What's new for the 24/7 worker

If it seems like you're working all the time, furniture companies agree and have decided to take advantage.

A new line of sofas, chairs and media cabinets equally at home in your living room or office is particularly helpful if your living room is your home office.

And no longer are you expected to sit up straight, stare straight ahead and work. Oh, no. You want to be moving while you're doing office work.

A stool with a bouncy exercise ball as the seat attracted attention among a multitude of new office chairs at a recent trade show for designers and architects.

izzyDesign sells the Sideways chair - not because folks fidget at meetings, of course. Rather you can turn 180 degrees and lean on the arm or handle on the back of the chair because you might need to see a multimedia presentation on the other side of the room.

New paint that turns any wall or smooth surface into a dry erase board would also work for a home office, kitchen or several areas in homes with children.

And the ultimate multitasking machine is a slow treadmill you can walk on to burn some calories while doing office work.

These were highlights at Neocon, held at Chicago's Merchandise Mart.

"It's the intersection of live and work," said Robert Arko, creative director of Coalesse, a new brand from Steelcase. "This furniture works as well in the home as in the office."

Coalesse

Jeffrey Bernet's Davos chairs were inspired by the Tetris video game. They are cube shaped and finished on every side so they can be arranged back to back, side by side or back to side. Prices start at $2,000, according to the Steelcase Web site. If flexible furniture is light enough it no longer has to be on wheels to move around.

A new Coalesse cabinet that will be available later in the year features automatic folding doors that hide a television or computer work space.

Items from this new brand can be purchased through local Steelcase dealerships or a new Web site that will be online next month.

One feature that Coalesse and several other companies have adopted is disappearing outlets in the center of tables. They flip over or are covered so the meeting table can double as a dining room or coffee table.

IdeaPaint

It only comes in white now, but dry erase markers do wipe completely clean - we've seen it in action. IdeaPaint can be rolled on to any smooth surface.

It costs $170 for 50 square feet of coverage, including a roller. The company recommends that it be professionally applied because it takes seven to 10 days to cure and has a strong odor. However, this is an ambitious company that hopes to make a consumer product some day.

MDC Wallcoverings in Elk Grove Village, the commercial distributor, showed off IdeaPaint. The product is also available through www.ideapaint.com.

Permanent markers are not recommended, but if your youngster goes at it with one, that has a pretty good chance of coming off, too.

izzyDesign

IzzyDesign and its Norwegian partner, HAG, came up with the Sideways, where you can move around 180 degrees while sitting, and another new chair called the Futu.

The Futu is a task chair for folks who sit at a desk or computer. One of its features - besides offering what the company calls a perfect center of balance and a back that slides backward or forward while the seat stays stationery - is grooves or foot treads on the base.

When you put your feet on the treads it activates your calf muscles, which improves your blood circulation, says Mike Kelley, market sales manager.

"It's a healthier way of sitting," he said. Both are priced in the mid-$700 range and up.

Details

OK, this is going to take some getting used to. While you're doing your regular work, you walk on a treadmill. The WalkStation only goes up to 2 mph, but the idea is you get some movement. This burns a few calories, teaches you healthy habits, helps you get energized and even concentrate better, says the company.

Let's say you're on a long conference call or want to check your e-mail. Those might be appropriate times to use the WalkStation.

The company, which is another subsidiary of Steelcase, also makes a Sit-to-Walk Station for just $200 more. This seems to make more sense - stand and walk when you're doing certain tasks, sit and concentrate for more complicated ones. The suggested retail price is $6,400 for the WalkStation.

Topstar

The bouncy stool is called Sitness 5. While it has feet for stability, Kenneth Cohen, sales director for North America, maintains you get a bit of a core muscle workout by sitting properly.

Nylon netting goes over the ball and chrome feet hold it up. It's designed as a visitor's chair, however, and is probably not what you sit on for long stretches at the computer.

He suggests using it in libraries, dorms and homes.

The retail price is $229, it comes in many colors, and it will be available online.

Topstar also makes a new chair called the Lady, designed for women. A shorter seat and different lumbar support are among the differences. It comes in basic black or with a black and white floral toile on the seat and is priced at $600.

Shorter, smaller women just don't fit comfortably in a regular chair, said Cohen.