Desk Placement In The Small or Home Office

You aren’t working in cube farm, so don’t arrange your desk as if you are!

Placing your desk against a wall (or worse a corner) closes out light and locks you in. Why not get smart about the most important piece of furniture in your office?

Look for the light


Try to put your desks under natural light wherever possible.

A splash of light, especially starting work in the morning, is a welcoming you to a fresh new day. The window also gives you opportunity to stretch your eyes and look out at a distance – something you can’t do if your desk is up against a wall.

If you don’t have natural light, or just can’t find a way to get desks under the windows, at least position them out from a wall. Again, being able to look in to the distance and pull your focus away from the screen in front of you really makes a difference to your health, and hence your productivity, each and every day at work.

Don’t forget about foot traffic

Open small office workspace

You need to get in and out of your chair without bumping in to people. Be sure to place desks in such a way that everyone can get straight to their desk without climbing over anyone.

The downside to such an open plan is you will not be able to fit as many desks in to a space. Perhaps consider smaller furniture items (desks, chairs, filing cabinets etc), or just start removing the clutter altogether. All those files you are accumulating could be scanned in and digitized, or maybe they aren’t useful files at all and can be thrown out altogether?

… but my home office is just a small part of a larger room
Home office desk placed at angle and inwards to invite the workspace in to the room environment

If you don’t like the idea of dividing a room off for your workspace you can create an aesthetically pleasing arrangement with a tweak of the desk placement. Desks against walls, and furniture at right angles, can sometimes divide the room up in a dis-jointed way. Try placing your desk at an angle, and facing in to the room, to connect it back to the environment.

When you look towards the workspace you get the feeling it is friendly and facing towards you, and not rude by turning its back on you.

… but I don’t have any other space?

Maybe you really are locked in to a set position. Let’s try to make the most of the situation. We have put together some tips on How To Make A Home Office In A Small Corner which will help you maximize the limited space available.