Finding a chair for my new sewing room hasn’t been easy. I didn’t want to spend a fortune until I was sure of exactly what I wanted, and none of the inexpensive chairs I’ve seen came with hardwood-floor-friendly casters. (One office supply place did offer to order them for me at $45 for a set of four, but with no guarantee that they’d fit the chair I bought. I declined.)
This week, IKEA came to the rescue. I found this chair, called “Snille”, and discovered that it fits my body perfectly. It has a primitive height adjustment system — turn the seat until it’s where you want it. I won’t miss a fancy hydraulic lift, though, since I don’t expect to be raising and lowering the seat regularly. For a total price of $19, I can live with it.
Snille wouldn’t have solved my problem if IKEA hadn’t just begun selling special casters for hard floors. Oddly named “Paragraf”, they’re about $11 for five. (They’re mentioned on the IKEA site, but only as options for other chairs.) When I snapped them into the chair frame, I was a initially dismayed, since it was a little difficult to push the chair. Once I sat in it, though, it sailed across the floor; apparently the casters need some weight pressing on them in order move smoothly.
It was a real surprise to find a chair this cheap that works so well, but I’m very happy with it. It’s easy to zip between my machines, and even over to the cutting table. Good thing I don’t have a long hallway; I’d be racing up and down it just for fun!