SONGMICS OBN042BH03 Chair Review: A Cheap Flip-Up Arm Chair for Tight Desks

Who the SONGMICS OBN042BH03 is for

The SONGMICS OBN042BH03 is for the person who needs a proper desk chair but does not have a proper office.

Its best feature is the flip-up arms. In a small room, chair arms are often the part that causes the daily annoyance. They hit the desktop, stop the chair sliding in, and leave the room feeling more crowded than it should. Flip them up and the chair becomes much easier to park.

That makes this chair a sensible match for 80cm, 90cm, and 100cm desks, especially in bedrooms where the chair sits near a bed or wardrobe.

Recommended retailer Check the SONGMICS OBN042BH03 on AmazonTypical price £44. Opens in a new tab. Check current price

Size and clearance

The Amazon listing gives the chair size as 60 x 60 x 95.5 to 105.5cm. That is compact for a wheeled office chair, though it still needs floor space because the five-star base is wider than the seat.

Measure the available floor area, not just the desk width. In a small bedroom, the chair has to move backwards enough for you to sit down, then tuck in far enough that the walking route still works.

The flip-up arms are the main small-room advantage. They let the chair slide closer to the desk and reduce the amount of furniture sticking out into the room after work.

Comfort and support

This is a budget mesh task chair, so the support is basic but sensible. The mesh back should feel cooler than faux leather, which matters in small rooms where heat builds up quickly.

The back has a shaped lumbar area, but it is not the kind of chair where you can fine-tune seat depth, arm height, lumbar tension, and recline. If you are sitting eight hours a day, you will get more from something like the SIHOO M57 or SIHOO Doro S100.

For shorter work sessions, homework, admin, video calls, and a few hours at a compact desk, the OBN042BH03 is in the right category. It is a practical chair first, an ergonomic chair second.

The black finish is a trade-off

Black mesh is easy to live with, hides marks well, and suits a simple desk setup. It also looks like office furniture. In a bedroom, that matters.

If the chair will sit in full view all day, the SONGMICS OBN037K03 has a softer oatmeal-and-white look that blends into lighter rooms more easily. The OBN042BH03 is the cheaper, plainer, more workmanlike option.

That is not a bad thing. It just means the chair is better for people who care more about function and price than making the room look styled.

What the flip-up arms change

Flip-up arms are not a luxury feature. They are a clearance feature.

They help when:

• the desk is narrow
• the desktop has a low underside
• the chair needs to tuck away after work
• a bed, wardrobe, or door swing sits behind the chair

The trade-off is adjustment. Fixed flip-up arms are convenient, but they cannot be set to the exact height of your elbows. If arm support matters for long typing sessions, a more adjustable chair is worth the extra money.

What to watch before buying

Check the desk height. The chair has a height-adjustable seat, but armrests, even flip-up ones, can still catch awkwardly on drawer rails, keyboard trays, or thick desktop frames.

Check the floor. Small bedrooms often use rugs to soften the room, but caster chairs behave badly on deep pile rugs. A low-pile rug or hard floor is easier.

Check how long you sit. This chair makes sense for part-time work. If your desk is your full-time workplace, comfort should outrank the lowest price.

SONGMICS OBN042BH03 verdict

The SONGMICS OBN042BH03 is best understood as a compact budget chair with a genuinely useful small-room feature.

The flip-up arms make it easier to tuck away than most cheap mesh chairs, and the 60 x 60cm footprint is manageable in bedrooms and spare rooms. The support is basic, the look is plain, and the black frame will not disappear visually. For the price, though, it solves the right problem.

Where to go next

Continue from this article into the most relevant compact setup guides, reviews, and hubs.

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