A Chair On Wheels: An Overview Of Soft Models For The Home. IKEA And Other Manufacturers. The Choice Of Underlay For Protecting The Floor, Options For The Base Of The Chair

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine any office without a computer chair, and most prefer to use a swivel chair at home - for work and entertainment. Not only comfort, but also posture depends on the quality of the chair, so you should carefully approach its choice.

Advantages and disadvantages

The wheeled chair can be used for home design or for furnishing a home and office workspace. Among its advantages are:

• variety of colors and shapes - you can easily find a model that fits into the interior of the room;
• mobility - sitting on a chair, you can move and turn around its axis;
• backrest adjustment and seat heights for individual parameters.

There are no serious drawbacks to such an acquisition, however, several negative points can be distinguished:

• the wheels of the chair leave a mark on the floor over time;
• not every model you can assemble yourself;
• if used carelessly, mechanisms can break.

Each of the listed problems can be solved if desired.

Views

Office chairs differ in design, mechanism, base material, upholstery fabric and interior filling. The choice will depend on the purpose of the chair and the length of time it will be used. Among the main types are:

• for staff ( the most budgetary option);
• for the chief (premium armchair);
• for a student (must have orthopedic qualities);
• gaming (anatomical);
• for full (with a reinforced structure).

So, let's take a closer look at all the components of a computer chair and their properties.

Crosspiece

Made of plastic, polyamide or metal. The plastic crosspiece is short-lived in use, in addition, due to its light weight, there is a risk of falling off the chair. Its advantage can be called a democratic price.

The metal is more reliable and durable, the coating can be matte or chrome-plated, looks aesthetically pleasing, withstands higher loads. Of the minuses, it can be noted that during its operation, scratches may appear on the surface.

The polyamide crosspiece will retain its original appearance for many years , resistant to wear and stress.

Such a cross is used in the manufacture of armchairs with increased load, for example, for overweight people.

Mechanisms

In budget models, simple adjustment devices are more often used. One of them is called piastra - a mechanism for raising and lowering the seat; in the simplest backless chairs, only it is present . In more comfortable operator chairs with a backrest, there is a permanent contact device that allows you to adjust the height of the backrest, the angle of its inclination and the stiffness of the deflection.

Top-gun is a centered swing mechanism , which allows not only adjusting the height of the seat, but also deviating in all directions, as well as fixing the position, adjusting the rigidity.

For office director chairs, a multiblock is more often used . It has all the top-gun adjustments, and in addition to them allows you to adjust the degree of deflection of the chair during rocking and is able to fix the back in several positions. There is also a multiblock with an offset axis, which ensures contact of the legs with the floor during the swing.

Wheels

Budget models use plastic wheels … They are extremely unstable, do not scroll well on slippery surfaces, leave scuffs on the floor, and are not maneuverable. Of the advantages, only their democratic price can be noted.

Rubber wheels more stable and maneuverable than plastic ones, but they can leave a mark on linoleum or parquet flooring, and are not resistant to wear and tear. Such wheels are used in models of the middle price category, both office and school.

The best option, both in terms of price and quality, is polyamide wheels . They are durable, have excellent maneuverability on any surfaces, are resistant to any impact (both mechanical and chemical), are easy to clean, and can withstand high loads.

Polyurethane wheels used in more expensive models, they have all the qualities of polyamide wheels, but they practically do not wear out.

The material of the upholstery and the design of the chair is also of great importance when choosing, and this is worth mentioning separately.

Materials and colors

First, let's look at the basic materials, used for upholstery computer chairs:

• artificial leather - an economical option, which is a leatherette on a cloth basis, quickly loses its appearance;
• eco-leather - a better and more wear-resistant analogue of artificial leather;
• burlap - used in budget models;
• JP series fabric - 100% polyester, has increased wear resistance and unusual texture;
• the fabric of the TW series is a synthetic soft mesh for budget chairs, comfortable for the body, good air permeability;
• ST series fabric - made of synthetic yarn, durable, resistant to wear and tear and fading;
• BL series fabric - polyester material with an embossed effect, used for executive chairs;
• microfiber - soft, dense, wear-resistant, pleasant to the body, more often used for more expensive models with anatomical qualities;
• genuine leather - designed for premium executive chairs.

Acrylic mesh is often used as a material for making the back, which fits well the back, allowing the skin to breathe.

For operator chairs, strict, non-marking colors are most often used, for example, black gray, brown . Chairs for the chief, in addition to the classic colors, can be light beige tones, as well as bright solid colors such as red, blue or white.

Children's and school chairs often have a cheerful print or solid color in saturated shades. Gaming chairs are distinguished by bright contrasting colors, for example, red-black, yellow-black, etc.

To create an unusual interior, you can use designer armchairs on wheels. Such models often have a fancy shape, and are also completely made of transparent plastic.

Most seats are padded with polyurethane foam . In more budgetary models - rifled, and in more expensive models - molded. Molded PU foam is more ergonomic and comfortable - it is able to adapt to the curves of the body, repeating its shape. For premium models, 100% latex is used. Especially often they are stuffed with anatomical, executive and gaming chairs.

What kind of overlays are there?

Even a chair with polyamide and polyurethane wheels can leave marks on fragile and requiring special care surfaces such as tiles, parquet, linoleum. To avoid this, it is worth purchasing a special mat (substrate) for a computer chair. So, consider the types of floor protection:

• plastic perfectly protects all types of coatings, a budget option;
• polyester is an inexpensive material that is suitable for protecting hard surfaces;
• thermoplastic - great for tiles;
• polycarbonate - ideal for any coatings, it is reliable and affordable;
• silicone - provides good protection and strong adhesion to the surface, suitable for laminate and parquet;
• makrolon - has all the advantages of polycarbonate, has a significant service life.

Depending on the interior of the room, you can choose a rug by color so that it merges with the floor surface or is a bright accent in the overall composition.

Also rugs are:

• plain;
• repeating the pattern of laminate or parquet;
• transparent;
• with photo printing.

So, when choosing a floor cover for an office chair, pay attention to the size (if you need to move a lot on the chair, use a rug with a larger area), color (it should look harmonious in the interior of the room), material (it should protect the floor surface well and not slide along it while moving).

By purchasing a rug, you provide reliable protection to the floor covering and insure yourself against the need to change it due to scratches and damages.

How to choose?

When choosing a chair on wheels, first of all, be guided by its purpose:

• for an office, a budget model of a discreet color with a plastic or polyamide crosspiece, a simple lifting mechanism, plastic, rubber or polyamide wheels and inexpensive upholstery is suitable;
• it is better to choose a director's chair with a cross-piece made of metal or polyamide, stuffing made of latex or molded polyurethane foam, mechanism - multi-block or top-gun, upholstery made of leather, fabric, microfiber, color - any one-color, for example, white, black, brown;
• schoolchildren and gamers can choose a chair according to the same principles as the managerial one, only the mechanism is rather top-gun, and the upholstery is better made of fabric, microfiber or eco-leather, the design, accordingly, will also differ;
• for people weighing more than 80 kg, you should pay attention to the structural strength, the most optimal option is a chair without armrests with a base and wheels made of polyamide and a top-gun device.

There are also special wheelchairs for showers - they are designed for disabled people. Most often, in such models, the wheel is located on each leg, and the seat and back are made of mesh metal.

In stores you can find a variety of models of office chairs. So, in the Ikea catalog chairs on wheels with a seat and back made of glossy plastic with mesh holes are presented - these models are ideal for equipping the workplace at home and in the office.

Large selection of executive chairs at Manufacturer Chairman and Bureaucrat , and the best gaming chairs in terms of ergonomics and design can be found at Vertagear and DXRacer.