A New Addition for the Office & How I Track Down Studs

Back around 2010 when I put my home office together and purchased an office desk chair, one of my top priorities in choosing a chair was its appearance. Of course, I wanted it to be comfortable and great for day-to-day use, but I also wanted it to be pretty and to work with my home office interior. Over the years and many desk chairs later, I have pretty much given up on worrying about how it looks and if it coordinates with my home office.  It seems like if a chair is pretty, it’s usually uncomfortable, lacks back support, or has some other feature that just doesn’t work.

A couple of years ago, again in need of a new desk chair, I came across this one on Amazon. Having given up on the idea that the chair needed to be pretty or cream-colored to go with my desk, I purchased it based on the reviews.

Comfortable Office Chair with Arms that Raise Up When Needed

 

It was a tad too deep since I’m pretty short, but for the most part, I have really enjoyed it. I liked how wide it was, that it had a tilt feature and that the arms actually flipped up and out of the way. Over the years I’ve noticed that most armless desk chairs are small, cheaply designed, and very uncomfortable. Chair manufacturers seem to be catching on that consumers would like a comfy “executive” style chair, but not always with arms. I’ve started noticing more chairs with flip-up arms when shopping chairs on Amazon.

Comfortable Desk Chair with Arms that Rotate Up out of the way

 

The only annoying issue I had with this chair was that during the wintertime, whenever I stood up and left the chair to do something, I would often receive a BIG shock as soon as I touched anything metal. That was super annoying as you might imagine. I fixed that issue by purchasing a wool seat cover that I used on the seat throughout the winter. A few months back, a new issue came up. The gas lift cylinder that holds the chair up began to fail. I found myself multiple times a day having to raise the chair back up to desk level. Let me tell ya, that gets old really quickly!

Comfortable Office Chair with Arms that Raise Up When Needed

 

I checked the low-score reviews on Amazon and found others complaining of the same issue. I tried to contact the company to see if they would send me a new cylinder since it appeared they had done that for others in the reviews, but I never heard back. I ended up purchasing a new lift cylinder but despite watching YouTube videos, could not get the chair apart to install it. Eventually, I discovered someone had invented a special kit just for taking apart office chairs to replace the lift cylinder since they are so difficult to take apart. I purchased this kit available here: Cylinder Replacement and Removal Kit.

 

 

 

The kit worked as expected and I was able to get the chair separated from the lift cylinder but still couldn’t get the cylinder out of the wheelbase. I temporarily thought of purchasing the same chair again but ultimately decided against it since I didn’t want to possibly go through the whole cylinder lift failure issue again in the future. I also didn’t want to reward a company that had ignored my emails/pleas for help, by buying another one of their chairs.

This is the chair I ended up purchasing. It took an entire week to arrive which seemed like an eternity since I was working from a slipper chair that was really too low for my desk. I assembled it yesterday, it feels like all I do is assemble stuff lately! Ha! I’ve built up some arm muscles over the past month, I think. lol

Desk Chair, Adjustable Back Support, Flip Up Arms

 

One thing that drew me to this chair was the adjustable lumbar support. I don’t know if I’ll use that feature very much, but I do find the back support to be very comfortable! It claims to have a “Class 4 Hydraulic Gas Lift.” I looked that up and learned that there are 4 classes when it comes to gas lift cylinders with Classes 2 and 3 being the most often used in chairs. The same article stated that Class 4 gas lift cylinders offer the most stability and durability. Hopefully, the one on this chair will not fail anytime soon. Have you ever had that feature fail on a chair?

Desk chair with Flip Up Arms

 

This chair also has one of my “must have” features for a desk chair: armrests that can be raised up and back. I have to have that for any chair to work with my desk.

Desk chair with Flip Up Arms

 

Here’s how it looks with the arms raised. I like this “taupe” color. It’s not too dark and looks great with everything else here in my home office. It comes in two other colors–black and white. If you want to read more about this desk chair, you’ll find it here: Office Desk Chair with Back Support and Flip Up Arms.

Office Desk Chair, Adjustable Back Support, Arm Flip Up Out of the Way

 

The painters are coming back tomorrow to hopefully finish up some final touch-up work here in the garage. I also have someone coming out to measure for a new bottom seal for my large, wood, garage door. The old seal was chewed on by a critter at some point, so this seemed like the perfect time to replace it–while I’m updating this space.

Garage Before and After, Garage Makeover

 

I just ordered a new wall stud finder to help with securing my cabinets to the garage wall. It should be delivered today. My old one died, was making a weird buzzing sound and would not even light up. This one is a bit pricy but the reviews looked really good. I love using a stud finder for hanging things and now that the garage walls are looking pretty with new paint, I don’t want to put unnecessary holes in them. (Stud Finder is available here: Stud Finder.)

 

 

 

See you tomorrow for Tablescape Thursday!

*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



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Comments

  1. Hi—We looked at a home that was for sale, and they had their garage floor finished like yours. They had about a 1 & 1/2 ” lip from the floor down to the driveway. It appeared very dangerous, if you or a guest wasn’t careful, coming or going. Did the installers have to do that to your floor, to add the new material? I LOVE how the new floor looks.

    • Mine isn’t like that at all. It’s barely raised where it connects to the driveway…and it’s gradual and not slippery at all. The floor itself is very textured, as well. I wonder if that lip was there before…and I wonder who they had do their floor. It’s really important to make sure it’s done professionally by a company that only does that type of work.

  2. When I’m shopping for something online, it kind of bugs me that reviews are often so general and subjective they leave you with many unanswered questions. I love that you give so many details about the items you choose to purchase (such as this desk chair), and also the thought-process you go through to make your decision! Thanks for that, Susan!
    Regarding desk chairs, I was just talking to my chiropractor recently about this. He said if someone works several hours a day at a desk, it is well worth it to make the height of your desk/chair/monitors, etc. ergonomically correct. Neck, shoulder, back, wrist, etc. problems can be caused (and made worse) by bad postural positioning while working at a desk arrangement that is unsuited for your body.

  3. The new chair looks so good, how could it not be comfortable?!
    I think I now see a stud finder in my future, thanks.

  4. Um, so you’re not just a fan of the Chippendales? 😉

  5. From your post title I thought maybe you were looking for a new man!!! Just kidding!
    I really like your new chair. The design is attractive and I think the color is very nice. Hope it’s comfortable for you.

  6. Susan, you are a machine. You are always figuring things out and making things better. I need you to come to my house and get me straightened out, lol. I hope you love the chair.

  7. franki parde says

    That is a “fine looking” chair!!! We use our laser stud finder & find it most helpful. You are going to have one “fine looking” garage!!!! franki

  8. Debbie Phillips says

    Hi, Susan. I love your chair. I’ve had back surgery & need lumbar support. I’m in the market for a new home office chair. Thank you for always being so detailed in your explanations of everything. I love your updated garage. I’ve swooned over your cabinets for dishes in your garage. Oh, to have that much designated space for this dishaholic. I’ve really enjoyed your blog for so many years. You’ve helped me with so many things from Christmas trees, paint, interior & exterior decor , to puzzles & puzzle boards, & much more. I don’t know how you do everything all by yourself as a single woman & all the traveling, too. Thank you for the time & effort you put in for all of us who love following you. I hope you keep this blog going for a long time.

  9. Hey Susan, your garage turned out beautifully. I need a new office chair. The one I now have was purchased at an office furniture resale store. It’s real leather and has served me well but it doesn’t have the lumbar support I need and I’d like a chair with the movable arms. Your chair looks so comfortable and I love several of it’s features. I noticed it is made of PU leather. Hubby and I bought a recliner several years ago made of PU leather. Within a year the top layer of material was peeling away from the underside which was fabric! Possibly PU leather has improved over the years but I was so disappointed and angry with what happened to the recliner that I will never buy any furniture covered in PU leather again. Here’s some information on the differences between PU and real leather. I’m hoping you don’t have the same problem we had.

    • Yup, I’m familiar with PU leather and that it’s not actual leather. That’s why the chair is only around $300 and not a lot more. I will probably use a chair cover/pad during the wintertime just because I love the coziness of it. I would love a real leather desk chair but that would increase the cost dramatically and I’m just not sure how long the other features of the chair will hold up based on my experience with the many chairs I’ve had in the past. Seems like nothing is designed to last these days like it once was. If you find a true leather chair with great lumbar support and arms that flip up and out of the way, please email me a link at [email protected] . I would love to check it out.

    • Vikki, here’s a chair with bonded leather around the same price. It’s bonded leather which isn’t the best quality, but at least it’s leather. https://amzn.to/3PxHrA5 . The cream color is pretty. The reviews are pretty mixed.

  10. Your new chair looks quite nice. When I was working, my office chair caused me to have awful back aches. I am much better now that I am retired and not spending 10-12 hours in an uncomfortable chair. I recently bought a new chair for my home office. I didn’t realize they had chairs with arms that lift up. I will definitely look for that in my next office chair. I bought my new office chair at an office supply store because I wanted to sit in it and see how it felt before I purchased it. I love reading your blog.

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