Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Herman Miller Embody chair


Just got my Herman Miller Embody chair today and photographed it for you. I think I'm one of the first in the UK to get one.We'll see how it fares me in the long run. So far so good. One point it has over the Aeron (background) is that the armrests are adjustable. Thanks to my very long spine I could never use those on the Aeron, too far down. And for the same reason I'm happy that the back is slightly higher than the Aeron's, since even with the large model I could feel the top of the back with the Aeron (it also has a hard edge, which is not a great design feature).
The Embody, surprisingly, is smaller and lighter than the Aeron, which is good because the Aeron is pretty much a monster.

Update July 28: I like the chair. I don't think much about it, which must be a good sign of a work chair.

The color is "tomato". The first picture is how it looks in daylight, the other two in indoors light (which as you know is warmer).
I would have preferred something deeper and darker, but they didn't have any colors I really liked.


The official site for the chair is bandwidth-heavy, but my furniture supplier has a decent page. (I love that I can honestly say that I have a "furniture supplier".)

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

GBP ?

Monsieur Beep! said...

"Three - Two - One - Zero - LIFT OFF!"


We have lift-off!

*Sound of igniting rocket engine in the background.

Congratulations
to your new chair.

(:-))

Unknown said...

Ah, I'm not the only one for whom an interior photo just won't feel right unless there are a couple of cameras in the background ;-)

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I think it was 900 pounds, supposedly a pretty good deal.

Anonymous said...

OK...now we just need to have a shot w/YOU in it...to make sure that it fits you properly! lol! ;-)

Looks nice! You'll be able to find it in the dark, too! ;-)

What ever happened to that other big *burly* chair that you had gotten, awhile back? I tried to find the blog about it but haven't found it w/the search.

Anonymous said...

Uncle Ron Said:

For some strange reason, your new chair reminds me of an alien named Roger on an adult cartoon TV show called,"American Dad"...

(Must have been that wine I drank last night...)

"It really does look like a kool chair...congrats"

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I also have a black leather chair. It only cost a fourth of what the Aeron cost, but I think I used it more, so I'm not sure which to get rid of.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Uncle, Ron, thanks.
You can click on the "name" button before you post, and enter your name.
(When you write "Uncle Ron said..." it looks like somebody else quoting you, confusing.)

Anonymous said...

Thanks...

Us old guys can't always figure things out...

Anonymous said...

900 pounds?

Waaaaay too heavy for me.

Anonymous said...

Eolake, it would be great to hear your feedback on the Embody once you’ve had it for a month or so. I have a review of it here http://www.officechairadvice.com/aeron-chair/aeron/embody-chair.html I’d be happy to add your opinion on the Embody to let people know how you’ve found it.

DuncanM

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Thanks, I'll see what I can do. Stay tuned.

So far it seems like it's probably the best chair I can find, but still it's disappointing how far we still are from real comfort.

---
I'm amazed that for once, the UK price seem to be correspondent to the actual exchange rate.

Monsieur Beep! said...

Eolake, now you are our chairman, lol.

I'm proud to be an old fart, btw.
Would never want to trade in my lifelong experience, and wit, for something else.

(;-)

Anonymous said...

Hi very nice to "googled" your page here. May I know how long have you waited for the chair to be delivered since ordered/paid? Does it say where the chair is manufactured?

The time has come for me for a serious chair due to consistent back pain... while the Embody is tempting the delivery time (est. 80+ days?) is killing... can get a used Aeron from ebay same day...

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

I waited several months, but then I ordered the chair long before it came to this country (UK).

... I doubt I can find a better chair, but I'm not sure it's a "dream chair".

Anonymous said...

thanks, i'm in UK too, will try to source out where I can try it before I order... cheers

DuncanM said...

Eolake

Just following up with you now you have been using the Embody for a month or so what you think of it, likes, dislikes and if you consider it to be better than the Aeron?

DuncanM

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

It creaks a bit, maybe because I'm big.

It does not seem like the "ultimate chair", but it's probably the best I've had. Unlike others, including the Aeron, I've not yet gotten tired of it and needed a change for a while.

I suppose the fact that I don't have attention on it is a good testimonial.

Unknown said...

I saw a review where the person used the Embody Chair for one week. He concluded with the following:
The Embody does everything you'd expect a chair to do exceptionally well. On top of that, it gives you an experience sort of like lying in a hammock and moves with you to such a degree that you are able to forget it's there - for the most part - and just focus on getting things done. That, in my opinion is its best feature. You can design your own customer version of the chair at www.smartfurniture.com/embody . Every chair has flaws, but Embody has few. I don't want to give it back, and that tells me more than any analysis ever could.

Anonymous said...

Whats the color on your Embody chair. Nice choice

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

See the update, both text and new picture.

Unknown said...

Hi,
I was looking for someone who had an embody chair for a while hoping to get some feedbacks, how is the chair would you say it was worth the price ?

I want to get the same colors as you, the colors look good on the bottom pictures however on the first pic it is kind of pinkish color which I dont really like, you mention it being because of daylight and I do have a huge window in my office so I might reconcider, unless maybe the pinkish color is caused by the digital camera automatic color adjustment settings or whatnot ?

Also, I've heard from people who bought the yellow-orange model that after a while the color faded and you'd see darker spots from jeans pants rubbing over the seat... How is the color on the red handling the usage wear ? is it keeping its color or is it fading already ?

I want either red, darkgrey or black... red would be my first pick but I am afraid it will comme off pinkish and fade with time...

I hope you can answer my comment soon, before I make my purchase, thanks !

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

The top picture is true to how it looks, sorry. I wish it was less pinkish-orangish, but the color choices sucked.

It still looks like new though.
I don't use it all the time, I keep changing about between this, the Aeron, and a cheap leather chair I bought once. I never seem to get totally comfortable.

I have not found a better chair. But possibly you could find one which is as good, for a much lower price. It does not seem to be a "miracle chair".

Unknown said...

Thanks for the quick reply,

The problem I have is that around where I live it is really hard to find ergonomic chairs, i've looked tons of places most carry cheap stuff, but I tried some steelcase and humanscale chairs and they didnt feel that great ( the freedom chair actually didnt feel good at all, even though there is a lot of hype around it ) ....

The embody is the most expensive but is also the one who seems to be getting the best reviews... The price is definitively high, but if it really is that good and it lasts years then I guess it would be worth it... The current chair I use is from Ikea, and its pretty crappy, it was around 250$ but I got it for free though and it lasted me 5 years...

The other alternative is the ergohuman chair http://ergohuman.com/ which has a very decent price and seems to offer all the ergonomic features of higher end chairs... Problem is I cannot find any retailers to try this chair, I contacted the company and asked who sold their chair, the closest shop to my house is 3 hours away... there is another issue with that chair too, it has mesh support which although might seem like a great idea at first, I am not sure how well it will age, will it become saggy with time ? Did you aeron mesh get softer with time ?

anyhow thanks for the feedbacks

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

The Aeron's mesh holds up perfectly, even though I'm very large (6.4, 220 pounds).

The ergohuman seems interesting, maybe I'll try that next time.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

You can get the EH in leather too.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

And damn cheap comparatively.

And the Ergohuman has armrest hight control. The Herman Millers don't even have that, which I was a little shocked to find out, because it makes the arm rests all but unusable to me, since my torso is so long.