Something Old, Something New, Something Flexible and Something Green

At 5’5”, I love visiting showrooms with my 6’4” coworker because we can really evaluate chairs. I’ve found that the vast majority of task and guest seating fits into 3 categories: 1-we both hate it 2- I love it but it’s too small for him 3- he loves it but I’m being swallowed by it. Recently we’ve been finding some chairs that fit into a 4th category: we both love them.

Leap WorkLounge & Ottoman

Not necessarily a new introduction, but more of an updated classic, the new Leap WorkLounge & Ottoman was one of our favorites. We both had one of those moments where you sit down, put your feet up, and say “ahhh.” This brought me back to the days when I used to actually work for a Steelcase dealership in Cairo. In 2000 when the Leap retailed at a much higher price, we had only one in our work area and it was the most coveted task chair. It brings me back nostalgically to my first experience with the contract furniture industry. And while I may have purchased 100 Aerons last year, there’s a still a place in my heart for the Leap. This new version has a nifty sidekick: an ottoman that flips up into a laptop table. Sweet!

i2i by Steelcase

The i2i, another one of our faves by Steelcase, is cool because it looks techy and has a StarWars-type name. It also happened to be very comfortable for both of us. This chair’s seat swivels so that you can turn in your seat and rest sideways on the arm. This is perfect because while I like to talk about ergonomics and posture as much as the next person, in reality I sit in chairs like a pretzel. i2i lets you do this in style.

Generation by Knoll

Another chair we were both really down with is the Generation by Knoll. We saw this earlier in the week at another dealership and we’re eagerly awaiting a sample to come to our office. I’d already tried this chair at NEOCON and anyone who was there couldn’t have missed all the yummy candy-colored versions on display at Knoll. Generation is ergonomic, affordable, and pretty. Not to mention very green. Check out knoll.com for recycled content, green guard info and other sustainable stats. It’s also first task chair I’ve seen that you can sit in backwards, lean into and flex the back down. Finally, a work chair that you can show who’s boss.

Generation’s Flexible Back