The Catbird Seat

Kneeling Chair, “Accent”
Manufacturer: Jobri
Year: design style, c.1970
Description: Wood frame with nylon casters; seat and knee pads: Tempur pressure-relieving material
Estimated cost: $190-$230

Why I chose this chair: Years ago, my ex-uncle Craig had a kneeling chair which he used as a computer desk chair. At the time, (mid-80’s) no one used a kneeling chair. At least no one I knew. It was weird. It was cool. It was also surprisingly comfortable.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with kneeling chairs, here’s a little info on them from Wikipedia:

A kneeling chair is a type of chair for sitting in a position with the thighs dropped to an angle of about 60 to 70 degrees from vertical (as opposed to 90 degrees when sitting in a normal chair).

Despite the name, the posture of a person in a kneeling chair is not the same as kneeling on the ground. It is sometimes assumed that the knees bear most of the body’s weight when sitting in a kneeling chair, but this is incorrect–the shins bear some weight for stability, but you are still sitting (not kneeling).

This posture changes the stress distribution of the human body in comparison with the sitting position of an ordinary chair and is recommended for certain diseases or injuries of the backbone. It keeps the spine, particularly the Lumbar (lower region), in a neutral position similar to standing.

I have often wondered what happened to that chair.

Fast forward 20 years…the computer desk chair that we own is the pits. It’s very uncomfortable, it’s wobbly, and it’s ugly, which is probably the worst of its considerable bad traits.
Since many of my “Chair of the Week” selections are actually items on my chair wish list, I thought I’d find a kneeling chair I’d like to feature. This one from Jobri is just what I was looking for. Wood, of course, and black.
My uncle’s chair was hard to get into and even harder to adjust or roll; in fact, it actually didn’t adjust or roll at all, if memory serves. Since then, the design of most of them have been adapted to include casters and the frame is such that you straddle it rather than slide in like a kneeler in a Catholic church. There are many “industrial-looking” models out there, but I liked this one because it seemed more natural-looking and organic.

If you want to see someone sitting in it, click here.

Pretty smart, huh?!