As snug as a bug in a rug

The photo in Sunday's post is indeed that of my new personal office chair. It was a real buy! Two weeks ago on Thursday, my friend and I set out to buy this little gem. I had seen a nice and comfortable looking chair in the Ikea catalog. Like all Ikea products, it had a name: Markus. The seat and back were covered in royal blue tissue, it had a high back and head rest. It cost some 150 euro and looked perfect. However, my friend decided otherwise. He detests shopping at Ikea. The other alternative was a local furniture store where in the past I had bought my couch and other little decoration items. Problem was and is, they only have a showroom and you need to order your purchase and pick up later. Later meaning between 6 to 8 weeks, depending on the item.

Sitting as snug as a bug in a rug:
 a bumble bee on lavender at La Bourdaisière, June 2013.

As last Thursday was my first day of teleworking, I desperately needed the chair. I just couldn't imagine myself (with my bad back and all) sitting on one of my dining room chairs, which by the way are very comfortable for limited use, for saying 2 to 3 hours. Just the time to enjoy a nice meal.

Taking all this into account - Ikea being 'off limits' on the one hand, and the long delivery time on the other - I decided to try a third option, which I had carefully considered in advance: Trendhopper. This interior decoration store of Dutch origin has a branch in a nearby shopping zone. I've bought some items there in the past, and although it isn't top quality, you can't find some great stuff there ... if you are lucky. My friend and I made a compromise: if I didn't find anything to my liking at Trendhopper's, we would tackle the challenge of the endless Ikea 'parcours'.

It turned out that Trendhopper carried a vast range of office chairs, ranging in price from 59 euro to 500 euro, the latter being made of white leather. Sitting in it, I felt like a real CEO! It was way out of my budget though, and it was too large to fit in my little office corner at home. 

And then I found the one in the photo. It was love at first sight and the price was right too ... even less then Ikea's Markus! We went looking for a shop assistant, who was very helpful but brought the bad news that they were out stock and that I wouldn't have my chair before January 2014. I put on my saddest face, saying that it was urgent because I would be starting teleworking as from Thursday Nov. 21st and ... he caved in ... and let me take the showroom model, with an extra 10% discount, bringing the price down to 118 euro!

I spent last Thursday working at home, comfortably sitting in my new chair. I got so much work done, that by 4 p.m. I could log off, pleased with myself and my day's work ... and my recent purchase!