Macs for Mitch: Review: The Oak Hollow Aloria Series Office Chair is comfy and customizable

If you sit at a desk all day, you'll want a high-quality, customizable chair.

For many of us, now more than ever, our home office IS our office. While it's tempting to bring the laptop into bed or onto the couch to work in our pajamas like on TV, it's not always the healthiest or more productive long-term work situation. A good-quality office chair is an important part of maximizing productivity at home.

Excellent quality

Oak Hollow Furniture Aloria Series Office Chair

Bottom line: This high-quality executive chair is adjustable in multiple ways for a customized, comfortable fit.

The Good

Adjustable lumbar support, tilt, height, arms, and seat depth
Optional headrest
Comfortable and sturdy
Breathable mesh back
Accommodates people up to 6'9" and 300 pounds
Lifetime warranty on components; five-year warranty on fabric

The Bad

Arms don't adjust inwards
Somewhat pricey

From $450 at Amazon

From $469 at Oak Hollow Furniture

Very customizable

Oak Hollow Furniture Aloria Series Office Chair: Features

The Aloria Series Office chair is comfortable to sit in for hours and can be adjusted in a number of ways to fit most people. The seat itself is padded with high-density molded foam and upholstered with high-performance fabric meant for long-term use. The fabric is more functional than attractive, but it's quite comfortable against the skin when I'm wearing shorts. The back is mesh, stretched tightly on the frame, so it's breathable and comfortable.

When ordering, you can purchase the chair with or without the headrest seen in my photos. The headrest pivots to your most comfortable spot. On the back of the chair is a lumbar support mechanism; slide it up or down until it locks into place in your perfect spot. You can also adjust the depth of the seat to accommodate different leg lengths via a lever on the side.

While the Aloria Series chair has adjustable armrests, I actually wish they adjusted more. You can adjust the armrests up and down, forward and backward, and you can pivot them inward and outward. What you can't do is bring them in closer to your body. Ideally, when typing, you want your arms close to your body. A wider person in this chair can certainly do that, but I find myself with my arms a little farther from my body than ideal no matter how I adjust the armrests.

I like that I can actually sit comfortably in this chair and work for hours at a time.

Are you one of those people that likes to lean back in their office chair? You're in luck with the Aloria Series Office Chair, because there are a number of tilt options. There is a lever so you can lock the chair into a slightly reclined position if you wish, or leave it unlocked so you can rock. You can also adjust the tilt tension via a knob.

The chair does require assembly, but it's pretty basic and the Allen wrench you need is included. It took me about 40 minutes to assemble, but someone more skilled in that area could certainly assemble it much faster. It's basically just a matter of attaching the major components with large screws — the fiddly complicated stuff comes already assembled. Two pneumatic cylinders are included: a standard-sized one and a smaller one for people 5'2" and under.

Ergonomic

Oak Hollow Furniture Aloria Series Office Chair: What I like

I like that I can actually sit in this executive chair and work for hours at a time. The well-padded seat and lumbar support are keys to aligning my spine correctly so I don't get achy. I still get up and walk around and stretch hourly (as commanded by my Apple Watch) but I'm much more comfortable working in this chair than on a couch or in my old office chair. I'm much more productive when I can work comfortably and ergonomically.

One size can't fit all

Oak Hollow Furniture Aloria Series Office Chair: What I don't like

While I'd imagine that a wide range of sizes will be well-accommodated, this chair won't be a perfect fit for everyone. On one end, the maximum capacity is 6'9" and 300 pounds. On the other end, the second pneumatic cylinder shortens the chair as needed for a smaller person but it doesn't get narrower. I'm not a particularly small person, just a very average-sized woman in both height and weight, but I found the armrests to be a little bit wide for me. While I can pivot the fronts of the armrests closer to my body, I can't pivot the whole armrest in. I'd imagine that someone much smaller than me might have a hard time resting their arms.

Worthwhile investment

Oak Hollow Furniture Aloria Series Office Chair: Bottom line

4.5 out of 5

If you're sitting at a desk most of the day, it's important that you create an ergonomic office space for your health and productivity. A high-quality office chair is an important part of setting that up. Oak Hollow Furniture's Aloria Series Office Chair has a solid metal frame, high-density foam seat, and high-performance fabric that's built to last. The chair's lumbar support, tilt, height, arms, and seat depth are all adjustable in multiple ways to customize the chair the way you like it, although the armrests can't be pulled close to the body for a smaller person. It comes with two pneumatic cylinders to further adjust the height if needed. You can order the chair with or without a headrest, depending on your needs.