Cables and desk layout

How Do You Set Up a Home Office Starting From an Empty Room?

Published · By Ergocrew · Specs and guidance as of that date, from the pages under Sources

Summary

Start with the room, not the furniture. The window decides which way the screen faces, the outlets decide where the desk's power comes from, and the door and walkway decide how much room the chair has to move. Once those are fixed, the chair and desk are chosen to fit you, the screen goes in front of you, and the cables go in last, when nothing else is going to move.

Sketch the room before buying anything

A rough plan on paper is enough. Mark the window, every outlet, the radiator or vent, and the arc the door sweeps when it opens. Then mark where a desk could go.

CCOHS, the Canadian occupational safety centre, gives a planning figure for floor space in its guide to office work. For a basic workstation, with a call centre as its example, the table lists 42 to 52 inches by 60 to 72 inches (107 to 132 cm by 152 to 183 cm). In a spare bedroom, find a patch that size where the door can still open fully.

Turn the desk side-on to the window

OSHA's page on the workstation environment says "Place the face of the display screen at right angles to windows and light sources."

The other two options both cause problems OSHA describes. With the desk facing the window, the window is behind the screen, and "Bright light sources behind the display screen can create contrast problems." With your back to the window, the screen reflects it, and light sources "that cause reflected light to show up on the monitor" make images "more difficult to see, resulting in eye strain and fatigue." Side-on avoids both, and blinds do the rest. OSHA adds a detail about which blinds to use: "vertical blinds work best for East/West facing windows and horizontal blinds for North/South facing windows."

Fit the chair and desk to you

If the starting point is the kitchen table, CCOHS's home-working checklist is direct about it: "generally speaking, the kitchen table is not an ideal work surface as the table is too high." If the desk can't be lowered, OSHA's desk page says to "raise the chair to accommodate the user," and to add a footrest if your feet no longer reach the floor. Our guides to choosing a chair and a standing desk go further on each.

The screen then goes directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away, with the top line "at or below eye level," as OSHA's monitor page puts it.

Bring power to the desk, not the desk to the power

The outlet you marked on the plan now decides the last part. ESFI, the US Electrical Safety Foundation, lists the rules for home offices: "Avoid overloading outlets," "Extension cords should only be used on a temporary basis," and "Never run cords under rugs/carpets, doors, or windows." If the best spot for the desk is across the room from an outlet, a long extension cord along the floor is the temporary version. ESFI's extension cord page says "Do not substitute extension cords for permanent wiring," and the permanent version is a new outlet near the desk.

CCOHS's checklist for working from home has a line to measure the finished room against: "The workspace is tidy and organized to reduce reaching and twisting motions and has been cleared of potential slip-trip-fall hazards."

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Related guides

Sources

  1. CCOHS, Office Ergonomics - Space Requirements for Office Work
  2. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Workstation Environment
  3. CCOHS, Telework / Remote Work / Working From Home
  4. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Desks
  5. OSHA Computer Workstations eTool, Monitors
  6. ESFI, Electrical Safety While Working From Home
  7. ESFI, Extension Cord Safety Tips

We have not tested these products. Specs and guidance are as published on these pages on the date above and can change; the manufacturer's page for your model has the current details.

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