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When you’re designing a home office, desk placement is absolutely essential. It’s the first thing you should figure out before anything else in the room. Well…maybe the best paint colors for productivity…😏 But after that!
The right desk positioning gives you the perfect lighting for meetings, a distraction-free view, and a place you love to sit and drink that first cup of coffee before work.
Everyone gets motivated by different things, so you want the desk placement in your home office to put you at your best. And that’s exactly what I’ll be covering in this post.
I’ll be going over some of the best design tips when considering the desk position in your home office. And once you get your desk placement right, all of the other furniture and decor will fall right into place!
1. Home Office Desk Placement and Windows
Most likely, you’re going to be dealing with windows somewhere in your home office. How you position your desk with those windows is going to make or break your everyday work experience.
Let’s take a look at 3 popular home office desk placement ideas:
- Desk perpendicular to window
- Desk with window behind you
- Desk in front of window
Position your desk perpendicular to the window
The most popular option is having your desk perpendicular to the window. Whether this is in line with the window or on an adjacent wall, this desk layout makes the most sense in a lot of rooms.
It gives you the perfect amount of light shining in at an angle to light up your work surface, without it being overpowering.
As long as you are positioning the desk perpendicular to the window, you can nail this look with your desk placed anywhere in the room – it doesn’t just have to be in the middle of the room like the example above.
It can also be against the wall but we can talk more about that in a bit.
Position your desk with the window behind you
The most distracting home office desk positioning is with the window behind you. Why? Because this is going to be giving you constant screen glare and no one wants to deal with that!
Another thing to think about for a desk with a window behind you is if you have a lot of “on camera” meetings. The camera is always going to refocus to try and capture the intense light behind you, and you’re going to become a dark silhouette. There’s always at least one person with this layout in meetings – and it’s not going to be you! 😏
A scenario where you can make this work is if you grab a window shade or curtains that will adequately block out the light when needed.
Position your desk in front of the window
This desk placement is going to be solely up to preference, and how easily you get distracted lol. Placing your desk under a window or in front of a window has its advantages and disadvantages.
First things first, you get the absolute prime selfie lighting that everyone strives for with this layout. This is key for having the best possible lighting in meetings. Then there’s scenery. What’s more motivating than being able to enjoy the seasons while you work?
HOWEVER, if you’re easily distracted you may find yourself gazing off into the great outdoors and not being able to focus.
Just as the sunshine is an advantage with this home office desk placement, it’s also a disadvantage. Depending on how the sun works its way over your home, it can get hot in front of the window with the sun beaming through.
And something else the sun does is heat up technology, like laptops, phones, etc., which is never a great thing.
But just like you can do with the “window behind you” example, buy some shades or curtains so you can have a bit more control over this!
2. Desk View: Against Wall or Middle of Room
When it comes to desk placement in your home office, this is a great question to ask yourself.
Do you want your desk in the middle of the room or against the wall?
While this is your personal preference, the room layout can impact this decision as well.
If you have a small office, you’re going to want to place your desk against the wall or else you’ll have no room for anything else. But if you have a medium to large office, a desk in the middle of your home office could work perfectly.
If you’re stuck facing the wall, this isn’t a punishment LOL. 😂 In fact, a lot of people prefer to have their desks up against the wall.
Desks against the wall:
- Keeps your desk out of the way and gives room for more decor and furniture in your home office.
- Makes you feel a bit more grounded with the wall in front of you.
- Gives you the perfect opportunity to turn that whole wall into eye candy.
- Allow for easy cable management (more on this in a bit).
Desks in the middle of the room:
- Makes your workspace a bit more spacious and open.
- Keeps your desk the center of attention – when going for those aesthetics.
- Puts you in prime position to see any guests entering your office. Even if you’re not expecting guests, sometimes it’s just nice to be facing the entrance to the room!
- Makes cable management a bit more difficult because everything is now out in the open.
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3. Keep Background “Noise” to a Minimum
While a lot of meeting platforms can blur your background or even put you on the beach, it’s nice to keep background distractions to a minimum.
When it comes to desk placement in your home office, it’s important to be cognizant of this.
Position your desk so that you have the opportunity to keep the background simple. Whether it’s with a beautiful piece of artwork or some shelves with decor.
This is also going to make your desk space feel less cluttered and distracting outside of meetings. When you’re sitting at your desk, you don’t want lots of “things” subconsciously weighing down your home office.
It goes for your whole office – make it so you have that nice clean look.
But it all starts with the desk placement in your home office!
4. Outlets are Important – Prioritize Cable Management
Let’s be honest, a lot of super nice home office pictures are staged. They’re taken with aesthetics in mind but don’t capture how to replicate that look in a functional sense.
Technology is inevitably going to be a part of your home office. So how do you make it look THAT good when you factor in a couple of monitors, your laptop, chargers, and all of the cables that come along with those things?
One very strong argument for home office desk positioning against the wall is outlets. Unless you have outlets in the middle of your room, a desk in the middle of your home office needs just a bit of creativity to figure this out. You do not want extension cords draped across your floor.
Cable management can make or break the look and feel of your home office. Depending on your desk, good cable management could be pretty difficult to pull off if your desk is in the middle of the room.
Desks with grommets are better suited for this type of desk positioning in your home office.
But regardless, use cable management trays and organizers to keep your home office cables in check! For more cable management ideas, check out my post on all things cable management.
RELATED POST: 24 Genius Cable Storage Ideas (Manage Your Cables Like a Pro!)
5. Think About The Rest of The Room
This is key when thinking about where to put your desk in your home office.
While desk placement in your home office is the first and foremost, you should keep in mind how you want to design the rest of your space.
Do you have plans to bring bookcases into the office? What about a chair or a table?
If you’re set on a desk in the middle of the room, then you may be sacrificing some space you could give to other furniture.
I highly recommend a cozy reading nook in the corner of your home office. That way you can step away from your desk every now and then to some absolute comfort.
6. The Path to Your Desk Chair Should Be Clear
Back in the office days, you may have had to snake through a cubicle maze to get to your desk. Not with a home office!
Your desk placement in your home office should allow for a clear path to your chair. You want to avoid having to squeeze between furniture, stepping over cables, or anything else that could possibly stand in between you and your seat.
You should also be able to pull your chair out from your desk without it running into any other furniture or wall.
Essentially, if it’s easy…it flies. If any squeezing or furniture bumping is involved, it’s a no-go! 😉
7. Room Layout Matters
Every home office is going to be unique in its own way. Between windows, closets, door placements, and funky angled walls…your home office layout is probably going to be different than the next person.
I’d recommend placing your desk away from the door to your office. Why? Because if you don’t this puts a lot in front of you as soon as you enter the room.
The room layout is going to be one of the key factors in whether you have your desk against the wall or in the middle of the room. Or if you are able to have a diagonal desk placement.
For a diagonal desk placement, this should be reserved for those that have the space. In an average-sized room, it’s unfortunately just going to take up too much space.
You also don’t want your home office to feel cramped. You should walk into your office without any obstacles in the way!
For instance, if your room has a sharp corner immediately upon entering, you’re going to want your desk and other furniture away from the entrance. This will give you the feeling of more space than there really is.
It’s just all about maximizing the amount of space with the given room layout. And you can do this in your own home office with good desk placement!
8. Lighting is Crucial to Home Office Desk Placement
We already talked about positioning your desk while keeping your windows in mind, but lighting in a home office is a whole subject in itself.
It is absolutely essential that you set yourself up with the best possible lighting. Not only for meetings but so you don’t feel like you’re working in a cave all day lol.
So what does this have to do with desk placement?
Whether you utilize natural light, lamps, or smart light strips, your desk should be positioned so you can capture these light elements.
But it goes hand in hand with the furniture in your home office. If you can’t fit a lamp on your desk, then you may want a bookcase or shelf to the side that can.
Is the ceiling fan in the middle of the room your only source of light (aside from the window)? Well if your desk is up against one of the walls, when sitting at your desk, you will cast a shadow onto your desk – not ideal!
Find a way to incorporate other lighting around your desk! And then once you do that, find ways to light up the rest of the room aside from harsh overhead lights. This will cozy up your home office instantly.
Pro tip: When buying lightbulbs, stick to the “soft white” or 2700K lightbulbs to give a homey feeling.
9. Measure, Measure, and Measure
My favorite word when it comes to guaranteeing you’ll love it before you do it haha.
For determining where to put your desk in your home office, break out the tape measure.
Measure your desk, or find the measurements of the desk you’re thinking about buying. Use your tape measure to lay out what this looks like in your home office.
Try the measurements in the areas of the room you’re thinking about having your desk live. Use any 4 objects to mark the corners to be able to step back and visualize.
But my favorite method is the blue tape method. Buy a roll of blue tape and outline where your desk would go using the desk measurements. This is SO useful for visualizing before you move forward with a decision!
I do it for just about everything – like the gallery wall around my TV.
Measuring out your desk is super useful for getting a clearer picture before you move forward with any desk position in your home office.
Love where you work with the best desk placement in your home office.
There are no rules when it comes to a home office – which is the beauty of a home office. You can truly make it what you want.
Use this post as a guide to desk placement in your home office for maximizing productivity and keeping out distractions. In the end, desk placement is easy! I’m hoping this helps you decide the perfect spot for your desk. 😊
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