The small matter of a global pandemic has millions of us working from home, including plenty who might generally work in an office environment. For some, finding the space to work at home is more difficult than others. We don’t all have the luxury of a dedicated office space in our homes. But one thing it’s definitely worth investing in (whether you’re working on a beautiful home desk or you’re perching on the end of your kitchen table) is a decent home office chair. In the first 3 weeks of me working from home, I was on a dining chair. This made a notable impact on me, with discomfort, aches and pains becoming incredibly commonplace for me by the end of each day. So then I invested in a decent chair which certainly improved things for me somewhat.
Back, neck and shoulder complaints are common amongst those of us who spend extended quantities of time in front of a screen. And while a good office chair alone isn’t going to fix that, an ergonomically designed chair built for the purpose of working on a screen will help to improve your home office set up for whatever duration you’re working from home.
It needn’t break the bank either. Here’s our pick of the best home office chairs for under £200 based on the research carried out when we were investing in chairs for ourselves. And if you’re not entirely sure what you should be looking for, at the end of this round up, you’ll also find our guide as to what to look for in a home office chair.
Best Home Office Chairs Under £200
Here’s a little more info on each of those products and some tips on choosing a home office chair.
A solid and great value option, the Comhoma office desk chair has an ergonomic curved back to help alleviate some of those common back problems you might experience when working on a dining chair (been there!).
The adjustable arm rests are pretty handy too as it means they can be lifted so the chair will tuck conveniently under the table. Great for small spaces! When I lived in a small apartment previously I deliberately had to buy a home office chair with no arm rests simply because I couldn’t tuck arm rest ones under my desk and I didn’t have enough space to leave it out all the time. So this is a really simple feature that makes a lot of difference in small spaces.
Yaaheetech Executive Office Chair
When it comes to the look of this one, it’s harsher edges give it a more modern feel and perhaps a little “boxy.” It might not be to everyone’s tastes design wise. But design, in my view at least, is secondary to comfort when it comes to an office chair. The mesh back here helps you keep cool and the padded neck and head rest are a great addition.
Previous purchasers who left reviews for this chair are largely really pleased with it, with many commenting that the ease of assembly is a particularly positive feature. One to bear in mind if, like me, you have the home flat pack assembly skills of the common goldfish.
Hbada Office Chair
Selected as an Amazon choice, the Hbada office chair looks a little more sci-fi than most of those we’ve covered here. And while well under the £200 budget we set ourselves for this piece, it is more expensive than our previous featured products.
That said, we’re big fans of adjustable arm rests (space saving dream) and this has them! It’s another with a mesh back too and amongst its solid set of reviews are frequent comments about the ease of assembly.
Cherry Tree Furniture Office Chair
A super padded option that looks very slick, this one reviews well too. Additional padding at the neck and head is designed for additional comfort. It’s sub £80 price tag is appealing too.
This is another sub £200 chair that reviews well though some comment that the instructions for assembly could be a tad clearer. Worth bearing in mind if, like me, you don’t get along with flat pack. You do have the option to pay an additional fee for assembly though.
Millhouse Executive Office Chair
Despite still faring well on the reviews front, the cheapest chair to make our list is the lowest performing in terms of ratings. Still, 4.1 at the time of writing is not bad. But in terms of the complaints, they include a number of references to assembly difficulty.
If you’re a flat pack whizz, the brilliant value might just swing this one for you. But anyone not keen on assembly might end up spending their savings on assembly.
That said, looking at all the reviews and weighing up fee, we’d still consider this the best value of our home office chair list.
SIHOO Ergonomic Office Chair
The most expensive home office chair on our list is still comfortably under the £200 price tag. And this is also the best reviewed.
It comes with some real plus points including a waist pillow, multi dimensional adjustable head rest and the mesh back I’m a real big fan of.
With this one, there’s much more emphasis, it appears, on the posture element. In the marketing material, the manufacturers make a big deal of lots of the features and amongst its thousands of rave reviews are plenty of people talking about the comfort element
So this would be the winner on the ratings front and while much higher in price than others on this list, it’s still far enough under the £200 budget that you could probably buy yourself some fancy stationery too.
What to look for in a home office chair
Regardless of your budget, a chair should support you in sitting comfortably and in a way that will help you to avoid common complaints that come from sitting extensively in the wrong position. According to guidance from the NHS:
- Your knees should be slightly lower than your hips when you’re sitting at a desk
- A chair should have adjustable height, tilt and back position
- A chair with lower back support (much like the SIHOO) is useful
So, the more that you can adjust, the better. And do check out that NHS guide for more information on the best seating position for working at a computer.
For those who generally work in an office, it’s easy to take your office chair and desk setup for granted. It’s only when you end up perched on the end of a dining table on a chair intended for sitting for a short meal that you realise how important it is to have the right office chair.
And, let’s face it… it looks like we might be working at home for some time.
Last update on 2021-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
