Meet Zody

Since I can't have a puppy* and because my current chair is falling apart and makes my butt sweaty, I am working on ordering one of these for my tush.

It's uber comfy, adjustable and petite enough for mini me (as in me, not a mini version of me I drag around), my feet actually are flat on the ground when I sit in it properly (totally rare for most chairs if you are as short-legged as me), meets certain green standards, and is pretty inoffensive-looking as far as task chairs go.

Now if I could only decide how to dress him up. The color combinations are endless, and the seat fabric can pretty much anything I want. I tend to be very practical, so I was initially leaning toward gray on gray on gray with a small-scale fun pattern for the seat. Then I thought that this chair doesn't necessarily need to match anything, since I predict my home offices spaces will always be a mish-mash of cheap furniture, so why not go for the orange back! But, I don't want to be so trendy that the chair's dated for a long time before becoming hip/classic again, and I haven't yet found any seat fabrics that I love and work well with the orange...
Analysis paralysis time!

Miscellaneous tips for other seating searchers:

• Sit in as many as you can. What may be a super comfortable chair for your neighbor may not be comfortable for you. For example, the hubs loves the Aeron chair, as do many others. I hate it, even in Size A, the one that's right for my height/weight. Besides being sized like pantyhose [I can't believe I just used that word], it is not a good fit for me - too heavy for me to scoot around in, only the balls of my feet touch the ground even with the seat depth adjusted to minimize it and the height lowered all the way day, and my back aches after coming home from sitting in one all day at the office.
  
  
• Think life cycle cost. Staples' chairs might seem like a good deal, but their durability and warranties are usually not so great. From past experience, they don't last beyond a handful of years, and only then because I push them to do so. My current sweat-inducer is in its 7th year. Its faux leather is cracking, the padding is compressed so that the faux leather hangs sadly on it, and it provides absolutely no support. Herman Miller's chairs, again, like the Aeron, have 12 year parts & labor - if pretty much anything happens, they'll fix it. Almost anyone can buy better quality chairs these days from authorized dealers who sell direct to the public online now. Yes, you will pay more up front.
  
  
• Think beyond black. Or gray. Especially if it's a one off like mine. We'll see if I can do this one myself. I remember an installation at the local Knoll showroom a few years back where they had Eames aluminum group chairs upholstered in apple green Spinneybeck leather, and despite its loud color, I could see it almost anywhere, just standing on its own.

* I don't really have any idea why a puppy has to do with any of this, either.