Variable Balans, Original Kneeling Chair, Designed By Peter Opsvik, Black/Black

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When one designs from form first, you often end up with pieces that have visual interest but do not serve a practical purpose, and are often outright uncomfortable," Opsvik explains to Pure Contemporary. "My chairs are functional and meant for situations where we sit over long periods of time." This is one of the company’s oldest designs, developed in the ’80s by Per Oie, and has set the standard in non-traditional ergonomic seating design since it burst onto the marketplace. If you’re using your Varier kneeling chair the right way, you won’t be uncomfortable. Anyone who tells you that a Variable balans puts pressure on the knees, or requires a fixed leg position, is not using the seat correctly. Bottom First This is the original kneeling chair, designed in 1979 by the legendary Peter Opsvik, of Norway. To date, the only chair to surpass it is the Wing chair, also designed by Opsvik for Varier. As such, any time you see a kneeling chair offered by some other company, this is the one they’re trying to emulate. This is the standard they’re attempting to match or beat. Second, these are quality pieces of furniture offered by a respected company in the industry. You’ll pay a premium for European design and manufacture, but of course, it’s also true that you get what you pay for. An Impressive Warranty, But There’s a Catch

If you’re in the former camp, this might be your new favorite company.If you’re in the latter group, Varier is almost certainly not the company you’ll want to buy from. Varier Chairs Review Conclusion Noir (Semi Aniline):Noiris a versatile leather boasting a smooth surface texture and a matt look with a subtle shine. As a Semi-aniline, full-grain leather, the natural markings are visible, adding authenticity and originality. With the exceptions of the Date and the Invite, none of the chairs you buy from Varier come assembled, but in most cases, the assembly process is relatively straightforward. You’ll be able to put each model together by yourself in about thirty minutes, and you can nearly cut that time in half if you’ve got a trusty assistant handy. What you get is two modes: A typing mode where you’re bent slightly forward, and a relaxing mode, where you are sitting upright with your shoulders and arms resting in your lap. We’d love to see Varier branch out into other types of household furnishings so that it would be possible to decorate your whole home, top to bottom with products offered by this company, but alas, to date, they’ve chosen to focus exclusively on chairs. Still, having seen their designs, we’d love to see what the company could do with coffee tables, end tables, sofas, love seats and the like. The results would no doubt be spectacular.On the other hand, one issue everyone warns you about. Get some soft tape and place it on the bottom of the runners if you wish to protect your wooden floor. FAQ’s About The Chair Over the last 35 years we've tried a huge range of kneeling chairs, from the cheapest to the most expensive, from the sleek and beautiful to the frankly weird; and we have whittled them down to just a few of the very best and reviewed them all below. What are kneeling chairs all about? Our friendly and knowledgeable staff can talk you through all the options and help customise the chair to fit you and your needs. Also Bought

In our minds, this model is tied with the Wing Balans as our second favorite design.We readily admit that this strange looking design won’t be for everyone, but it’s easily the most versatile piece of furniture Varier makes. Versatile and Multifunctional The Move stool handily beats that. During testing, people who used the Move stool burned an average of 18% more calories than those who sat in a conventional office chair. Color Options It’s on wheels – This is obviously the biggest difference and makes the Varier Wing Balans the perfect synthesis between a standard kneeling chair and a conventional office chair. You get all the big benefits of both — the ergonomic excellence of the kneeling chair design, with the exceptional mobility that a traditional office chair provides. In addition to correcting posture and pressure, the kneeling chair's forward shift creates a pelvic opening that promotes better breathing and a smoother digestive system. This means oxygen and nutrients have an easier time making their rounds to deliver enhanced energy, alertness and concentration. The base of the Varier Move is constructed from beech plywood taken from European forests and covered with an ash veneer made of water-based, non-toxic lacquers.That, combined with the fact that the “Revive” upholstery covering the seat is made almost entirely of recycled polyester, makes this model a great choice for environmentally conscious folks. NEAT CertifiedIn our view, this is a definite negative of the brand.When you buy a piece of furniture from Herman Miller or SteelCase, for example, you get a ten-year warranty that’s baked into the price, and in some cases, a lifetime warranty. Revive - 100% Recycled polyester - Varier's entry Level Fabric. Hard wearing, but not as soft on the skin as other options. If you wear shorts or skirts in summer we suggest an upgrade to something softer like Forest Nap, Divina or Dinamica.

Unfortunately, the rubberized accessory the company sells is incompatible with this model, so there’s no good way to add one unless you make it yourself. On the Heavy Side The Varier Balans chair comes with a 7 year warranty for the wood frame. The foam used to fill up the seating and knee pads have 5 years of warranty. Aesthetics, of course, are a matter of taste and everyone’s tastes and preferences are different. What we’ve discovered in researching this brand is that people tend to have strong opinions about the chairs Varier sells.They either love them, or they’re put off by them. It does, however, have an exceptional, height adjustable headrest and comes with a footrest. Even better, both the chair itself and the footrest can swivel.That’s not quite as good as having a wheeled office chair, but it does make it easier to reach more of your workspace, and that’s not nothing.

Freedom of movement is the main idea behind the kneeling chair, and it’s even written in the name “variable balans,” or variable balance. Kneelers are meant to adjust their positioning until optimal balance and comfort is achieved—and then to shift once that position gets stiff. First, you’ll pay a hefty premium for the quality and versatility of this chair. Second, there’s the aesthetic to consider. Even though we rate this model as being tied for our second favorite, it’s not because of its striking good looks. NEAT stands for “ Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis,” which is a measure of motion people who are not engaged in exercise make that contribute to better health and more burned calories. Other than the soft tape, which you’ll know whether you need or not right away, our recommendation would be to buy the chair as is. To have a successful assembly and usage you might want to follow these tips: First tighten the screws barely so the parts can hold together, and then tighten them all the way.

Unsurprisingly, since this chair is coming to you from Europe, it will arrive at your door in a medium-sized box and in several pieces. Not to worry, the instructions are clear and well-written, and the assembly process itself is simple and can be conducted by one person with delightful ease. Divina Melange 3: is a vibrant piece-dyed woollen upholstery textile reminiscent of felt. Cheerfully simple, it comes in a fresh, versatile palette. Compact, comfortable and extremely smooth!While it would be overselling it to say that the Varier Gravity Balans chair is downright ugly, it would be a hard sell to convince anyone that it was an attractive design. In this case, it’s clear that the designers put the vast bulk of their emphasis on functionality and paid relatively little attention to form. It will almost certainly take you longer to get it out of the box than it will be to put the stool together to get it ready for first use. Final Thoughts Make sure you find a size of a Varier chair that is perfect to you. Unfortunately this chair is not adjustable. This might limit the number of people that will be able to use it in one house-hold. But if you need it for your office, it will fit right in. I'm a Variable Balans believer after my experience with this chair. Ergonomic, beautifully crafted and built to accommodate your sitting preferences, the kneeling chair is paradoxically both one-size-fits-all and custom made. Variable is made from top quality beech ply wood from European forests. The ply wood is treated through an iterative molding process where several veneer layers are combined and glued. Through the application of combined heat and pressure, the layers are given their characteristic shape, making our Variable stand out from the crowd. All wooden parts are flexible and strong, ensuring a sitting experience that is never static. For a beautiful finish, our ply wood is covered with ash top veneer, manually sanded and coated with water-based, non-toxic lacquers.