So l am looking for a comfy chair for home office. I am around 190 and 74kg so no special need in these regards. I had a MARKUS for 10 years which was good enough and served well. One important thing would be a well cushioned seat pad as I have a FLINTAN but for my preferences the seat area is way too hard. I have the following ones in my mind: • A new MARKUS • STYRSPEL • JARVFJALLET • SMORKULL

I should preface this by saying I'm located in Portugal, where it's not easy at all to find good deals on premium office chairs. At most, we get slightly discounted refurbs which still go for several hundreds of Euros.

Back in late June, I had a warranty claim going with Ikea to replace my previous Volmar chair and was waiting for the new Grönfjall to drop. The chair + headrest goes for around 299€ but I had the Volmar's MSRP credit + a 20% discount code, so it ended up closer to 110€ for me. Here's why it was definitely worth it at that kind of price:

Looks: divisive to say the least. It actually took me a while to get used to it, as it's definitely a bold and unique design language. The chair is overall pretty big and the headrest looks massive in person. It's not a subtle aesthetic and it is not for everyone. I ended up liking it in the "it sort of looks like a spaceship" kind of way. I personally find the light brown colourway horrendous.

Build quality and materials: I'm pretty satisfied in this aspect. The chair feels solid overall, with a metal base and arms. It's made with a light and semi-breathable fabric which is reminiscent of some of their house furniture (think a soft fabric couch-like feel) and covers the entire seat, back, armrests and headrest structure.

The underside of the armrests is made of plastic and the armrests themselves are slightly wobbly. They feel like the cheapest part of the entire chair. The height-adjustable headrest is made of real leather, so I expect it to last a long time with proper care.

Fitment & adjustments: I'm 1,88m tall and have previously owned 3 Markus, 1 Volmar and a few lower-end Ikea models. I always ended up selling the Markus due to the fixed and rigid armrests, as well as the annoying and not-adjustable lumbar support. I was hoping the Grönfjall would fix the Markus' shortcomings and, for the most part, it did for me:

• Depth-adjustable seat, locking in 3 positions. I thought I'd be using the longest seat setting but I actually prefer the middle one;

• Height-adjustable lumbar support: while not pressure-adjustable, the lumbar support does work wonders for me. It should be noted that this will not be everyone's experience, as I use it at the absolute minimum height and that, luckily, suits me perfectly. It raises by quite a lot but it definitely warrants trying in-store first.

• Height, tilt and depth-adjustable armrests: I was very happy when I was able to finally adjust an Ikea chair's armrests to suit me for both gaming and productivity at my home desk setup. However, the Grönfjall's armrests' adjustable range is weird. I like having armrests close to my side and these just barely come close enough for me in the medium seat length setting. I can't see why anyone would want them to be as far away as these go. They also tilt horizontally but do not adjust in width, so you cannot bring them closer to you laterally. This is a major downfall of this chair and I can't fathom why they wouldn't include width adjustment. I'd much rather have width than tilt. I suspect this was a design decision, as tilting the armrests to bring the nearest edge closer to me does allow me to rest my arms almost as if they were fully brought in. In the end, like with the lumbar support, I'm lucky my build makes them usable but they won't be for everyone.

• Height-adjustable headrest: pretty self-explanatory. I was reluctant to add the +/- 50€ for the headrest at the time because I thought it was fixed. The fact that it is height-adjustable by quite a healthy margin - and made with genuine leather - convinced me and I am not sorry at all. I should note, however, that it does not tilt, angle or otherwise move in any way. Also, you can fully ignore the marketing bs about the headrest's curved edges "helping avoid distractions by limiting your peripheral vision". It is purely an aesthetic aspect of the chair and does nothing else.

• Synchro-tilt back with automatic tension and lockable steps: as with some of the other recent offerings from Ikea, I'm sorry to say that the synchro-tilt used here is not 100% independent of the seat angle, meaning the seat does slightly tilt upwards at the front when reclining the back. However, the seat depth options help mitigate this and I was able to find a comfortable mix of settings to support my torso and legs without undue pressure. As for the automatic recline tension, I thought I was going to hate it and miss the Markus' tension knob. Funnily enough, once again, it works very well for my build and weight - around 75kg at the time of writing. It gently follows my back when I want to bring myself forward and stops exactly where I want it when I recline back a bit. It's gotten to the point where I don't even think about it anymore and, because of this, I haven't felt the need to use any of the several recline angle locks available.

• Overall chair height: well, duh.

Comfort: I've been using the Grönfjall daily for about 3 months now and I find it much more comfortable than all my previous efforts. If considering it, you should be aware that it is the kind of firm seating experience which focuses on correct posture and discourages slouching. I am a huge fan of dense foam in office chairs, as I hate the feeling of sinking in them, and this model gives me exactly that. It also makes me much more confident regarding the seat and back foam longevity, although I am not a very heavy guy, so your mileage may vary. What this also means is that you may feel the need to get up and stretch stuff out for a bit more often than expected if you're used to softer chairs. A mobile couch this is not, despite its size and looks.

Despite the armrests' shortcomings and the headrest's lack of tilt adjustability, I am able to spend hours at a time with proper posture and little fatigue.

Rarely-seen features: the seat and armrests fabric covers are removable and machine-washable, which is definitely nice to have. They simply pop off and you can easily separate the fabric. It's a nice touch.

Final thoughts: for the price I paid, I am more than happy with the Grönfjall. However, at its MSRP of 300€, the value proposition highly depends on your specific market - particularly what kind of used and refurb units you have access to.

For my particular build, it checks all the boxes I was looking for: it's a big chair with sufficient adjustments and a firm seating experience, nicely finished with a mostly metal build, robust handling (except for the armrests) and it is covered by Ikea's excellent 10-year commercial warranty.

You should be aware that some of the adjustments do have their limits - mainly the lumbar support, armrests and headrest - so I heavily recommend trying one out for a while in-store or even taking one home and making sure it's good to be returned if needed.

Overall, I am genuinely satisfied with my unit and am officially off the market for the foreseeable future. Hit me up with any questions about it and I'll be happy to answer.

TL;DR: the Grönfjall fixes most of the Markus' shortcomings but it's got some of its own. Limited lumbar, armrest and headrest adjustability make it a very build-sensitive model. At 1,88m and 75kg, I personally find it very comfortable and seemingly hard-wearing. If proven otherwise, it's covered by Ikea's 10-year warranty.