Ever since I moved into my new apartment I have been struggling with my workspace. I live in a small (650sq ft.) 1-bedroom apartment, which doesn’t leave much space for anything, especially an office. However, as someone who occasionally works from home it was something I needed to figure out.
The biggest obstacle was my chair. It’s a great chair however not the right fit for my space or for me. First of all it was too large! I had a hard time squeezing past it to get to other parts of the room, not to mention it was not the easiest object to maneuver. I felt like I was in a constant battle with my office chair. I couldn’t get comfortable in it and my arm always slipped off the arm pieces uncontrollably. I said enough is enough and I went looking for a new chair
Now as someone who works for a company that sells office furniture you can imagine I didn’t have to look far. But what did I want out of a new office chair? I knew I definitely needed something smaller for a start that was easy to maneuver around the tight space of my room. I wanted arms that wouldn’t slip easily and leave me flat on my face. I also didn’t want to be swallowed whole by some the larger more cumbersome task chairs. I needed something that fit my frame.
So I hit the warehouse. Who knew there were so many different kinds of task chairs? I sat in a few, swiveled around and played with all the adjustments: back support, adjustable arms, seat angle, seat depth, recline, and tilt tension the list goes on… Still unsure I went back to my desk.
I took a good long look at the chair I was sitting in at my cubicle and pondered its performance. I had never felt the same discomfort in that chair as I did in my home office one. I loved how I could customize the features to fit me just like you set your custom chair features in your car. This chair had molded to my every need and I never noticed but perhaps that’s the point. I was able to get my work done without any thought to being uncomfortable.
I thought about it on my journey back home; did I really want a plain black task chair or does my inner fashionista need something bold and colorful? But then I realized. Wouldn’t I be back at square one if I chose a chair purely on if it was feminine enough for me? The point is to be comfortable while seated all day. Plus, I decided I needed something gender neutral to keep both me and my other half happy.
So at the end of the day here I am, swiveling around in my Steelcase Leap V2 task chair, comfortably working without a second thought to whether or not I chose the right chair. Oh, and I later found out that my manager said we recover furniture, so if I wanted to engage my inner fashionista I could maybe this chair will be purple, I haven’t decided yet. Now, all I need to do is find the perfect desk to fit in my shoebox of an apartment.
