If you go to buy office chairs online, you’ll rapidly discover that it’s an incredibly varied marketplace with so many types of chairs available. It’s fair to say that one doesn’t realise just how many types of chairs an office might need until they actually have to go and choose chairs for their own workspace!
Below is a guide to some of the more common types of office chairs, how they’re used and what benefits they bring.
- 24-Hour / Heavy Duty Chairs
These are a very common type of office chair with cloth upholstery and usually a mesh seat back in fabric or plastic, and flat-topped arms of black plastic/vinyl at the sides quite elevated. They are height-adjustable and roll around on 5-6 casters. They’re a common kind of “default” office chair because they’re affordable, supportive and generally comfortable to use for long periods of sitting. What’s more, they’re durable and will last potentially for many years, but even when they do give out they’re easily replaced.
- “Boss” Chair, aka Big and Tall Chair
These look like a larger and more luxuriously upholstered version of the 24-hour chair. They are usually covered in leather, have high seat backs and leather cushioning on the seating and even on the armrests. They are still adjustable and movable on 5-6 casters, but offer more in the way of lumbar support and long-lasting comfort for your rear. They’re often called boss chairs because it’s associated with a more executive office.
Design varies from the more modern that are sometimes installed with USB charge points, electric massagers and more, to the more traditional old-world with contrast stitching, leather crimping and mixture of leather and real-wood finishes.
- Conference/Meeting Chairs
This type of chair is characterized by slim metal side arms, often in a chrome finish. The seat itself features a flatter and less cushioned seat and a straighter back. Their ergonomic design is meant to encourage people to sit more forward in the seat since they’d be seated at a meeting room table or conference table. They’re typically height-adjustable, and the base comes either on moving casters or as a steady metal star-shape base.
- Drafting Chairs/Stools
If your office has draftsmen and designers who sit at easel tables with adjustable heights and angles, they need a chair that will afford them the best viewing angle at all times. These chairs are similar in design to the heavy-duty chairs in their seat, seat back and arm design, but the main difference is their much greater range of height adjustability. What’s more, they usually feature a metal rack below the seat to allow the user to rest their feet since they will more than likely not be touching the floor.
- Tablet Arm Chairs
These are sometimes used in meeting rooms and collaboration spaces as they allow the user a chair with a convenient desk attached for a notebook, laptop or tablet computer. They’re increasingly common where people need to take work devices into large conference room meetings or town hall events where there isn’t room for everyone to sit around one table.
- Sofas and Loveseats
Don’t let that last name fool you, it’s just a fancy name for a cute 2-seater sofa. Sofas and loveseats are often very useful for office spaces as comfortable reception furniture that clients and visitors can sit in while they wait. They’re also a very good choice for rest and recreation areas of the office, or to put in a humble break room to give tired employees a rest from their office chair for a few minutes.
