Sooo does anyone use an armchair to play PC?

RedTop89 · 19 Sep 2020 at 16:28

I know i know a bit silly maybe... but my lass (im from the north east) wont let me get rid of the drawers that my monitor is sat on and i can't have a desk because their is no room whatsoever to put one in our house.

My gaming is beyond uncomfortable as i can only have my office chair so close to the drawers before i end up bashing my knees.

I have come up with a solution however but i cannot find any info or anyone online who has done this.

I am looking to get an armchair, possibly a tub style accent chair with high enough arms so i can make a board to go across the top of the arms and presto have my mouse and keyboard at desired height and sit and chill when i game.

Has anyone done this? ive seen a couch board with 2 cushions either side but i cannot have a couch in my bedroom which got me thinking about the armchair.

i have been to my local store and cannot find a chair cheap enough can anyone help or point me in the direction of a decent armchair which they may have used or used in a similar way to how i will have to play my pc.

thanks.

M4xson · 20 Sep 2020 at 05:24

I think a tub chair could work. I haven't tried this myself but the arms are high enough and flat enough. Probably! We got a second hand one for occasional use in the living room and it's nice and comfortable.

https://www.gumtree.com/chairs-and-stools/uk/tub+chair

garnett · 20 Sep 2020 at 07:34

Not exactly chair options, but some good resources on the idea generally...

https://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/456792-living-room-pc-part-2-keyboard-and-mouse-problem/

https://www.giantbomb.com/forums/pc-99/couch-gaming-with-keyboard-and-mouse-1797203/

https://visualhunt.com/amp/laptop-table-for-couch

What keyboard and mouse do you have? Wired or wireless? And what sorts of games do you play?

Nabeshogun · 20 Sep 2020 at 11:08

Rather than putting something across I've always wondered about if you could have 2 hard flat surfaces, one attached to each arm that you can pop out (I guess a bit like in a plane) and then have the keyboard on one (or maybe one of those gaming keypad things - dunno if they're good or bad though) and the mouse on the other but they don't share space and you get to spread out still... I presume someone good at DiY or a carpenter or alike must have put something together like that, then you could have a big nice reclining chair and mount the monitor high up on the wall...

M4xson · 20 Sep 2020 at 11:34

Nabeshogun said:
Rather than putting something across I've always wondered about if you could have 2 hard flat surfaces, one attached to each arm that you can pop out (I guess a bit like in a plane) and then have the keyboard on one (or maybe one of those gaming keypad things - dunno if they're good or bad though) and the mouse on the other but they don't share space and you get to spread out still... I presume someone good at DiY or a carpenter or alike must have put something together like that, then you could have a big nice reclining chair and mount the monitor high up on the wall...

Best bet for that would be a used airline seat, the end of row type that has the table stow away in the arm but I doubt that would be cheap. Nor would paying someone to make one be cheap tbh. Could be worth it though!

Woden · 20 Sep 2020 at 11:36

Nabeshogun said:
Rather than putting something across I've always wondered about if you could have 2 hard flat surfaces, one attached to each arm that you can pop out (I guess a bit like in a plane) and then have the keyboard on one (or maybe one of those gaming keypad things - dunno if they're good or bad though) and the mouse on the other but they don't share space and you get to spread out still... I presume someone good at DiY or a carpenter or alike must have put something together like that, then you could have a big nice reclining chair and mount the monitor high up on the wall...

Flight of the Navigator

Nabeshogun · 20 Sep 2020 at 11:41

Woden said:
Flight of the Navigator

Ha, when I googled that I expected it to be some dude's youtube channel who's really into flightsims and has made something like I described above... not an 80s movie ... the trailer didn't really show off the chair but I managed to find some images of it, tables seem a bit high up might be rough on his shoulders but yeah something like that, ha.

d_brennen · 20 Sep 2020 at 11:41

PC on a shelf, monitor on a wall mount arm and a fold out desk, job done

garnett · 20 Sep 2020 at 14:16

Nabeshogun said:
Rather than putting something across I've always wondered about if you could have 2 hard flat surfaces, one attached to each arm that you can pop out (I guess a bit like in a plane) and then have the keyboard on one (or maybe one of those gaming keypad things - dunno if they're good or bad though) and the mouse on the other but they don't share space and you get to spread out still... I presume someone good at DiY or a carpenter or alike must have put something together like that, then you could have a big nice reclining chair and mount the monitor high up on the wall...

I was thinking along similar lines...

Here's something for a mouse...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chair-Armrest-Mouse-Support-Only-Adjustable/dp/B07K2MMKY2

Alternatively I was wondering whether you could go for a rollerball mouse you didn't need to move around.

Then you could a keypad on the other arm, perhaps.

Nabeshogun · 20 Sep 2020 at 14:28

garnett said:
Alternatively I was wondering whether you could go for a rollerball mouse you didn't need to move around.

I've never owned one, but I have a distinct impression they're an absolute pain to use, so it must have been from trying to use one in a museum exhibit or maybe a friend had one when I was a kid, I'm not sure .. and I'd imagine the technology and user experience has moved on a lot from then and there are probably good ones, but at the core of me I can't help but have a strong aversion to them.

Gray2233 · 20 Sep 2020 at 15:42

Depending on the game you could just use a wireless controller.

For mouse and keyboard stuff, what about a lap desk?

finga · 21 Sep 2020 at 00:05

Hah, that sounds like my setup was for about 3 years for the same reasons.
In the end I put my foot down and dismantled the chest of drawers and bought a small desk!
About 9 months prior to that though I bought one of them Roccat lapboards to use mouse and keyboard on my lap. It was the neck ache that got me in the end..

RedTop89 · 21 Sep 2020 at 14:45

Nabeshogun said:
Rather than putting something across I've always wondered about if you could have 2 hard flat surfaces, one attached to each arm that you can pop out (I guess a bit like in a plane) and then have the keyboard on one (or maybe one of those gaming keypad things - dunno if they're good or bad though) and the mouse on the other but they don't share space and you get to spread out still... I presume someone good at DiY or a carpenter or alike must have put something together like that, then you could have a big nice reclining chair and mount the monitor high up on the wall...

been looking at those types of things myself. there is some out there and even a tray fot a keyboard that clamps on tho the frame of your chair and you can freely move the table around.

I have seen a kidney shaped tray though that goes around your body and sits on the arm rests. i am just trying to find a decent chair local that i can actually sit in and get the right height for the position i want my arms. i will be making the tray myself and wrapping it in cloth so it looks decent enough.

RedTop89 · 21 Sep 2020 at 14:46

finga said:
Hah, that sounds like my setup was for about 3 years for the same reasons.
In the end I put my foot down and dismantled the chest of drawers and bought a small desk!
About 9 months prior to that though I bought one of them Roccat lapboards to use mouse and keyboard on my lap. It was the neck ache that got me in the end..

i have put my foot down a few times recently but i dont want to push my luck hahaha.