Best Office Chairs 2025

To find the best office chairs of 2025, we had seven panelists test 15 top-rated chairs over the course of a month to determine the most supportive, comfortable and affordable options. The Herman Miller Sayl stood out in our tests thanks to its unique gridded-back design, flexible and ergonomic construction and minimalist aesthetic, which blends into home offices seamlessly. It’s a highly customizable chair, and it’s built to last. Herman Miller offers a 12-year warranty, and also made this chair 90% recyclable at the end of its life.

All that said, there’s no one-size-fits-all office chair. We found additional picks to fit a range of needs, including one specifically for tall people, as well as higher-end options with more adjustability, a funky ergonomic complement to a standing desk, and even a chic task chair.

When shopping for the best office chair for your needs, you’ll want to consider comfort, adjustability and aesthetics. A piece of furniture like this can be pricey, but is well worth the cost given the amount of time you’ll spend with it. “An office chair is like a mattress in that you use it for long stretches of time, it endures a lot of wear and tear and it can impact your orthopedic health and performance,” says Scott Star, product development leader at the design firm Gensler. “For all these reasons, a good office chair is always worth the investment.” Below, we have a range of picks for different needs and preferences.

A Distinctive Design That’s Breathable And Supportive

The Herman Miller Sayl’s stiffer, gridded backrest earned it high support scores across a range of heights, and its smooth-adjusting armrests were among the best we tested. The Sayl’s design is more striking than most of the chairs on this list, but its shorter backrest takes up less visual space, making it suitable for smaller rooms and helping it to blend into home offices.

A gridded backrest made from elastomer strands is the Sayl’s defining feature. It offers firm but dynamic support—you can easily recline and move in this chair. It’s also more breathable and easier to clean than upholstered chairs, though some may prefer the cushier feel of extra padding. When shopping for a chair for a home office, it’s hard to find a piece that blends into a multi-use space. The Sayl’s open, lower-profile back helps it blend in with a variety of décor types better than a larger, more imposing executive-style chair. One potential downside: While petite testers preferred the shorter backrest; some especially tall people may find it lacking.

Highly Adjustable And Supportive

The Sayl’s customizable add-ons stand out compared to other office chairs we tested, and mean that this chair can be adaptable for different heights and preferences. You can choose to add additional lumbar support and an adjustable-depth seat, and opt from three arm adjustability options.

These add-ons for the Sayl do cost extra, but Herman Miller often runs sales—and dialing in your comfort is key for a piece of furniture you’ll spend so much time in. That said, there are many other great, more basic options on our list.

Built To Last

The Sayl has a higher weight limit than other top contenders on this list, offering a 350-pound weight limit compared to the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro’s 275-pound limit. The Sayl also weighs more, at 54 pounds compared to the Branch’s 42. It arrives fully assembled, though, which is a definite perk: simply wheel it out of the box and you’re ready to work.

This chair comes with a generous 12-year warranty, one of the longest on the list. Although the Sayl’s frame is not made of recycled materials, the polyester upholstery fabric is, which is a nice feature if you’re interested in sustainability. Plus, Herman Miller says that this chair can be broken down at the end of its life to be 90% recyclable.

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Branch’s new Ergonomic Chair Pro edged out many more expensive office chairs in our tests, proving itself to be comparable in comfort, support, adjustability and sturdiness to models twice the price. The tradeoff, however, is that this chair requires a significant amount of assembly, although it does come with all the tools you need. The Branch was no one’s absolute favorite chair of the bunch, but it’s a solid pick for the price; if you have a slightly higher budget or specific ergonomic needs, we recommend checking out the other picks on our list.

Our tester reported that once built, the chair feels sturdy and soft in all the right places. The upholstered seat pad and mesh backrest strike a good balance of softness and supportiveness, and the reclining mechanism feels smooth. The only exceptions are the armrests, which feel nice, but wobble noticeably more than the ones found on the Herman Miller and Steelcase chairs we tested.​​ As Branch is a newer brand, it’s hard to say how its furniture will hold up in the long run, but the 7-year warranty is reassuring—even if it’s a few years short of the more established brands’ offerings.

Extra Adjustments, And Standout Armrests

The Ergonomic Chair Pro has adjustments for seat depth and height; lumbar height; armrest height, width, depth and angle; tilt resistance, forward tilt and tilt lock. The versatility of the armrests in particular help it stand apart from other chairs in this price range. You can set the width by flipping the levers beneath the unit to push them wider or narrower, then you can adjust them further by pushing the pads around in any direction. This made it the only chair in this price range to offer the same level of arm pad adjustability as the more expensive Herman Miller Sayl—although the pricier chairs felt noticeably sturdier and slid more smoothly. The Ergonomic Pro’s upgraded armrests made it more comfortable than Branch’s Verve model, which we also considered for this list, and for which no tester was able to find a supportive arm position.

Outside of the armrests, this chair is one of the few we tested at any price that offers forward tilt, which is a good feature for gamers who like to lean into their desks. There’s also an optional height-adjustable headrest, but all our testers preferred this chair without the headrest.

Adaptable Styling

The Ergonomic Chair Pro has a more standard-looking design than many other chairs included here, but the fact that it’s available in a variety of colors and your choice of black or white frame at no additional charge—as well as various leathers and pleathers for a premium—makes it adaptable to a wide variety of interior styles. But it is rather large-looking compared to, say, the Steelcase Gesture.

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If you’re looking for a high-end chair with every available ergonomic adjustment and a top-tier warranty, Steelcase’s Leap offers everything you need in its $1,299 base configuration. As a bonus, this chair is available in 25 color and upholstery configurations, including leather options. You can also choose between two frame and base colors, and consider a $21 soft wheel upgrade for use on hardwood floors.

All configurations get you an immediately comfortable chair that is soft in all the right places and supportive across a wide range of body sizes. It was the only chair to earn an 8 or better rating from our testers across build quality, comfort and support categories; these testers ranged in height from 5 feet 2 inches to 6 feet 2 inches, indicating that the chair can suit a number of body types. This universal appeal may have something to do with its “LiveBack” design, which brings the seat up ever so slightly as you recline in order to maintain an ergonomically supported position. This was one of the best-constructed chairs we tested, full-stop. There’s nary a squeak, creak or wobble to be found throughout the whole frame. Should anything go wrong, Steelcase’s 12-year warranty is among the best available. And the fact that this model is available both used and refurbished through many outlets is a good sign of its longevity.

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The HON Ignition 2.0 offers everything you need out of a chair below $500. Its supportive seat cushion and soft mesh back worked for most testers, but its rudimentary adjustability means you won’t be able to dial in a fit specific to your body if it’s not immediately comfortable.

The armrests do adjust along height and width, but the 20-inch seat width means that the arm pads are quite far apart on even the narrowest setting. That led our 5-foot-5 tester to rate it a 3 for comfort. This was not an issue with the Branch and other higher-end chairs with movable armrests. Although the unit we were sent for testing didn’t have seat depth and lumbar support adjustments, the model sold on Amazon does have them, so that will be helpful in achieving a supported position. One of our taller testers summed it up succinctly: “Easy to figure out all the adjustments because there are hardly any. But it feels pretty comfortable and ergonomic despite that.”

Of all the chairs we tested, the Ignition was perhaps the largest-looking model due to its large, upholstered seat cushion and square corners on both the seat and back. Although it’s technically the same depth and width as the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro, its back is 2.5 inches taller and has a more squared-off design that makes it look even larger, so I would not recommend it for a small space.

If this chair doesn’t end up working out, you can return it via Amazon Prime—and it has a generous 12-year warranty, too.

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The Knoll Generation is a premium chair that proved to be the most springy, dynamic chair in our testing. Its flexible elastomer back and tilting seat that can accommodate shifting in weight while changing postures allowed our tester to stretch, lean and otherwise move around in basically every direction seamlessly throughout the day. It’s breathable, too. Our tester reported that they especially made use of the seat depth and recline resistance configurations to move from sitting rigidly upright while writing to leaning back during a presentation at different points during their workday.

The Knoll Generation was notably versatile for different sitting styles, and also for different body shapes and heights. We had people with heights of 6 feet and 5 feet 4 inches test out this chair, and both testers found comfortable configurations on this chair for seat height and depth, as well as armrest adjustments.

The only two downsides of this chair are its relatively bulky profile—it weighs 37 pounds and measures almost 30 inches wide, compared to some others on our list that are closer to 25 inches—and its high cost, which exceeds our top pick by almost $500 for the most basic configuration. If you want specific lumbar support, you have to buy that separately, but the “springiness” we mentioned above and the recline resistance (at its most resistant) provided adequate enough support for our testers’ backs.

As a bonus, this chair has a long 12-year warranty should anything happen to it. You can also frequently find used versions of the chair. The Generation is built to last.

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We were surprised that the Mimoglad Office Chair is as good as it is based on its low price. While it would never be confused for a Steelcase or Herman Miller model, we found it comparable to options like the HON Ignition 2.0 for less than half the price.

For the affordability, you do admittedly give up some features: seat depth adjustability and adjustable armrests (though they can flip up and out of the way if the default position doesn’t work for you). But you still get adjustable lumbar height and tilt lock.

This chair requires full assembly—even the swivel base needs to be screwed together—and the lack of an external frame supporting the seat pad gave our testers some pause with respect to its long-term durability. However, it’s backed by an impressively long 5-year warranty in case anything breaks or wears out. Overall, it feels like a chair that you could get a few good years out of but is unlikely to last for a decade or more.

If you are on a tight budget and are looking for an office chair that will last, our research suggests that you may be better off buying a used model from a brand like Herman Miller or Steelcase, and shopping locally if you can swing it. You can often find refurbished second-hand chairs from these name brands at a discount (online retailers, like Madison Seating, offer them too), and they can still be repaired for years to come.

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If you’re a taller person looking for a comfortable model that cradles your entire back and neck, the Flexispot C7 is a great option. It is wider and taller than most of the chairs we tested and has a highly adjustable, but somewhat protruding, lumbar support that moves independently of the seat back.

It offers more forward tilt than any of the other chairs on this list, making it a good option for gaming. Its armrests swivel in addition to adjusting in height and depth, which is a rarity at this price.

That said, the fact that it is specifically designed for taller bodies makes it difficult to recommend to a broad audience. While some testers really liked this feature, others could not get comfortable with the prominent lumbar support in any position. This chair also has a shorter warranty than other winners on the list.

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The Steelcase Gesture takes the supportive “LiveBack” design, first developed for the Leap, and adds the most adjustable armrests we found in our research and testing. Simply by activating a switch, you can move the armrest to almost any position you could possibly desire. This lets you find a supportive position for when you’re fully reclined and scrolling on your phone just as easily as when you’re typing away on a keyboard. It also means you can move them fully out of your way if you decide you don’t want that support at the moment.

The seat pad felt slightly less cushy than the one on the slightly larger Leap, so it scored a point lower on comfort among a couple of testers. But once you’re seated for a while, you forget about that initial bit of firmness and settle into a highly supported position.

One of our testers shared that, as with the Leap, they were able to work for hours on end in this chair without my back issues. As a bonus, these chairs are widely available to buy used and refurbished if you prefer to go that route.

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When the Herman Miller Aeron was released in 1994, it looked like nothing that had come before it. Even today, it stands distinct from the 13 other chairs we evaluated for this review—not only in its aesthetic, but in how it’s adjusted. Testers loved how instantly supportive it felt, but everyone was flummoxed by the positioning of its various dials and levers. Adjusting the armrest height is a two-hand operation that requires flipping switch locks at the point where they attach to the backrest, sliding it up and down, then re-engaging the locks.

But none of this really matters if you’re set on getting this classic chair. It starts at $1,800 new if you want all the adjustability features that come standard on a Steelcase Leap, and that may be worth it to you. But you can often find a used or refurbished Aeron at a fraction of the price if you can be flexible on the configuration. While you may lose some durability over time with a used chair, the savings may be worth it for most home office users.

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If you just bought a standing desk in hopes that you’ll stand more than you’ll sit, the HÅG Capisco (with the Sit-to-Stand height cylinder and foot ring add-on) is the perfect companion. This chair was first released in 1984 and is inspired by horse saddle design, which is to say, it’s meant to move. Indeed, removing the tilt lock and limiter allows it to rock around almost like one of those spring-loaded ponies you might remember from the playgrounds of your youth—which have since been removed for liability reasons. It’s a downright playful experience that makes moving around feel fun. This isn’t to say that it’s uncomfortable, but given the lack of backrest and armrest adjustability, it’s not the kind of seat that anyone will feel swaddled by for hours on end.

This is why so many of us invest in standing desks. The problem is, if you’re sitting in a really supportive chair, it’s hard to want to get up so it really just becomes a height–adjustable sitting desk over time. This can be avoided however, if you invest in a chair that encourages movement by design. Star mentioned that great office chairs should be dynamic without keeping you glued to your seat, and this one fits the bill. “An office chair shouldn’t unduly encumber your movement. You want the right balance of support and freedom of motion,” he says. Tanja Hwang, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art; emphasized this sentiment, too. “The office chair should allow you to change your position so that your muscles are not static,” she says.

Testers found the HÅG Capisco well-suited to that task. “I’ve found since using it that I’m able to sit/stand for longer periods in the height range between being fully down and fully standing,” wrote one 5-foot-5 tester, who uses it at her standing desk. “It also offers several options for leaning while standing, which I find nice, since standing fatigue can set in relatively quickly.” This is especially true of the taller models available; there are three total options you can purchase at different heights. Adding the optional footring allows you to sit comfortably with your feet supported while your desk is still at standing height.

We wanted to test this chair due to a lack of published reviews, and can now confirm: It is extremely well constructed and testers reported that it helped them to develop healthier sit-to-stand habits. It’s certainly not as adjustable or comfortable as others in its price range, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good value for what it does.

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Other Office Chairs We Tested

Steelcase Karman: This is basically a mesh version of the Gesture, minus the amazing armrests. At $1,072, it is a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Gesture, but it’s still more expensive than the Herman Miller Sayl, which offers a similar feature set. It’s a solid choice if you like the looks and want a sleeker-looking chair that’s comparable to any of the above.

Herman Miller Embody: Our testing panel was able to compare a used Embody to our other top contenders. It’s a comfortable chair, but the back consists of many small, plastic panels that make annoying creaky noises as you shift around. It is also highly adjustable, but hard to recommend at its $1,830 starting price; this is because it didn’t feel noticeably more comfortable than our other, more affordable picks.

Laura Davidson Soho II: Unlike the other chairs in this review, the Laura Davidson Soho II is the type of chair you buy more for its looks than for support. Other than a few sloppy-looking welds (that are not visible once assembled), and a wobbly tilt-lock mechanism, the handsome vegan leather chair looks and feels every bit as nice as chairs that cost twice as much. Still, the only adjustments are seat height and tilt lock, so it’s not ergonomic by any stretch.

Branch Verve: This is a well-made, attractive and supportive chair that has frustrating armrests. First off, they only adjust for height, not width. This is made worse by the fact that the arm pads are the narrowest of any that we tested. But the worst part about them is the height adjustment mechanism itself, which is a self-locking ratchet that resets automatically if you go beyond the tallest setting. The slightly cheaper Ergonomic Chair Pro is better in every way.

Branch Ergonomic Chair: This was the most surprising chair in the whole test, but unfortunately, not in a good way. While the Ergonomic Chair Pro feels like a more affordable version of an expensive chair, the non-Pro version feels like an expensive version of a cheaper chair. It has all the features you’d want on paper, but none of the testers that tried it wanted to spend extended time on it. The seat looks thick and cushy, yet somehow feels rather hard to sit on, and the adjustment knobs and levers feel cheap. The mesh back feels thin—causing the lumbar support to feel intrusive rather than supportive. It’s truly staggering how much better the Pro version is for only $170 more.

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Why Trust Forbes Vetted

In addition to the panel testing done for this piece, Vetted staffers have tested or personally used several office chairs on this list in their WFH setups. The Branch Verve, Herman Miller Sayl, Herman Miller Aeron, Herman Miller Embody Chair, Steelcase Gesture, Laura Davidson Furniture Soho II, and Mimoglad Ergonomic Office Chair all come highly recommended by our team.

The Forbes Vetted team of remote editors and writers has published dozens of guides on equipping your home office based on their WFH experience.

For this article, we consulted medical experts, designers, engineers and curators. We spoke to two medical experts on what features make an office chair good for our posture and lumbar health: Dr. Rahul Shah, a board-certified orthopedic spine and neck surgeon, and Deborah McKernan-Ace, occupational therapist and former program director of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at the Rutgers School of Health Professions.

To learn more about what makes a great office chair, we talked to Tanja Hwang, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art; Scott Star, product development leader at the design firm Gensler who has worked on office chair design for various brands; Dr. Yingzi Lin, a professor and interim chair at Northeastern University’s department of mechanical and industrial engineering. We also read the book A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, by Knoll designer Johnathan Oliveras, to get a sense of the history of office chair design.

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How We Tested The Best Office Chairs

To determine the best office chairs for a variety of users, we researched models from reputable brands like Herman Miller, Steelcase, Knoll, Branch, HÅG, Flexispot and HON. We sought out options that are resoundingly buyer-approved, with hundreds (if not thousands) of customer reviews and an average rating of 4 stars or higher.

With research completed, we had 15 review units shipped to the Poultney Coworking Loft, where seven people of varying height and weight helped test and rate each of the chairs on a scale of 1 to 10 based on ease of adjustment, comfort, support and perceived value in order to determine the top performers of the bunch. Panelists were also encouraged to give qualitative notes on what they liked and didn’t like about each model. We had one additional tester test an additional Knoll chair.

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Buying Guide: Best Office Chairs

Part of finding the best office chair for logging long hours starts with finding a model that fits you. Here are some key features to consider:

Height

No two bodies are alike, so when it comes to finding the right office chair for you, all the experts we spoke with recommended prioritizing height adjustability as a must-have feature. “The chair should be adaptive to different human postures,” says Lin. “There’s no one size fits all when we talk about chairs.”

Hwang, who wrote her masters thesis on reclining chairs, a cousin of the office chair, echoes this sentiment: It’s key to find a chair that has “adjustability to different body types, different needs, and support for the back in a dynamic way,” she says.

Fortunately, even some of the most basic office chairs have a seat height adjustment, which ensures your chair will fit comfortably under your desk and allow you to position your feet squarely on the floor. The splurge-worthy picks on this list, like the Herman Miller Aeron, and the Steelcase Gesture, are highly adjustable, adding various levels of tilt limit and armrest angles. But some direct-to-consumer brands are beginning to offer comparable adjustability at a lower price point, such as the Branch Ergonomic Pro. No matter the level of adjustment on a chair, tweaking it should be easy. “Controls should be intuitive—understandable and usable without instruction,” says Star.

Lumbar Support

In addition to an adjustable seat height and depth, Dr. Shah says an ergonomic office chair should have “a tilting or reclining mechanism and back support” to help minimize the strain on your lumbar spine, or lower back, throughout the work day. Some office chairs also have a brace that supports your lumbar.

While some chairs have a manual adjustment to change tilt, others integrate it into their design. “ More advanced tilt mechanisms may have weight-activated tilt motion, obviating the need for manual adjustment,” says Star. “One less thing for the user to do!”

There are also certain items you can add to your setup to help you further customize your lower back comfort. “Accessories, such as a lumbar pillow, may also work to help the chair form fit to one’s body and help to support the muscles in the lower back,” explains Dr. Shah. The seat’s construction is also important: It should be wide enough to hold your entire lower body and back, which in turn helps provide support for your spine.

The Herman Miller Sayl particularly excelled in this category during testing because it has multiple features that let you adjust lumbar support and seat depth, not to mention a unique back that flexes with your body and the option of height-adjustable or fully adjustable arms.

Armrests

In addition to fitting your back, you want a chair that can accommodate your arms in a comfortable position regardless of how you’re sitting. “Armrests should be just beneath your elbows when [your] arms are relaxed,” advises McKernan-Ace. Armrests should be adjustable to reach this state.

You’ll also want to consider how armrests affect your overall desk buildout: “People should avoid arms and arm pads with irregular shapes to the extent they make pushing the chair under a desktop or tabletop difficult,” says Star.

A sub-$500 chair will typically offer some height and width adjustments. Spending a bit more gets you smoother adjustability, along with the ability to adjust depth and rotate the angle of your armrests. These features make a big difference to support your arms without tension through a workday. If you’re finding you can’t adjust your armrests to a comfortable position (or to fit under your desk), you can also remove them.

Materials

The material of an office chair has a big impact on its overall feel and breathability. Some of the more common materials you’ll spot while searching for an office chair are foam, mesh and plastic. “Conventional fabric-on-foam cushion upholstery may be tactilely comforting, but mesh backs and seats can minimize heat buildup and, ultimately, wear better,” says Star. “And mesh works to dematerialize the chair, making it lighter and more agile in a workspace.” Here’s a breakdown of some of the pros and cons of different materials.

• Upholstered Foam: Overall, foam offers extra cushion and support, whether it’s only in the seat or in both the seat and back (like the Steelcase Gesture). Upholstery can feel much softer compared to plastic or mesh options too. This combination of materials can trap heat, an important consideration for anyone who gets hot during the work day. Higher-end chairs use quality foam that retains its supportiveness for many years, but cheaper chairs may wear down after only a few years. Based on my research, warranty length is a good indicator of life expectancy here.
• Mesh: There are several benefits to mesh. It’s breathable, low-maintenance, durable and has a slight amount of stretch to contour to your body. It’s common for chairs to combine mesh backs for airflow with a foam seat for comfort (like the Branch Ergonomic Pro), while some styles use mesh for the seat and back (like the Herman Miller Aeron). Stiffer mesh, like you’d find on an Aeron, can last for decades, but softer, more fabric-like mesh may stretch and become less supportive over time—similarly to foam.
• Plastic: More recently, rubbery plastic has become a popular option for backrests. This material combines the breathability and durability of mesh with the springiness of foam. It’s also very simple to wipe down, especially important in shared office spaces. The Herman Miller Sayl’s plastic backrest is breathable, sturdy and easy to clean; it’s also mostly recyclable, which not all plastic parts are.

Price

Office chairs range in price from around $100 to over $2,000 with all the bells and whistles, but experts agree that most options worth buying start at $400 to $600. This is where you start to see chairs with all the basic adjustability you need, backed by 8- to 10-year warranties from reputable companies.

Stepping up from that base range to the $800 to $1,000 mark gets you better build quality, a more striking aesthetic, and a wider range of adjustability—especially with the armrests. If you consider the fact that you might end up spending more time in this chair than on any other piece of furniture that isn’t your bed, spending a bit more on a chair you know you’ll be able to adjust to your specific body begins to make sense.

Premium office chairs like the Steelcase Gesture and Herman Miller Aeron (both priced over $1,300) are often made of more expensive materials, are highly customizable, fully assembled upon delivery and, in the case of the Aeron, available in three different sizes. They also have some of the longest warranty periods; both of these upgrade-worthy picks above have 12-year warranties.

Chairs in the $300-or-under range can be comfortable enough to work from, but typically require a lot of assembly and use cheaper materials that won’t hold up as well over time. If you’re on a budget, you can also look into used options of the pricier options on this list, since used or refurbished chairs are often more affordable. We also recommend that you look into shopping locally from a second-hand retailer or individual seller to get a good deal on a pre-owned product.

Sustainability

Some of the best office chairs are designed to be more sustainable, whether by using recycled materials, offering longer warranties, indicating that they’re built to last or having a recyclable design. “Sustainability and circular design are very important considerations when shopping for an office chair,” says Star. “You want to make sure the product addresses indoor air quality and material health issues, that it makes use of recycled content, and that it’s designed for durability, repair, retrofit, and recycling at the end of a long and useful life.” Some brands, like Steelcase, may also offer replacement parts. The Herman Miller Sayl is designed to be 90% recyclable when you’re ready to retire it.

You can also often find refurbished office chairs at a discount at local stores, offering a sustainable way to shop at a more affordable price. Just keep in mind that refurbished chairs may come with different warranties.

Aesthetics

Looks matter when it comes to choosing the best office chair, especially for a home office. “There are these innovative chairs that allow for really interesting seating positions, but then they look super funky,” says Hwang. “Aesthetics are important because we care about how our spaces look.” Some chairs on this list have sleeker designs than others, but it’s worth considering how a chair will work with your décor. Some design features, like mesh backs or shorter backrests, will help a chair blend into a live-work space better than large, solid-backed chairs.

Finding a balance between a chair that’s adjustable without being an eyesore is also key. “Most people do not want their home office environment to look like commercial office space. In this case, opt for a commercial-quality chair with a clean design that provides comfort and support with minimal adjustability—meaning a minimum of equipment-like knobs and levers,” says Star.

Aside from aesthetics alone, Hwang attested that chairs are an accessible way for designers to show off their visions, as well as new technologies: “How can you clearly communicate that you’re concerned about lightness, you’re concerned about air, you’re concerned about movability, et cetera?…You can do that super easily through [a] chair. Everyone can see it,” she says. And of course, office chairs are functional. “The chair is probably one of the pieces of furniture that we use the most,” says Hwang. There are some iconic office chairs made by famous designers available to shop, too, if you want a chair that’s also a display-worthy object: A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, by Knoll designer Johnathan Oliveras, offers a fascinating look at the history of this furniture category.

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