IKEA Office Chair Review | Is the Järvfjället worth it?

If you’ve ever been to IKEA, you’ll know they have a pretty decent range of office chairs. The most expensive chair they currently offer in 2021 is the Järvfjället, which costs around £175 with the armrests.

In terms of pricing, this desk chair is about the same as the other options I’ve listed in our best office chair list, if not a little bit more expensive. It’s labelled as a premium option though, and it’s supposedly made to last.

But is the Järvfjället really worth its price, or would you be better off going for a cheaper model? Or just ignoring IKEA altogether? Well last month I actually purchased the chair after visiting the store, so here’s my short review of how I’m getting on with the Järvfjället so far.

IKEA Järvfjället Chair Review

Update 1: Overall, the Järvfjället has been pretty great over the past year. It’s very upright, which helps you to maintain a good posture when working. It’s pretty comfortable too, though not as comfortable as a leather office chair.

Second Update: After about a year of use, the chair started making horrible squeaking noises whenever I sat back properly. To sort this out, I sprayed some WD-40 into the seat tension springs. This resolved the problem, and it’s gone back to silence again.

It’s very similar to the IKEA Markus chair, which is another one of the brand’s bestsellers. There aren’t too many high back executive office chairs around, especially those with a mesh back for increased breathability.

This chair is also really good in terms of head and neck support as well. It’s probably the best IKEA office chair that the company stock, though it can be difficult to get one in current circumstances. Let’s look a little closer at the chair itself and the different parts of it.

Putting it together

Now first things first, I have to admit – I am absolutely awful at putting things together. So when the box arrived at my house, I already thought that I might have some issues putting the chair together.

jarvfjallet-front

However, this wasn’t the case – it was much easier to put up than anything else I’ve put together (to be fair, it is a chair and there’s not much to it). So if you’re worried about how long it might take you to build the chair, it won’t take any longer than 5 or ten minutes.

It’s pretty much the same method as putting together any office chair. Most of it comes pre-built, so you won’t have any worries here. The armrests screw in very easily, and it’s all pretty solid, so you don’t need to worry about breaking anything.

Aspects of the Chair

Let me run through quickly what the chair has and how well I think they’re all implemented;

  • The Järvfjället has adjustable head support, which is really useful if multiple people are going to be using the chair. Obviously your head isn’t going to be pinned back to the headrest permanently, but being able to adjust the support is really helpful.
  • Along with this, it has lumbar support for your lower back. If you struggle with back pain or back ache, then it’s important that you get a chair with lumbar support – this keeps your head inline with your lower back.
  • You can easily change the seating position too, which will affect how far that your chair reclines (not a massive recline, but it prevents you from hovering forward over the desk). I like to have mine on the maximum recline, as this helps to relieve any pain in my lower back.
  • Like with any office chair, you can easily change the height of your seating too. Remember that in an ideal world, you want your eyes to be roughly level or just above the top of your monitor.
  • I use my chair on a carpet, but it does have 5 solid casters if you want to use it on a hard floor. I’ve used mine on a hard floor too, and it stays sturdy whilst still giving you the ability to manoeuvre around.

Overall, from a practical perspective the Järvfjället is everything I want from an office chair. It provides great support for my back, which I’ve always had issues with (that was the whole reason for getting an office chair in the first place!).

Appearance

I’ll be honest – aside from the upright positioning of the chair, another reason I opted for it is there isn’t an abundance of white office chairs available on the market.

The Järvfjället does come in a blue or a black material as well, but it isn’t anywhere near as nice as the white material in my opinion. The only obvious downside to this is that it’s more prone to staining, but this isn’t likely if you’re only using it as an office chair.

It’s also one of the more professional looking chairs out there too, and whenever someones come over to the home office (which is rarely), they’ve commented how nice it looks. It does have a very high back which looks kind of odd, but it’s definitely forced me to sit up straight.

Extras

With the Järvfjället, you have the option of purchasing the armrests separately. They cost an extra £25 at the time of writing, and in my mind they were worth it. Like most people I don’t often use the armrests, but it’s nice to have them there if I need them. They also make the chair look more complete.

jarvfjallet-arms

Another thing to mention is that one of the main reasons I think my chair works really well is because I have a Bekant Adjustable Desk from IKEA too. This means that I can adjust the height of my desk to whatever I want, so I’m not too fussed about the adjustments of the Järvfjället, although it does everything I want it too.

Conclusion

All in all, I’m actually really happy with my Järvfjället purchase, even if it was a little on the pricey side. I find it to be the most upright positioned chair I’ve ever used, with solid lumbar and backrest support. This is the main issue I’ve had with previous office chairs – leaning back on them and them not providing proper support.

The Järvfjället is ideal for taller folks too, as I’m around 6ft 1 and have the headrest on the shortest setting, so there’s definitely room for increasing there. If you’ve used the Järvfjället or you’re thinking of getting it, feel free to leave a comment or ask a question below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

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About Jon

Hey, I'm Jon. I'm an engineer by trade, so it makes sense that I'm obsessed with anything technology related! On the weekends, you can find me playing around with my computers or fixing something around the house. Feel free to leave a comment if you want to get in touch.

11 thoughts on “IKEA Office Chair Review | Is the Järvfjället worth it?”

  1. Hello Jon,
    I am looking for a chair which I could use for working at home (8+ hours) + also gaming sometimes. Would you recommend me this chair even for gaming? I also have only 167cm and I cannot try it out, because the nearest IKEA store is 400 km from my house, but I am really interested in buying this chair on-line, but i am a little bit afraid whether the chair is not too big for my 167 cm.
    Thanks and have a nice day! 🙂

    Reply
    • Hey Patrick. I currently use this chair 8+ hours a day also, but I have to say I probably wouldn’t recommend it for gaming (especially not console gaming if you’re going to be playing Playstation or Xbox). It’s very upright, which is great for your posture and office work, but it’s not ideal for gaming in my opinion. I am 180cm and the chair is the right size, so don’t think there would be too much of a difference for you height-wise.

      Reply
  2. Hello Jon,
    Thank you for the very detailed review.
    The only non-adjustable items are the armrests. I intend to buy the chair with the armrest but cannot find their height in the dimensions specified on the IKEA website. Can you please tell me the height of the armrests?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Hey! The arms are approx 10.5 inches (27cm) in height from top to bottom. Bear in mind they started at the bottom of the seat, which is 2.5 inches thick, so there’s only 8 inches of space underneath them! They’re fairly low for an office chair. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Hi Jon,
    Is the white material washable? Have you ever tried to clean it?
    I like the white one best, but I am afraid that the chair will get dirty after few months.

    Thanks.

    Stefan

    Reply
    • Hey Stefan, I’ve had the chair for a while now and it’s help up well in terms of wear & tear with no discolouring. The seat at headrest are white/cream speckled with blue, which helps a bit in this regard. There is a zip on the bottom of the chair along the seat, but I wouldn’t bother trying to wash it myself (maybe just there from manufacturing. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  4. Hello,
    I’m interested in buying this chair, but since I’m 196cm tall, I have my concerns…
    Would you be kind to tell the depth and height of the seat in the highest and extended position? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Hello! I’m 183cm tall (6 foot) and have the headrest pretty low, so it should be fine in terms of your head positioning if you’re 6 ft 5″. It’s 88cm from the top of the seat to the top of the headrest at its highest point. The seat is 45cm from front to back in terms of depth. The seat doesn’t rise too far off the ground, with the maximum distance being 55cm if the seat is elevated to its highest – that might be the only concern if you have particularly long legs!

      Reply
  5. Hi my new chair keeps rising slowly overnight so that in the morning its stuck under the desk – I like leaving the chair tucked in and tidy . its brand new and has been doing this since assembly ? Any tips for fixing this – I don’t want to go all the way back to Ikea with it .

    Reply
    • Hi Tracey, sadly I think the piston is “leaking” in some way and the only solution is to replace it. Which probably means returning or consulting with IKEA on it. It should still be under warranty since it’s new, so I’d absolutely take it back and have them swap it out! Hope this helps.

      Reply

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