There is a persistent myth in commercial furniture that genuinely ergonomic seating requires a genuinely enormous budget. Office Master, now known as OM Seating, has been disproving that idea since March 1986, when the company launched outside San Diego with a straightforward mission: build chairs that support the way people actually work, at prices that don’t require a capital committee to approve. Nearly four decades later, the brand has grown into one of the most respected mid-market seating manufacturers in the country, with nationwide reach, a BIFMA LEVEL certified product line, and a reputation that was built chair by chair, customer by customer.
At Arenson Office Furniture, we’re proud to carry OM Seating in our San Diego showroom. It’s a brand we recommend with confidence because we’ve watched it perform across hundreds of local installations, from startup offices in Mission Valley to corporate headquarters throughout the county.
Born in San Diego, Built for Everywhere
OM Seating has a genuinely local story. The company hatched — their word, and they own it with personality — on an egg farm outside San Diego in 1986. What began as a small, focused operation grew steadily by doing the fundamentals better than the competition: thoughtful ergonomic design, honest pricing, and responsive service that treated dealers and end users as partners rather than transactions.
The brand eventually rebranded from Office Master to OM Seating, reflecting an evolution in both identity and product philosophy. The name may be shorter now, but the commitments behind it have only deepened. Every OM product carries BIFMA LEVEL certification, the commercial furniture industry’s most comprehensive sustainability standard, covering the product itself, the manufacturing facility, and the company’s broader environmental practices. Business Week recognized OM’s Paramount chair as a standout value, noting that independent experts in occupational therapy and ergonomics recommended it over chairs priced two to three times higher. That kind of third-party validation is earned, not marketed.
What Separates OM Seating From the Field
Most brands in the mid-market ergonomic space make the same trade: you get adjustability, but the build quality is thin; or you get solid construction, but the ergonomic range is limited; or you get both, but you pay for it. OM consistently finds a way around that triangle.
The product line spans task chairs, executive seating, conference chairs, heavy-duty intensive-use chairs, lab and exam stools, stackable guest seating, and specialized solutions for healthcare and education environments. That breadth means OM can serve an entire organization from the C-suite to the clinic, from the training room to the laboratory, without requiring a second manufacturer to fill the gaps.
Every chair in the OM lineup is built around what the brand calls genuine, thoughtful design: ergonomic adjustments that are intuitive to use, not just present on a spec sheet. Pneumatic height adjustment, EZ back height adjustment, seat depth sliders, tilt tension control, forward seat tilt, and lumbar support configuration are standard across much of the range. For heavy-duty applications, the PT Intensive Use series adds reinforced structures and memory foam cushioning for users in demanding, multi-shift environments.
The warranty across most OM products runs seven years, which is a meaningful commitment for a mid-market brand and reflects genuine confidence in the construction behind each chair.
OM Seating Products Available at Arenson
We carry a focused selection of OM Seating’s strongest performers across executive, conference, and specialty seating categories. These are the models we specify most frequently for San Diego businesses and the ones our team knows inside out.
Executive and Conference Chairs
OM Truly Executive Chair: One of OM’s flagship pieces and a textbook example of the brand’s philosophy in action. The Truly series brings a refined executive aesthetic together with genuine ergonomic functionality, making it a natural choice for private offices and senior leadership environments where both comfort and presence matter.
OM OM5 Executive Chair: One of OM’s most evolved and continuously refined platforms. The OM5 has been a cornerstone of the lineup for years, and the current version reflects the kind of careful, incremental improvement that comes from actually listening to how people use a chair over time rather than redesigning it for marketing purposes.
OM CE2 Executive Conference Chair: Purpose-built for the conference room, an environment that commercial seating too often gets wrong. The CE2 delivers genuine ergonomic support for meetings that run long, without the visual bulk that makes so many ergonomic conference chairs look out of place in a boardroom.
Tip: You can find all our conference room chairs here.
Lab and Specialty Stools
OM Classic Lab Stool: A well-specified stool for clinical, laboratory, and technical environments. Built to OM’s ergonomic standards and suited to demanding use cases where a standard commercial chair simply wasn’t designed to go.
OM Budget Series Stool: An entry-level stool that doesn’t compromise where it counts. The Budget Series brings OM’s ergonomic fundamentals to counter-height, drafting, and lab environments at a price point that makes sense for larger or multi-station installations.
The Right Chair for the Right Person in the Right Environment
One of OM’s most useful tools for specifiers and buyers is its online Figure configurator, which allows you to build, customize, and specify chairs by series, style, environment, and backrest type before placing an order. For Arenson clients working through a larger installation, our team can use this alongside our own space planning process to make sure every seating spec is matched to the right application.
OM also maintains an Adjustment Library online, with step-by-step guides and videos covering every chair in the range. For facility managers responsible for onboarding new staff, that resource reduces support calls and ensures employees are actually getting the ergonomic benefit the chair was designed to provide.
Shop Office Master Seating at Arenson
Arenson has been helping San Diego businesses make smarter furniture decisions since 1975. We carry Office Master OM Seating alongside a carefully curated selection of the industry’s strongest brands, and we can help you identify the right OM chair for any role, environment, or budget in your organization.
Our showroom at 8807 Clairemont Mesa Blvd carries select OM models for in-person evaluation. Our delivery and installation team handles every order through our own fleet. And our free space planning consultation is available to any client considering a larger seating program, with no obligation attached.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Office Master and OM Seating?
They are the same company. Office Master, Inc. was founded in 1986 and rebranded to OM Seating to reflect a broader evolution in product philosophy and brand identity. The core commitment to ergonomic, value-driven commercial seating has remained unchanged throughout.
Are OM Seating chairs BIFMA certified?
Yes. All OM Seating products carry BIFMA LEVEL certification, which is the commercial furniture industry’s most comprehensive sustainability and safety standard. It evaluates the product, the manufacturing facility, and the company’s overall environmental practices.
What warranty does OM Seating offer?
Most OM Seating chairs come with a seven-year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship under normal commercial use. Specific warranty terms vary by series and are available on request through our team at Arenson.
Is OM Seating suitable for healthcare and laboratory environments?
Yes. OM Seating offers dedicated product lines for healthcare, clinical, and laboratory environments, including the Classic Exam Room Stools and PAC Lab Stools series. These are engineered for the specific demands of those settings, including cleanability, height range, and durability under intensive use conditions.
Can Arenson help me choose the right OM Seating chair for my team?
Absolutely. Our team at Arenson has specified OM Seating across a wide range of San Diego commercial environments and can match the right series to your application, budget, and user requirements. We offer free consultations with no obligation and can arrange for fabric samples and specification documentation on request.
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