ISO adult booster seat

January 27, 2021 7:05 AM

I do not have room for an official office chair, but my kitchen chairs are slightly too short for me to type comfortably at the table. Looking for some kind of seat cushion/device that will give me a little more height without being too intrusive. Any recommendations?

I have a standing desk but it is not adjustable, so when I must sit I've been sitting at my kitchen table. I have a laptop stand and a separate keyboard, but even so it seems I need just 2 or 3 more inches of height to avoid shoulder discomfort from typing and mousing.

Ideally what I want is some kind of cushion that I could remove and stash in a closet when I'm not using the kitchen table as a pseudo-desk; however if the best solutions are not really stashable I'm open to it. Even more ideally, this would not have a "hot" fabric or fill, as I easily overheat.

posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Work & Money (8 answers total)

Pricey, but Purple has some cushions that might fit the bill. I also overheat easily, but it hasn't been a problem for me with the Double.
posted by humbug at 7:20 AM on January 27, 2021

I've been using this gel cushion for this, and it's ugly but works just fine. I can't speak to how "hot" it feels because my makeshift home office is drafty as heck, but it gives you a couple of inches of lift and is comfy to sit on all day.
posted by LeeLanded at 7:26 AM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have a similar comfilife cushion to the one that EmilyFlew links (the cheaper one that doesn't have the gel) and I think it'll do what you need it to do. I weigh 190lbs and it doesn't compress out of shape or get hot.
posted by phunniemee at 7:33 AM on January 27, 2021

My husband got a very comfortable gel cushion from Costco that helped him use a folding chair comfortably at his desk. The website looks like it’s selling a 2-pack but in the store we definitely just got a single one for about $20.
posted by Night_owl at 7:44 AM on January 27, 2021 [1 favorite]

Gel cushions sound like the right answer, but just in case:

I use what look to be Malinda chair cushions from Ikea for this. They come in various colours, and stack perfectly well if you find you need more height than one can supply. They do compact over time, especially if you're sitting on them for hours on end, but they spring back eventually if you can swap them out for a spare for a bit. Cotton fabric, polyester filling; I've never really registered the warmth, which suggests it's similar to what I expect from a desk chair.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 8:31 AM on January 27, 2021

I use the costco one night owl linked, but it compresses down when I use it and may only get you an inch of height at most. I like it, but not for height addition.

(But I weigh 225 lbs, so if you are lighter it might not compress as much?).
posted by TheAdamist at 8:34 AM on January 27, 2021

Response by poster: Oh, yeah if it is helpful I'm 5'2" and about 110 lbs. The current space between the tops of my knees and the table is ~5".
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 8:40 AM on January 27, 2021

I use this memory foam pad. Just make sure your seat is non-slip, as the bottom of this pad is supposedly non-slip but my seat is slippery and it slides right off. I had to kludge a tie-down system to make it stay in place.
posted by kschang at 11:37 AM on January 27, 2021