How to Layout Office Furniture?

Lay out office furniture by starting with the desk and the light source, then working outward. Position the desk so daylight arrives from the side rather than in front of or behind a screen, leave at least 90cm of clear space behind the chair so it can move freely, place frequently used storage within arm’s reach while seated, and keep one uninterrupted route from the door into the room. Everything else follows from those four decisions.

This applies whether you are arranging a spare bedroom at home, a corner of a living room or a small commercial office. The principles do not change with the size of the room. What changes is how strictly you have to apply them.

Begin with the window

Screen glare and eye strain cause more discomfort than any chair. Facing a window puts bright light directly in your eyes. Sitting with your back to a window puts reflections across the screen and, on video calls, turns you into a silhouette.

The answer is to position the desk perpendicular to the window, so light falls across the desk from the left or right. If you write by hand, place the window on the opposite side to your writing hand to avoid casting a shadow. Where the room only allows a desk facing a window, a light filtering blind solves most of the problem.

Also note where the ceiling light sits. A downlight directly behind your head reflects on a glossy screen. Moving the desk half a metre often fixes what an expensive monitor arm cannot.

Choose the desk shape for the space

A rectangular desk against a wall suits narrow rooms and is the most efficient use of a straight run. A corner desk uses a right angle that would otherwise be wasted and gives more usable surface, which suits dual screens or paperwork alongside a laptop. Our corner computer desks UK sale range fits the tighter corners common in British spare rooms.

A desk floating in the middle of a room works only if the room is genuinely big enough to walk around it, and if cables can reach a socket without crossing a walkway. In most homes, against a wall or into a corner is the practical answer.

Depth matters as much as width. Around 60cm depth is workable for a laptop, while 70cm to 80cm is more comfortable for a monitor at a proper viewing distance. If the desk is too shallow, you end up sitting closer to the screen than you should. Compare measurements across our modern computer desks UK range before deciding.

Give the chair room to work

A task chair needs space behind it. Allow 90cm to 100cm from the desk edge to the wall or the next piece of furniture so you can push back, stand and turn without obstruction. Anything less and you will find yourself lifting the chair rather than rolling it, which is a small daily irritation that adds up.

Check the chair fits under the desk when not in use, particularly if the desk has a low crossbar or a keyboard tray. Armrest height against desk height is the usual conflict. If the arms hit the desk edge, either the arms need to drop or the desk is too low.

Set the seat so your feet rest flat and your elbows sit at roughly the same height as the desk surface. Everything about the layout should support that posture rather than fight it. Our home and office chairs UK sale range covers adjustable task seating in a variety of sizes.

Zone the room by frequency of use

Think in three zones. The primary zone is everything you can reach without leaving the chair: keyboard, notebook, phone, current paperwork. The secondary zone is what you reach by turning or standing briefly: files you open weekly, a printer, stationery. The tertiary zone is long term storage you touch monthly or less: archive boxes, spare equipment.

Most cluttered offices are cluttered because tertiary items sit in the primary zone. A pedestal drawer unit beside or under the desk solves the primary and secondary problem neatly, and options in our office pedestal drawers UK range slide under most standard desk heights.

Put tertiary storage on the wall furthest from the desk, or higher up where you need a stretch to reach it. That physical separation keeps the working surface clear without you having to be disciplined about it.

Plan the circulation route

Stand in the doorway and look at the room. You should be able to walk to the chair without stepping around anything. A clear route of 70cm to 80cm is enough for one person. If a second person uses the room, or if a door opens inward, allow more.

Avoid placing storage where a drawer or door opens into that route. Open every drawer and cupboard mentally before you settle on positions. In small rooms, this single check often determines which wall a bookcase can occupy.

Deal with cables at layout stage

Cable management is a layout problem, not a tidying problem. Note socket positions before choosing where the desk goes, because a desk two metres from the nearest socket will always have a cable crossing the floor.

Where possible, back the desk onto the wall with the socket. Use a single extension block fixed to the underside of the desk, so only one cable runs to the wall. Route monitor and charger cables along the back edge with clips. If the desk sits away from the wall, a floor cable cover across the walkway is a safety matter rather than a preference.

Arranging more than one desk

Two desks in one room can be arranged back to back, side by side along one wall, or facing opposite walls. Back to back shares cabling and suits collaborative work but means facing another person all day. Facing opposite walls gives each person their own visual field and works better for calls, which matters if both people work from home.

Side by side along one wall is the most space efficient but only works if the wall is long enough to give each person around 120cm to 140cm of width. Below that, elbows collide.

If calls overlap, add something absorbent between the two positions: a bookcase filled with books, a fabric noticeboard or a curtain. Hard empty surfaces bounce sound around a small room.

Small room strategies

In a very small office, go vertical. A tall narrow bookcase holds as much as a wide low one in a fraction of the floor area. Wall mounted shelves above the desk take storage off the surface entirely, though keep the space directly in front of your face clear so you are not working under a shelf edge.

Consider a desk with a return or a fold down section if the room doubles as a guest room. A pedestal that fits fully under the desk keeps the floor visually clear, and a chair without a headrest looks lighter in a compact space.

We carry desks, seating and storage designed for both home offices and larger workspaces at Furniture in Fashion, and additional cupboards and units can be found in our home and office storage UK range if paperwork needs containing.

Frequently asked questions

Should a desk face a window or a wall?

Neither is ideal. Place the desk so the window is to one side, which gives good natural light without glare on the screen or a silhouette on video calls.

How much space do I need behind my chair?

Around 90cm to 100cm from the desk edge to whatever is behind you. That allows you to push back, stand and turn without moving the chair by hand.

Is a corner desk better than a straight desk?

A corner desk gives more usable surface from the same floor area, which suits dual monitors or paperwork. A straight desk is easier to place in a narrow room and simpler to move later.

Where should the printer go?

Out of the primary zone. A shelf, a low cupboard or the top of a storage unit within a few steps is enough, since most people print far less often than they think.

How do I fit an office into a bedroom?

Use one wall only, choose a slim desk with a pedestal that tucks fully underneath, and go vertical with shelving. Keeping the office to a single wall lets the rest of the room remain a bedroom rather than becoming a compromised version of both.