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I was tossed about using a strap because I found myself focusing on how the strap felt and the fact that it didn’t really allow me to slightly turn the guitar towards me to see the strings/fret easier. I too am a beginner. Most times it’s easier to just leave the strap off for ease of moving the guitar–however, as Loraine mentions—it does help to keep it from falling. I still go back and forth and inevitably leave the strap off because I am wasting too much of my focus on it.
As far as a chair? I was using a simple folding chair like you see with a card table, but then I found myself sitting at the edge too much to get a better position for my guitar to sit on my right thigh just right. Then I bought an adjustable foot rest to help elevate my right leg. I went back and forth trying to figure out which position was most comfortable—setting guitar on right or left leg. Left leg seemed comfortable at first (the “classical” position) but then while watching Tony on the 30-Day Lessons and him setting the guitar on his right leg,….I then tried that so it would encourage me NOT to always rely on the ease of being able to see the strings more buy utilizing the left leg support–plus the left leg support makes my left hand further away and slightly more difficult to properly arch my fingers when fretting. I gave up on the folding chair and found a “doctor’s” exam stool with a very comfortable cushioned top, with the top able to spin, and then the bottom legs are extended out which allows for me to put my heel on to slightly raise my right leg. I did look at a guitarist stool at our local music store, but it sat way to high which makes you have to use the foot rest but I still felt too tall. I like being eye level with my laptop as I am doing the lessons on TAC.
Hope all this babble helps.