicity of the chair; it will fit into any section of your home, lifestyle, or interior.

This Sayl concept chair by Charley takes into account the larger shift in our habits as homes have become hybrid offices and our flexible lifestyle (psst! He also keeps in mind the hours we spend as gamers or serial binge-watchers). We need chairs that can allow us to do more and this Sayl chair lets you maximize your space whether you are working, playing games at your desk, or chilling in a VR universe. The aesthetics of the design uses muted greys to blend into every home interior design with orange accents in the chair that call to attention pivotal touchpoints, making the design as intuitive as possible. Simply push the foot pedal mechanism to collapse the chair’s design, making it an easy-to-store, space-saving solution we all need!

Young Brazilian designers Gustavo Alves Miranda and Silas Stempcoski designed modular workstation furniture primarily tailored for home working setups. The designers’ goal is to optimize the home office workplace with form and function that encourages healthy postural habits. According to Gustavo, his furniture design named Mode, “brings joy and comfort within a furniture for those who work alone.” The minimalistic furniture design comprises a table, seat, and kneeling module – all working in different ways as per the requirement. It has a compact mode which turns it into an elegant side table – ideal beside the bed or sofa. Then there is the customary table and chair module for professional working hours.

Studio Stirling’s Sling Hanging Chair gives you that stress-melting effect you get from a hammock, but indoors. The hanging chair comprises a metal hoop suspended from the ceiling, on which lies draped a piece of thick leather that you sit on. Quite like how a hammock adjusts to your shape and posture when you sit on it, Studio Stirling’s Sling adjusts to your frame too, letting you hang out for a bit… quite literally! The Sling hanging chair is an exercise in form, function, and minimalism. Stripped away from anything excess, it reduces the chair to its most abstract form, even ditching the legs in the process!

Fitwork’s design sort of embodies a no-excuse mentality to being fit. Whether it’s the excuse of ‘being too busy’, or of ‘not wanting to go all the way to the gym’, Fitwork combats it by bringing the gym not just to your house, but to your workspace. Designed as a product to let you work and work out at the same time, this crazy hybrid of a desk chair and treadmill keeps your legs active while you work. Whether you’re sitting in front of a laptop or standing in front of one, it’s the sedentary lifestyle that Fitwork tackles. The setup (which is sure to grab a few eyeballs) comes with an office chair attached to a treadmill underneath, and an elliptical in front. Coupled with an elevating desk, the Fitwork allows you to keep the lower half of your body active while you work, giving you cardio as well as keeping your spine engaged, whether you’re sitting or standing while working.

The Tamable Chair maintains the shape of a traditional lounge chair for optimal comfort. Over time, the Tamable Chair’s surface morphs to different seated positions and becomes more comfortable with continued use. Styrofoam is composed of 98% air, making it the ideal packing material. Styrofoam tends to contort and warp when pressure is applied to its surface. Even as kids, poking at sheets of styrofoam taught us that the depressions our fingerprints make don’t rise. Fountain studio used that insight when developing the Tamable Chair to allow the styrofoam surface to adapt to different body shapes and seated positions.

To give you the feeling of working from the office while working from home, designer Andrew Mangelsdorf created the Commute chair. The name commute chair might give you the idea that it helps you recreate the journey (maybe it’s a variation of floo powder that transports you while sitting in place), it literally helps create a barrier between your home and workspace. Designing a home office is a luxury not everyone can afford – we often convert our bedroom into the workroom and the dining table into a desk for the day. Commute lets you mentally transform yourself by pulling up the partitions of this ingenious chair. The chair also comes with multiple accessories like a swiveling tabletop and a table light – all integrated to create the perfect desk set up in the form of one simple chair.

The Komfort is a shape-shifting ergonomic chair that supports a whole variety of configurations and styles. Designed to make you sit better for longer, its adjustable details allow you to maintain a comfortable posture no matter what your work setup is. For people with higher tables, the height-adjustment feature works like a charm, and for people who want to sit comfortably but be closer to the screen, the seat-tilt function lets you lean forward right in your seat. Moreover, if you want to comfortably stand while working, the swivel-out knee supports allow you to half-stand while sitting, keeping your spine vertical and giving you the benefit of a corrected posture while you work. Along with its shape-shifting nature, the Komfort is also complemented by details that actually make sitting for long more comfortable.

Innovative Chair Designs that are redefining this king of modern furniture!

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We often underestimate the importance of a great chair! When in reality we really shouldn’t. We spend the majority of our day sitting on chairs, whether we’re working in our home office, enjoying a meal, or simply sitting and reading a book for leisure! Hence, this furniture needs to be not only comfortable but ergonomic, and aesthetic as well is quite essential. And we’ve curated a collection of chair designs that meet all these criteria! These innovative chairs are not only a boon to your back, and help you maintain a healthy posture, but are also super comfy to sink into, and will perfectly match the interiors of your modern homes. Enjoy!

The Soul Seat helps you sit in a neutral posture that is effortless and comfortable. The springs on the elevated perch tilt the pelvis forward, open the hips and help align the spine. You can sit in several positions if crossing legs isn’t comfortable for you, the chair enables you to switch between multiple positions frequently keeping your body engaged and blood flowing. For some, this may also alleviate neck and back pain! The height of both levels can be adjusted to suit your workspace setup. I know there were many comments from our Instagram audience about it missing a backrest and while I don’t think it causes harm if you sit without one (people meditate and work in this very posture for hours in Asian countries), I do think having an option of a detachable backrest can help those who are just starting to work on their posture ease into it. It is about having that choice which opens up many more people to use the Soul Seat, however, there are countless reviews that mention it being comfortable as it is so it is a great design but it does come down to personal preference.

The Lu chair makes furniture foldable and transportable easily. And this is the best foldable chair I have seen so far! The Lu chair folds without effort and can be carried around very easily. A lot of designs we see are foldable but even after folding not easy to carry around or takes too much time to fold. Made up of plastic, this makes the mechanism work perfectly. As Lu explains, “Many times we find ourselves having to put away objects, perhaps to make room, perhaps to clean the house and sometimes even to take them with us, but above all for furniture of a certain level it is always very difficult. This is where “Lu chair” was born, a dining chair suitable for different types of target, from the most elegant and sophisticated with an eye to detail but also to a younger, fashion-conscious audience. The design is innovative and elegant at the same time and the name “Lu” derives precisely from “luggage” because of its ease of being resealable and transportable wherever you want.”

Sourcing a type of non-existence as his main inspiration, Luu designed Sado as an experiment in unconventional design and the result proves the singularity that can be achieved without blueprints guiding the way. Before designing Sado, Luu wondered, “What if the chair as we knew it never existed?” Eliminating all preconceptions regarding chair designs and all their variations, Luu began at ground zero. Speaking to this, Luu says, “As the archetype of the chair had been left unchanged for the past 6,500 years, an exploration was made to find a unique sitting form.” Settling on both a comfortable and distinct sitting form required a complete restructuring of the traditional upright chair and backrest.

Looking like a piece of cloth draped on a chair (without the chair), the MEMORIA is a groundbreaking, avant-garde chair proposal based on brutalist design principles, that uses a concrete fabric to realize its unique, gravity-defying design. The material generally referred to as Concrete Canvas, is a flexible fabric impregnated with concrete, which hardens when hydrated and forms a thin, durable, waterproof, and fire-resistant layer. The prototyping technique ensures each chair is unique in the way the chair looks and the fabric folds, along with a bespoke brutalist concrete texture on its surface.

Discovered in 1985, fullerenes are mysterious carbon molecules. The carbon atoms in these molecules are connected by single or double bonds forming a closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. These interesting molecules are used for a multitude of purposes – from creating artificial diamonds to treating asthma! In fact, these closed molecules resemble soccer balls, and are casually called BuckyBalls! And the ODESD2 Design Bureau used them as an inspiration for their furniture design ‘Buckyball’. Besides having the same name, the furniture design also mimics the structure of the actual molecule. Buckyball is made up of six spheres, consisting of twelve pentagons each, forming an eccentric geometric structure.

This Sayl concept chair by Charley takes into account the larger shift in our habits as homes have become hybrid offices and our flexible lifestyle (psst! He also keeps in mind the hours we spend as gamers or serial binge-watchers). Now more than ever we demand more from the spaces we live in, our homes are now our workplaces, our workout spaces, and also the places we socialize and relax – the pieces of furniture we choose have to be optimized for our space and be more compact without sacrificing on the functionalities or luxuries in the case of a high-end furniture design brand like Herman Miller.

With a name that perfectly describes the chair’s visual style, the Lattice Chair is an interesting single-arm chair made from interwoven strips of wood. Designed for comfort as well as for that interesting aesthetic, the chair comes with a single armrest, allowing you to sit with complete postural flexibility. Its cushion is made from high-quality Taiwanese bamboo strips, known for their excellent toughness. The result is a chair that weighs a mere 4 kilos but can take up to 120 kilos of weight.

With its apt name, the Komfort Chair aims at making that WFH situation is at least more comfortable. Like any good office chair, it comes with height adjustment as well as armrest and backrest adjustment… but it’s arguably the only chair that gives you the ability to even adjust seat-tilt as well as seat-depth, allowing you to sit in any configuration that’s best for your posture in relation to your furniture and workstation. The Komfort Chair even has knee rests that swivel out, allowing you to turn it into a standing chair for better blood circulation and overall posture improvement. The Komfort is a shape-shifting ergonomic chair that supports a whole variety of configurations and styles. Designed to make you sit better for longer, its adjustable details allow you to maintain a comfortable posture no matter what your work setup is.

Danny Cheung brought to life his own vision of the elusive ‘great chair design’ with the Clipspringer Lounge Chair. Similar to the Eames Office Chair, Clipspringer is constructed using spring steel, which, much like great chair designs, is a durable, long-lasting building material all thanks to its molding process. Spring steel is the product of a low alloy, medium carbon steel that is heat-tempered to bend and harden the steel into the designer’s desired figure. By partly using spring steel to create the structure of Clipspringer, the chair’s overall elastic modulus is benefitted to maintain an object’s stress on the chair’s cushion and backrest without it concaving inwards.

According to Gustavo, his furniture design named Mode, “brings joy and comfort within a furniture for those who work alone.” The minimalistic furniture design comprises a table, seat, and kneeling module – all working in different ways as per the requirement. It has a compact mode which turns it into an elegant side table – ideal beside the bed or sofa. Then there is the customary table and chair module for professional working hours. The most interesting is the kneeling mode that brings the function of a rocking chair for more comfortable working. This mode is triggered by pressing the lower button and pulling the extendable base support for back and forth motion.

NG Architects created Spring, a multifunctional table that blooms into a chair with a backrest at the push of a button. Spring comprises a cylindrical shape that increases or decreases in height according to its desired function. At its lowest height of 500mm, Spring serves as a simple side table with a natural wood top. Then, by simply pressing the table down, Spring’s built-in compression springs are activated and morph the side table into a chair with a backrest. By following the same pushing tactic, the Spring chair can reach its maximum height of 900mm, transforming into a table that can work as a centerpiece for a small studio space. While the main building material used to construct Spring is oak wood, the furniture’s compression springs are made from aluminum, while natural and white paint colors coat the sides and top of Spring.

The World’s Lightest Chair Weighs Only 3.66 Pounds

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Chairs: they make a terrible noise when you pull them out from under the dining room table because they’re heavy and you’re too lazy or not strong enough to pick them up (both in my case). Enter the ULTRALEGGERA chair designed by Oskar Zięta, a chair that weighs only 1660 grams (~3.66 pounds), and is made entirely from lightweight aluminum. But will it be able to support me after Thanksgiving dinner?

THe ULTRALEGGERA features a laser-cut backrest and seat to further shave off weight and comes in four colors: natural aluminum, white, painted silver, and black. Unfortunately, for those interested that weren’t born with silver spoons in their mouths, what the chair lacks in weight more than makes up for in price, with a single chair costing over $900. For reference, I was able to buy about forty folding chairs for that, and still, nobody came to see my band play.

[via Dude I Want That]

A Giant King Crab Sculptural Chair: Pass the Butter, Please

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Because nothing says I’m the king of this sandcastle like a giant red crab chair in which to rest your beach bum, purveyor of unusual home and garden decor Design Toscano has created this Giant Red King Crab Sculptural Chair. I can already imagine myself bossing my shrimp minions around from the comfort of its molded seat.

Cast in fiberglass-reinforced resin and hand-painted one crab at a time, the 137-pound chairs measure 44″ wide, 29″ deep, 28″ tall, and cost $900 apiece. Wow, I knew king crabs were expensive, but holy smokes. Due to their cost, I’ve never actually had king crabs before. Or queen crabs, or prince or princess crabs. Only lowly peasant crabs.

So, am I going to replace every single seat in my seafood restaurant with these chairs? Absolutely, which will actually be significantly cheaper than you might expect considering I don’t own a seafood restaurant. I do love Long John Silver’s though.

[via Homecrux]

Ergonomic chair designs that support your back, and ensure you maintain a healthy posture!

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We may overlook chairs most of the time, but the fact is that they’re an extremely essential piece of furniture. We spend most of our day on chairs, whether while working in our office or sitting and enjoying a meal. And if they’re any slouchy heads like me here, you always find yourself slinking off into some goofy position! As comfy as these eccentric positions maybe, they’re dreadful for our vertebrae! They can have severe long-term effects on our back, and hence maintaining a straight and proper posture is critical. Thankfully, furniture designers have been coming up with ergonomic chair designs that are a boon to our backs, they encourage a healthy posture, and support us in maintaining one! It’s time to be mindful even in the selection of our chairs.

The Soul Seat helps you sit in a neutral posture that is effortless and comfortable. The springs on the elevated perch tilt the pelvis forward, open the hips and help align the spine. You can sit in several positions if crossing legs isn’t comfortable for you, the chair enables you to switch between multiple positions frequently keeping your body engaged and blood flowing. For some, this may also alleviate neck and back pain! The height of both levels can be adjusted to suit your workspace setup. I know there were many comments from our Instagram audience about it missing a backrest and while I don’t think it causes harm if you sit without one (people meditate and work in this very posture for hours in Asian countries), I do think having an option of a detachable backrest can help those who are just starting to work on their posture ease into it. It is about having that choice which opens up many more people to use the Soul Seat, however, there are countless reviews that mention it being comfortable as it is so it is a great design but it does come down to personal preference.

The unique chair design with patented Omni-Kinetic Suspension Technology for micro-body movement in multiple directions prevents fatigue during long hours of sitting. Keeping in mind the extended working hours Elea chair has a contoured design to support natural spine alignment and lumbar positioning which all goes well for long-term health benefits. The chair also boasts adjustable tension and balanced support which most of the office chairs simply don’t have. Other than that a lot of thought has been put into the designing of every single little detail of this chair which will leave nothing to complaining. Winner of the IDSA Award, the team says “The seat pan is suspended with steel rods that allow the seat—and you—to freely move while ensuring proper balance and stability. By introducing micromovement into the workday, the Elea Office Chair encourages improved circulation, heart health, muscle, and joint flexibility, and mental alertness. From an executive office to open workspaces, Elea keeps you in flow while you work.”

The Zero Gravity Balans chair was designed to be a blend of relaxation and productivity. It is the vision of what a modern chair should be – multifunctional and aesthetically pleasing. What sets this chair apart is that it has no mechanical adjustment parts, it is made to be so ergonomic that your body movements dictate its positions. You can choose to adjust it at four different angles which gives you room to be flexible with your posture and the chair to mold itself according to the space it is set in. You can sit in whatever position that is comfortable to you from kneeling to the fully reclined – one works for Netflix party and one for working from home. The Zero Gravity Balans chair’s unique form makes sure that no matter how you are seated, your body is constantly close to its balancing point, allowing the slightest shift of weight to bring you from one position to the next. Now only if the gym equipment worked like that too!

Fitwork’s design sort of embodies a no-excuse mentality to being fit. Whether it’s the excuse of ‘being too busy, or of ‘not wanting to go all the way to the gym’, Fitwork combats it by bringing the gym not just to your house, but to your workspace. Designed as a product to let you work and work out at the same time, this crazy hybrid of a desk-chair and treadmill keeps your legs active while you work. Whether you’re sitting in front of a laptop or standing in front of one, it’s the sedentary lifestyle that Fitwork tackles. The setup (which is sure to grab a few eyeballs) comes with an office chair attached to a treadmill underneath, and an elliptical in front. Coupled with an elevating desk, the Fitwork allows you to keep the lower half of your body active while you work, giving you cardio as well as keeping your spine engaged, whether you’re sitting or standing while working. While you’re sitting, your legs naturally rest on the Fitwork’s elliptical, allowing you to pedal away while typing out emails or attending zoom calls without really anyone knowing what a fitness buff you are. Swivel the chair back and boost your desk upwards and you’ve got yourself a standing workout workspace. Activate the treadmill and you can walk while working… or as I call it, walking the walk while talking the talk.

CoreChair, an ergonomic active sitting chair, fortunately, meets you where you are, offering a kinesiology-backed solution for comfortable and healthy sitting. CEO of CoreChair, Patrick Harrison says the foundation of a healthy spine is the pelvis and ability to move freely. CoreChair boasts its benefits through movement. Inspired by the stability ball, CoreChair encourages free movement in all directions within 14 degrees and incorporates a pelvic cushion that stabilizes and hugs the top, posterior side of the pelvis. I know when my posture seems lazy, I’ll line it up with my seat’s backrest, knocking my pelvic bone off-center in the process. In order to avoid uncomfortable seated adjustments like mine, CoreChair’s pelvic cushions are made from memory foam to provide constant postural support no matter how often you move around.

In South-Eastern countries, it is more common for people to sit cross-legged on the floor than to sit on chairs. Not only is this an integral part of their culture, but it is supposed to be quite good for the posture too! Drawing inspiration from the tradition of his country, Iranian designer Arsalan Ghadimi created the Lunule Chair. Featuring a wooden frame with leather-lined cushions, the chair incorporates the tradition of sitting cross-legged. Its circular form provides the perfect structure to place the lower half of our bodies onto, with sufficient space for our knees and legs as well! The doughnut-like seat evenly distributes the force exerted upon our body when we sit, enabling us to maintain a solid posture. A backrest with a soft foam cushion can be attached to the Lunule Chair, paired up with the already ergonomic form of the chair, this provides further support to our caudal vertebrae and waist.

BeYou is a “transforming chair that adapts to you,” which means that whatever seated position is calling your name, BeYou will adjust accordingly. The spirit of this chair and what makes it so special is that it isn’t fixed by any means, it was designed to be ever-changing to meet your growing needs. The convertible chair is cushioned with soft and durable fabric that wraps itself over a double layer of foam for a bouncy and form-fitting seat rest. Oak veneer coats the exterior parts of BeYou so that the chair not only conforms to your body but also your room and office, or wherever you choose to position your BeYou chair. The quick-release hinges that switch the chair’s positions and presentation are user-friendly in that they operate through simple, intuitive mechanical movements. The hinges work to reveal over ten different positions into which BeYou can transform. Auto-lock wheels keep BeYou mobile on the floor and were built to withstand constant movement and heavyweight loads, allowing for swift turns and motion on either carpet or hard surfaces.

The Beel Chair’s unique biodynamic aesthetic literally takes inspiration from the part of your body that rests against it… the spine! Mimicking the shape of two vertebral bones, connected together by a spinal column, the Beel chair offers comfortable sitting and healthy posture, while being flexible, thanks to the backrest’s design. Designed by Selami Gündüzeri, the Beel is reminiscent of the design aesthetic championed by German design stalwart Luigi Colani, who passed away at 91 today. Always one to shun the use of straight lines because everything about our world is dominated by curves, right from its shape to its orbit, to every creature within it, Colani was a strong proponent of embracing nature’s curves and of practicing organic design not just for visual fulfillment, but for ultimate ergonomic comfort too. Selami’s Beel chair is perhaps a perfect example of that philosophy.

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From the makers of this core-building chair comes another iteration of the design with a new, sleeker look. Like the original, its symmetrical seat means you can sit in one of two ways: straddled as if you were on horseback OR in a traditional chair position. The new version, however, features a minimalistic blend of bentwood framing and a soft felt seat. Its shape forces you to balance – so whether you’re at the dinner table or your desk, you’ll be working on your core whether you realize it or not.

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Meditation isn’t something to be rushed and holding your body in the correct position for an extensive period of time isn’t at all easy. However, UNDO might just solve this. Designed to hold the user’s body in an ergonomic position, they are able to sit close to the ground for a prolonged period of time, without any discomfort. And UNDO rocks, literally! The cushion, which has been engineered with multiple layers of foam compresses as the user sits down, gently rocking them forward to align their hips and back. The form of the cushion has been carefully considered in order to avoid the ‘hippie’ aesthetic that is often associated with meditation. With the help of its playful shape and natural color palette, UNDO will look no more out of place than any other item of furniture in the room.