Is a Leather Office Chair really your best choice of Office Chair? A lot of Office Chair users, particularly males believe that a Leather Office Chair is the best chair there is.

Why is this? I think it's largely an image thing, if you see a top executive's office on TV, in the movies or in the news a very high percentage have Leather Office Chairs.

Not surprisingly therefore people tend to have this belief that a Leather Office Chair has got to be the best choice because that's what all the top guns have.

Nonetheless, there are certain drawbacks with Leather Office Chairs that you need to be mindful of before you rush out and buy one.

First, there are some truly appalling office chairs that are upholstered in leather and people become blinded by the thought that it must be a quality chair because its in leather. Nothing could be further from the truth, there are any number of Leather Office Chairs being sold at unbelievably cheap prices that are little better than junk.

The grade of leather used on them is extremely poor and the frames and mechanisms are as bad if not worse. Very often only the facings are leather the rest is in vinyl. So bear in mind this simple maxim, if the price is too good to be true, then it probably is.

Second, leather being a polished or shiny finish can actually quite quickly put a shine on your clothes. If you wear expensive suits or outfits for work you may find that they wear a lot quicker with a Leather Office Chair.

Third, the smooth finish of a Leather Office Chair can find you sliding about in it and you may find yourself shuffling around in it a lot as a consequence. Leather Office Chairs with a forward tilt mechanism can be particularly prone to this. So, if you work at your screen a lot I would definitely avoid leather upholstery for your Office Chair.

Fourth, if you don't work in an air conditioned office you can often find that a Leather Office Chair can cause you to sweat and perspire, particularly in summer.

So these are the things to bear in mind about Leather Office Chairs. However, if you have set your heart on a Leather Office Chair what should you look for and what should you expect when selecting one? Get this right and your Leather Office Chair should give you many years of good service.

First, you need to accept that a good quality Leather Office Chair is unlikely to be cheap, now that's not to say you should buy on price and that a high price guarantees your chair will be suitable. But, you can say with a fair degree of confidence that if a Leather Office Chair is amazingly cheap then avoid it, you'll be glad you did.

Second, a quality Leather Office Chair will be upholstered from the same piece of hide throughout. Ask your supplier to provide details of the make, grade and quality of the leather that the chair manufacturer uses. A good supplier will be very happy to provide these details and will recognise you as a discerning buyer.

Lastly, consider how you work and decide if your work style is suited to a Leather Office Chair. If you use do your screen a lot and need a forward tilt action on your chair to maintain a good posture, a Leather Office Chair could be a bad choice. This type of chair will have you constantly sliding forward on your chair and would be better upholstered in a conventional fabric.

If you bear in mind the above points and choose your Leather Office Chair with care, it will give you years of good use if you look after it properly.

Duncan MacIntyre has over 25 year