Do they actually last decades? I usually wear jeans, most of my upholstered office chairs end up fading.

I've thought about that or looking for aftermarket steel ones, but at like $10/pop and the fact that they last over a decade it's probably not worth it

I was wandering around an antiques store in Tampa FL many years ago and they were rearranging to put one of these in the front. Price tag $400, Condition nearly perfect. I had to crawl underneath to make sure it was a real one. Saw the label, paid, and carried it home. Best purchase that trip!

I had looked for over a year for a used one with black leather in a style and base that I liked. I’m not a fan of the standard wood ring bases and figured if I still wanted one after over a year that I wouldn’t regret the purchase.

"Buy a cheap set of tools, replace the ones that break with the expensive stuff." Or something like that is the saying I believe.

Opal with a cross base

Ekornes is a Norwegian company but these chairs are manufactured in Vietnam. Still not cheap though lol

When I was a kid, I won two goldfish at the carnival. I was so excited to put them in my dad’s fish tank at home. He was less thrilled about my “poopy goldfish” living in his nice tropical tank. Eventually he caved, because I assume my mom pointed out that a happy wife and kid were more important than his fish tank. Plus “they were just carnival fish so they’d probably die soon anyway,” he said. Those goldfish ended up living for years, including making it through a move to a new house and a new tank. When the last one finally died he was far too big to flush. I asked my dad what he did with it, and he said he just threw it out for the birds. Little me was heartbroken, but my dad hated those goldfish all the way to the end.

I mean...where are you located? If you're local, I've not managed to thrift anything better than a wusthof with a broken tip thus far.

Hell, and at that point, you could probably have a simple metal version milled instead.

From Norway, I can vouch for this 👍🏻

I’m 5’8” 220, aka short and fat :) so I’m not sure about someone taller. The headrest on my model (Admiral) is height adjustable though. Of course, only he would know for sure if it works.

They’re super expensive so definitely need to be sure if you’re going to commit (unless you’re lucky and get it free like I did).

ETA: These apparently come in different sizes, so hopefully you can find the correct one that way.

My husband is 6 ft and probably weighs 280, do you think he’d be comfortable in it?

I’m Norwegian, I can confirm they’re BIFL. They’re super common here.

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It really depends on the product.

I’m super picky about materials. I know the difference between durable leather and the cheap stuff.

Other than that, I look for brands I trust. I use Google and Reddit.

If it’s made from cast iron or other solid metal, that’s a good sign.

Some things are better when they’re disposable. Sponges, for example. These items, I order in bulk.

This is a recreated Charles Eames chair. How could chairs not be, Eames was the single most important architect and designer for our standard comfort and beautiful chair design.

So that's a consul with a star base?

Hey, so I bought a used ekornes stressless chair. Got it home and realized the seat springs were broken. It turns out the seat springs are molded into the seat foam and not replaceable...

Fortunately I found an aftermarket kit and was able carefully cut the foam from the bottom and extract the broken springs. Hooked up the new springs and carefully put everything back together.

Not exactly the best BIFL experience. Glad I got a great deal on the chair but would have preferred if the spring would have been a standard replacement.

the sales guy I talked to said "you take care of this, you'll have it for 20+ years, minimum" and having seen them in person & shopped for them for a while now, I agree

I recently learned that the "cities" only come in medium size.

in my hobby, there is a saying, buy once cry once. you either buy cheap and over and over, or buy expensive once (or twice or whatever, you know what i mean)

But also, I’m willing to take way more time melting snow than risk a heart attack on a cold winter morning. Not that I have to clear snow at all.

>For me, besides quality, BIFL is also about minimizing waste. One downside to BIFL that I don't see talked about a lot is that, once you've bought it, you have it for a really long time. For example, I have some kitchen knives that have lasted me over 10 years, and they still work great. But now that I've gotten more into cooking since when I bought those knives, I wish I could upgrade to nicer ones. But the moment that I do that, I'd have to find a way to get rid of the old knives that are not wasteful. So, BIFL isn't just about buying the nicest quality things, it's also a bit about making a commitment to the things that you buy.

this is awesome. what a good point!!

I'm in the market for one right now. I've been shopping for almost a year. $4000 chair is bending my brain but, my back & neck are kinda insisting.