Benches - Are expensive ones worth the extra cost?

Nightowl · 2025-06-17T18:11:35+00:00

In another thread the subject of benches cropped up and it seems there is quite a wide price range of benches, ranging from £50 up to several hundred pounds....

WieWaldi

keystring when I bought my office chair, I didn't want to experiment. Also, I thought it wont help if I visit a store a try a few models by sitting in for some minutes.
But I knew the 3 different models, my company is using. Two of them Steelcase, and a 3rd brand. Both Steelcase were good, preferred them both over the other one. Then I tried for some days both contenders. Using one contender for an entire day, swapped at the next day. I made a decision. No further experiments. Even if there are other chairs out there, that might be even better (I am sure there are. Even Steelcase lists some more expensive and more advanced models), I found mine. I knew very well what I was buying beforehand, and I am still very happy.

Glad you found yours as well. Same for the bench.

keystring

WieWaldi when I bought my office chair, I didn't want to experiment. Also, I thought it wont help if I visit a store a try a few models by sitting in for some minutes.
But I knew the 3 different models, my company is using

Sort of similar. I had written down a couple of names. Then a family member happened to mention the chair they had just bought, and it was the chairs being used at their office. I got to try it the next time I visited, and that was enough for me.

I didn't get to try the bench either since it wasn't available anywhere to try. Fortunately it turned out very well. In the best of worlds, we're not sitting that much anyway. The most important thing is to keep moving and changing what we do during the day.

WieWaldi

keystring and the Herman Miller Embody

I also watched a YouTube comparison, I remember the HME was one contender and the most expensive Steelcase (not the one I could use in my company) was the other one. They were close, but also different.
Often comes the conclusion: both are good. Go and try what is best for you.
I mean, if the tester prefer A, but you prefer B, what should you buy?

Nightowl

WieWaldi It is like an office chair vs a bench is like high-tech vs a plank of wood with some cushioning. My office chair cost 800€... but what in the hell is justifying a similar price tag for a bench?

Good point WieWie. My bench was quite cheap so I didn't expect it to be top quality, but I'm slightly disappointed that there are already some minor issues, like the fact I keep having to tighten the bolts and crank it back up to full height. Anyway you offered a good solution which my husband can use to improve the bench. However, the covering on my of the buttons fell off and I don't really like the feel of the buttons, so I might just remove them all at some point. This would leave tiny holes in the fake leather, but I could make a new cover for it - something pretty. By the time we're finished we will have virtually rebuilt my bench! Ah well, it's much more comfortable than the chair I was using before.

keystring

Nightowl However, the covering on my of the buttons fell off and I don't really like the feel of the buttons, so I might just remove them all at some point.

My first bench had buttons. The covering coming off is not as bad as when the button itself comes off. The buttons were fastened with a kind of metal prong thingy, and it almost turned me into a human shish kabob. 😄 Fortunately I didn't sit all the way down when I felt something "sting" me. (can't find an "eek!" emoji)

pianoloverus

WieWaldi There have been numerous posts about piano benches on Piano World. They are almost unanimous in recommending either Jansen or the best hydraulic benches if one can afford them, and both those options are very costly. They're almost unanimous in saying those benches are constructed much better and more sturdily than less expensive benches.

Ornstein

I bought one from Geekstands on Ebay for ~$240 https://www.ebay.com/itm/383263985250?itmmeta=01JYFA3QP97KF2DFYYXYEGQF0D&hash=item593c504e62:g:9O0AAeSwwV5nrUeM and have been using it for a few years now, it's very perfect. Essentially a Jensen bench at 50-65% of the price.

Sophia

Well, after buying that cheap bench, I decided to crochet a cover to pretty it up a little. I think Lionel and Sandy are rather happy with the result 😃

WieWaldi

Sophia I decided to crochet a cover to pretty it up a little.

YOU did crochet this cover?!?

Nightowl

Sophia Oh, those bench covers are lovely! You're very creative with your crochet - did you find the patterns online or did you somehow make your own pattern using some kind of grid system perhaps? Also, how do they stay in place - is there some elastic around the edge or are there ties/ribbons which go underneath? I'm thinking about making a removable cover for my bench, using some sturdy fabric with a bit of stretch in it, as I can imagine that is quite important for a piano bench. I have also seen benches with tapestry covers, which is quite a nice look.

Sophia

I know, right? Sometimes I manage to unleash the ~~beast~~ girl in me 😋

Edit: ok, now that I'm in full on bragging mode, this is the cover I made for my other (Clavinova) bench...

twocats

Sophia I think you need to crochet a cat-themed cover! Luckily you can easily swap them out depending on your mood 😉

rsl12

Sophia amazing! I see evidence that the cats like your covers too!

WieWaldi

Sophia I think this is an attempt to make your cats play piano

Sophia

twocats Now there’s an idea! A piano playing cat 😍 <starts searching for pixel art…>

Sophia

Thanks Nightowl 🙂 Ever since a crafty friend told me about corner to corner crochet in combination with pixel art, a whole world has opened up!

This is the pattern I used for the hummingbird:

The piano pattern, weirdly enough, I can't find anywhere. I printed it ages ago, but never got around to actually using it. believe I went to some free icons site and just blew up the icon till it was large enough to print... honestly I don't remember.

Then crocheted a border around till it was as big as my bench. Then stopped increasing and crocheted a number of rounds in V-stitch to make it fit snugly around the bench. That's all really... Oh wait, I did lace up the last row, so that my moving b*tt doesn't shift it around too much 😃

I can't wait to see what you come up with for your bench!

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