[HOT] USED Herman Miller Embody

I paid $410 shipped (accepted best offer) and my chair arrived well packed in about 12 pieces via FedEx - no signature required. After putting it together, I was surprised with how clean it actually was.

It shows a tiny bit of wear on the very edge of the seat, but it isn't even noticeable from a couple of feet away. No stains or discoloration of the fabric to speak of. So far, everything appears to be mechanically sound and functions as it should. My chair doesn't need to be reupholstered so I won't bother even though the color is ugly.

Comfort is a very personal thing but so far it seems much more comfortable than the Steelcase Gesture for me. I spent around 4 hours in it last night, and I didn't have nearly as much tailbone pain as I did in the Gesture or my old Raynor chair. Only time will tell in the long run how the comfort fairs though.

After a lot of work, I go from this:



to this:


I bothered a local Herman Miller rep and bought a new fabric cover. I switched to the Rhythm fabric. It was cheaper, seems like it'll last a lot longer than the Balance fabric, the color is much easier on the eyes, and it smells better. There's no comfort difference between the two. In the summer, the Balance should be more breathable, but I don't often have a fan aimed at my back.

The back and spine of the chair need to be separated from the base to make the switch. That wasn't very hard, I just followed the assembly instructions in reverse. Both fabric covers are held on with plastic clips, which aren't meant to be reused. The folded over part at the top of chair is only a thin bit of plastic, and was actually cracked on the green cover. I'm not impressed with that.

This is still the most comfortable office chair I've ever sat in, and a big upgrade over my HM Setu. It looks new and I'm way under the cost of a new Embody chair. Over the long-term, I'm a little worried about all the plastic bits. I would definitely recommend only moving the chair around by the spine, and not the upper headrest portion.

How much did it end up costing you through the local rep?

VulcaN said:

How much did it end up costing you through the local rep?

Click to expand...

$200. When I took off the old covers, I figured an upholsterer probably couldn't replicate it so easily, thanks to the plastic clip system.

Yeah I got the Rhythm fabric when I ordered new. Mostly because of cost but also because of color selection. Been happy

Ozymandias said:

After a lot of work, I go from this:
View attachment 8407


to this:
View attachment 8408

I bothered a local Herman Miller rep and bought a new fabric cover. I switched to the Rhythm fabric. It was cheaper, seems like it'll last a lot longer than the Balance fabric, the color is much easier on the eyes, and it smells better. There's no comfort difference between the two. In the summer, the Balance should be more breathable, but I don't often have a fan aimed at my back.

The back and spine of the chair need to be separated from the base to make the switch. That wasn't very hard, I just followed the assembly instructions in reverse. Both fabric covers are held on with plastic clips, which aren't meant to be reused. The folded over part at the top of chair is only a thin bit of plastic, and was actually cracked on the green cover. I'm not impressed with that.

This is still the most comfortable office chair I've ever sat in, and a big upgrade over my HM Setu. It looks new and I'm way under the cost of a new Embody chair. Over the long-term, I'm a little worried about all the plastic bits. I would definitely recommend only moving the chair around by the spine, and not the upper headrest portion.

Click to expand...

That looks great, nice work. Always good to know that there are options for getting new fabric in the future at a reasonable cost.

Ozymandias said:

After a lot of work, I go from this:
View attachment 8407


to this:
View attachment 8408

I bothered a local Herman Miller rep and bought a new fabric cover. I switched to the Rhythm fabric. It was cheaper, seems like it'll last a lot longer than the Balance fabric, the color is much easier on the eyes, and it smells better. There's no comfort difference between the two. In the summer, the Balance should be more breathable, but I don't often have a fan aimed at my back.

The back and spine of the chair need to be separated from the base to make the switch. That wasn't very hard, I just followed the assembly instructions in reverse. Both fabric covers are held on with plastic clips, which aren't meant to be reused. The folded over part at the top of chair is only a thin bit of plastic, and was actually cracked on the green cover. I'm not impressed with that.

This is still the most comfortable office chair I've ever sat in, and a big upgrade over my HM Setu. It looks new and I'm way under the cost of a new Embody chair. Over the long-term, I'm a little worried about all the plastic bits. I would definitely recommend only moving the chair around by the spine, and not the upper headrest portion.

Click to expand...

Awesome job and well worth it!!!! The frame holds up and cleans up nicely but still shocked HM uses such non-resilient material for upholstery. It almost feels like forced obsolescence on Embody while Aeron mesh can last decades.

Still, with a bit of work you certainly saved yourself around $600 for one day f the best chairs on the market.

Funny from this thread I actually noticed SportsCenter uses the Steelcase Leap for their anchor chairs.

I love my HM Embody though my only other "high end" chair reference point is the HM Celle at work.