Last year I decided it was time to replace the green leather office chair I'd been using for the past thirteen years with something more comfortable. I was having to sit on the edge to keep the arm rests out of the way, and it just wasn't remotely comfortable unless I was leaning back with my feet on the desk, which obviously I don't do very often. I had had a very comfortable small leather office chair when we moved into the new offices in 1995, but it got replaced with my fancy new chair and the comfortable chair was relegated to Carl's back office, where he's enjoyed it ever since. Plus, notwithstanding that I've spent almost my entire career in a bad one, office chairs are really, really important I now realize. A good one lets you work as efficiently as possible, and doesn't consume your energy by inducing fatigue or by being a distraction as you work. I can easily see a good chair as letting me work a few more hours a week by delaying or eliminating that wall that we sometimes hit late in the day when we become exhausted by the combination of work plus (I now realize) fighting that damn chair all day long. When you look at it this way, a good chair can pay for itself in a matter of days (both for you and for your staff, I would note), and it's a pleasure that lasts for many years.
Evaluating office chairs when you're in a small town just isn't very easy, so when I couldn't find anything that looked like a good compromise on the online "fancy office chair" front (the armrests all looked like they'd be a problem for constant computer use) I decided to give Levenger a try. They didn't have anything in the tufted leather department (which at the time I thought I just had to have), but on the ergonomic front I thought this "Freedom Chair" by Humanscale in the Bomber Jacket leather might work, even though it didn't look very traditional. (I splurged for the neck rest). (Style note: I realized the other night that these are the chairs in the conference room in CSI: Miami, although they're in green fabric w/o neck rests. I was horrified).
I was satisfied way beyond my expectations. Having never really had an ergonomic office chair I didn't realize what a benefit adjustable armrests would be, and the chair is far easier to scoot around in than my old one. Plus while I wish the seat was a bit larger (meaning that it came forward more), the whole thing adjusts, so I can get some lumbar support rather than sitting perched on the front edge all the time. Plus although the design is modern, not traditional, it does not seem out of place in my rather traditional office, and I eventually came to realize that since all you actually see is the top half, you just don't notice the style that much. It's just a big rectangle of leather. And leather is sort of the decorating equivalent of pork fat. It's just hard to screw up by using it.
The office chair situation in my study at home was far worse, with an old cherry (probably) swivel desk chair (similar to that shown here) 
that I picked up at an antique store in Forney years ago, when I was going through I phase where I'd buy any old wood office chair with vertical slat back I could find. As much as I like the look and the history of the design, it was uncomfortable, and made working on my home computer difficult, and at my desk at home impossible. When Levenger had a really good sale on plain leather Freedom Chairs (with no headrest) I got one for home as well. I have been amazed at how much more productive I am in it. I can swivel easily back and forth from credenza to desk, and focus on working, and not on how uncomfortable I am. Again, the style isn't traditional, but this is an instance where I'm willing to look the other way because of how much of an improvement it is in my work environment. Its instant adjustment of arms and heights lets me finesse problems with the height of my credenza at home. and thus reduces fatigue because I can constantly change my position slightly to accommodate whether I'm working on the credenza or at the desk. And on style, I have to point out again that unless you spend your day on your hands and knees, you never see the chairs from the angles these photos show - you always see them from a standing position, where they are simply dark leather rectangles of various shapes. They have no pattern, or wooden armrests or other characteristics that trigger an association with a particular style, as for example the swivel chair above does. Thus they don't seem in actual use to clash with the sea of cherry or mahogany paneling, furniture, or flooring that they are surrounded by.
The only problem I have pretty consistently with these chairs is that when you do get them into a good position to work, they want to slide out from under you on a smooth wood floor - you can't get good back pressure when you're typing, but instead have to use you legs to hold yourself stationary against the pressure of typing and leaning back against the chair. I keep finding myself wishing there was a button under the armrest that let me lock the casters in place. But I don't like chair pads, and that's a small complaint for something that's made me so much more productive working both at the office and at home.
