10 Top Design Tips for an Ergonomic Home Office
Do you spend long stretches sitting down to work? Give your spine all the support it needs with these 10 design tips
Julia Fairley
17 January 2018
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture that is thoughtful, sophisticated and champions an element of the unexpected. Before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at UNSW and becoming a journalist, I studied interior architecture. For over a decade I have interviewed inspiring creative minds from around the world to write about design in its many different forms. Recently, I have also become an accidental gardener, to everyone's surprise.
Chief Sub-Editor and Writer, Houzz Australia and New Zealand. I love design and architecture... More
Regardless of whether you work at a desk, on your feet, behind a wheel or in the fields, ergonomics are vitally important. If you get these key measurements right then you can mitigate the physical strain of work. But get them wrong and after 40 odd hours a week your spine and muscles will be sure to complain about it. If you use a workstation, desk or table to perform your tasks, these 10 tips will help you straighten things out. So read on to discover the top dos and don’ts in Houzz’s latest article in our ergonomic series.
1. The right height
Traditionally, good ergonomics dictated that the top of your desk or work surface should be 680 to 720 millimetres above the floor. But with people growing taller on average, it’s time for this measurement to catch up to our height. Many swear by a 730 millimetre desk height, though the real answer to the question of how high your desk should be lies in how tall you are and what tasks you perform. If you tower over most workstations or are less than leggy, this measurement should be respectively increased or decreased, which is why adjustable furniture is so common in offices.
Tip: Your elbows should comfortably rest at desk height when you sit with your feet flat on the floor, your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and your back straight.
Read more about home office set-ups
Traditionally, good ergonomics dictated that the top of your desk or work surface should be 680 to 720 millimetres above the floor. But with people growing taller on average, it’s time for this measurement to catch up to our height. Many swear by a 730 millimetre desk height, though the real answer to the question of how high your desk should be lies in how tall you are and what tasks you perform. If you tower over most workstations or are less than leggy, this measurement should be respectively increased or decreased, which is why adjustable furniture is so common in offices.
Tip: Your elbows should comfortably rest at desk height when you sit with your feet flat on the floor, your knees bent at a 90-degree angle and your back straight.
Read more about home office set-ups
2. Extra leg room
If you have ever flown in economy or squeezed yourself into a cramped seat on a bus or train for a long journey, you’ll already know how important it is to have ample leg room when you’re sitting for hours at a time.
The amount of leg space we have beneath our desk, table or work surface is usually dictated by how deep it is, so aim for a minimum depth of 600 millimetres if possible, and clear away any clutter stored under your desk.
If your feet keep hitting the wall in front of you when you stretch your legs out, or if you’re lucky enough to be long of limb, consider moving your desk away from the wall or changing its position.
Tip: Some desks have hidden pull-out extension leaves, which you can use to increase the depth of your work surface and create extra leg room.
If you have ever flown in economy or squeezed yourself into a cramped seat on a bus or train for a long journey, you’ll already know how important it is to have ample leg room when you’re sitting for hours at a time.
The amount of leg space we have beneath our desk, table or work surface is usually dictated by how deep it is, so aim for a minimum depth of 600 millimetres if possible, and clear away any clutter stored under your desk.
If your feet keep hitting the wall in front of you when you stretch your legs out, or if you’re lucky enough to be long of limb, consider moving your desk away from the wall or changing its position.
Tip: Some desks have hidden pull-out extension leaves, which you can use to increase the depth of your work surface and create extra leg room.
3. The perfect perch
Have you ever struggled to find the right height for your work chair? Try this experiment for a quick fix: stand next to your chair and note where the seat comes up to against your legs – if you sit at a desk to work, it should be at knee height.
You may have come across measurements dictating exactly how high your chair should be, but good ergonomics is about adjusting your surroundings to suit your height, body shape and the tasks you perform, so it differs slightly for everyone.
Avoid chairs that slope forwards or bucket seats that lift your thighs and recline back. Ideally, your spine should be upright or resting at approximately a 100- to 110-degree angle against the back of your chair.
Have you ever struggled to find the right height for your work chair? Try this experiment for a quick fix: stand next to your chair and note where the seat comes up to against your legs – if you sit at a desk to work, it should be at knee height.
You may have come across measurements dictating exactly how high your chair should be, but good ergonomics is about adjusting your surroundings to suit your height, body shape and the tasks you perform, so it differs slightly for everyone.
Avoid chairs that slope forwards or bucket seats that lift your thighs and recline back. Ideally, your spine should be upright or resting at approximately a 100- to 110-degree angle against the back of your chair.
4. Take a stand
With research proving again and again that sedentary lifestyles are responsible for so much ill health, sitting has been likened to the new smoking. But many experts believe that standing for long periods of time can be harmful as well. The solution? An adjustable-height desk that extends to about 1200 millimetres above the floor, or a bi-level system that lets you alternate between working standing up and sitting down, like in this New Orleans workspace in the USA.
If you stand up to work, position your desk or work surface around elbow height and adjust your monitor so the top of it is at eye level. Consider having a bar stool with a foot rest nearby for those important rest periods too.
Tip: Wearing flat shoes on a sprung floor, rug or carpet for extra support can bring a world of comfort to standing workstations.
Add a Standing Desk and Improve Your Health
With research proving again and again that sedentary lifestyles are responsible for so much ill health, sitting has been likened to the new smoking. But many experts believe that standing for long periods of time can be harmful as well. The solution? An adjustable-height desk that extends to about 1200 millimetres above the floor, or a bi-level system that lets you alternate between working standing up and sitting down, like in this New Orleans workspace in the USA.
If you stand up to work, position your desk or work surface around elbow height and adjust your monitor so the top of it is at eye level. Consider having a bar stool with a foot rest nearby for those important rest periods too.
Tip: Wearing flat shoes on a sprung floor, rug or carpet for extra support can bring a world of comfort to standing workstations.
Add a Standing Desk and Improve Your Health
5. Lose your laptop
Let me be the first to confess that, most days, I am found guilty of using a laptop for long stretches of time. In fact, I type to you now from this sinful device. Despite their convenience, laptops do not bode well for our bodies and are the bearers of bad ergonomic news. Looking down at a screen instead of straight ahead rounds our spine and can be responsible for that dreaded stoop in posture.
Thankfully, adjustable monitor mounts – which lift your screen off your desk – have come to the rescue. The ideal height for any screen should see the top of it reach the level of your eyes. However, if you place your entire laptop – as opposed to just your computer monitor – on a desk mount, your keyboard will be too high to use comfortably, so do your wrists a favour and invest in a separate keyboard to type with at desk level.
Let me be the first to confess that, most days, I am found guilty of using a laptop for long stretches of time. In fact, I type to you now from this sinful device. Despite their convenience, laptops do not bode well for our bodies and are the bearers of bad ergonomic news. Looking down at a screen instead of straight ahead rounds our spine and can be responsible for that dreaded stoop in posture.
Thankfully, adjustable monitor mounts – which lift your screen off your desk – have come to the rescue. The ideal height for any screen should see the top of it reach the level of your eyes. However, if you place your entire laptop – as opposed to just your computer monitor – on a desk mount, your keyboard will be too high to use comfortably, so do your wrists a favour and invest in a separate keyboard to type with at desk level.
6. Go hands-free
During the course of a working day, we often have to wedge our phone between ear and shoulder to do two things at once. Although the muscular tension this causes will provide you with the perfect excuse to enjoy a massage, consider going hands-free instead. Using headphones, a headset, earpiece or – if you have a private office – taking advantage of the speaker function on your phone will make a big difference. The muscles in your neck and shoulders will thank you.
During the course of a working day, we often have to wedge our phone between ear and shoulder to do two things at once. Although the muscular tension this causes will provide you with the perfect excuse to enjoy a massage, consider going hands-free instead. Using headphones, a headset, earpiece or – if you have a private office – taking advantage of the speaker function on your phone will make a big difference. The muscles in your neck and shoulders will thank you.
7. Let there be light
Lighting can generally be divided into ambient and task lighting. Ambient light refers to how bright or dark a room is in general, while task lighting illuminates a specific space, usually a work surface.
To get ambient office lighting right, avoid any direct sunlight shining from behind you onto your screen to reduce reflection and glare. Likewise, try not to place your computer in front of a window that receives direct sunlight as it will silhouette your work. If, however, you use pen and paper or work on a flat surface instead of a screen, this type of ambient lighting can be perfect to illuminate your workstation.
For task lighting, aim to have a bright, adjustable floor or table lamp shining directly onto your work surface, regardless of what you do at your desk. Still working in the dark? Take inspiration from artist Tenka Gammelgaard’s home studio in Copenhagen and position a mirror near your workstation to amplify the light.
How to Light Up Your Home’s Interiors Naturally
Lighting can generally be divided into ambient and task lighting. Ambient light refers to how bright or dark a room is in general, while task lighting illuminates a specific space, usually a work surface.
To get ambient office lighting right, avoid any direct sunlight shining from behind you onto your screen to reduce reflection and glare. Likewise, try not to place your computer in front of a window that receives direct sunlight as it will silhouette your work. If, however, you use pen and paper or work on a flat surface instead of a screen, this type of ambient lighting can be perfect to illuminate your workstation.
For task lighting, aim to have a bright, adjustable floor or table lamp shining directly onto your work surface, regardless of what you do at your desk. Still working in the dark? Take inspiration from artist Tenka Gammelgaard’s home studio in Copenhagen and position a mirror near your workstation to amplify the light.
How to Light Up Your Home’s Interiors Naturally
8. Mind your head
Leaning over your desk to reach up for a heavy object above shoulder height is a common culprit for many people’s back pain, especially if they have been sitting at a desk for long periods first. A gentle stretch is beneficial, but a strain is most definitely not.
We can’t always dictate where our shelving and storage is positioned and in many smaller home offices there are few other options. However, if you have the luxury of choosing the position of your storage or cabinetry, aim to locate it to the side of your desk within easy reach.
Tip: Desks with in-built storage can negate the need for shelving, like the white and timber desk in this home office. As an added benefit you can take it with you if you move.
Leaning over your desk to reach up for a heavy object above shoulder height is a common culprit for many people’s back pain, especially if they have been sitting at a desk for long periods first. A gentle stretch is beneficial, but a strain is most definitely not.
We can’t always dictate where our shelving and storage is positioned and in many smaller home offices there are few other options. However, if you have the luxury of choosing the position of your storage or cabinetry, aim to locate it to the side of your desk within easy reach.
Tip: Desks with in-built storage can negate the need for shelving, like the white and timber desk in this home office. As an added benefit you can take it with you if you move.
9. Replace cupboards with drawers
If you are designing a home office from scratch or are in the market for some storage solutions, try opting for drawers instead of cupboards for smaller objects.
Remember what a difference it made when cabinet makers started installing drawers instead of cupboards in kitchens? Well, the same applies in work spaces for almost all but the biggest objects. Trust us, you’ll thank yourself when you open a drawer and easily find that elusive stapler instead of rummaging for it at the back of a dark cupboard or dusty shelf.
If you are designing a home office from scratch or are in the market for some storage solutions, try opting for drawers instead of cupboards for smaller objects.
Remember what a difference it made when cabinet makers started installing drawers instead of cupboards in kitchens? Well, the same applies in work spaces for almost all but the biggest objects. Trust us, you’ll thank yourself when you open a drawer and easily find that elusive stapler instead of rummaging for it at the back of a dark cupboard or dusty shelf.
10. Harness the power
Hands up who has ever found themselves crouched on the floor, fumbling to plug a cord into a power point positioned mere millimetres above the carpet. In some rooms it’s smart to locate power points close to the floor, but the home office can be an exception. Why? Because when we work, we plug and unplug our phone, computer and tablet chargers with a similar frequency to when we cook using kitchen appliances (and we all know that power points in the kitchen are more accessible at bench height). So save your spine and position your power points within arm’s reach.
Hands up who has ever found themselves crouched on the floor, fumbling to plug a cord into a power point positioned mere millimetres above the carpet. In some rooms it’s smart to locate power points close to the floor, but the home office can be an exception. Why? Because when we work, we plug and unplug our phone, computer and tablet chargers with a similar frequency to when we cook using kitchen appliances (and we all know that power points in the kitchen are more accessible at bench height). So save your spine and position your power points within arm’s reach.
Tell us
What ergonomic blunders drive you bonkers in your office, and what works wonders? Tell us in the Comments below. And if you found this article helpful, share it, like it and bookmark it.
More
10 Top Design Tips for an Ergonomic Laundry
What ergonomic blunders drive you bonkers in your office, and what works wonders? Tell us in the Comments below. And if you found this article helpful, share it, like it and bookmark it.
More
10 Top Design Tips for an Ergonomic Laundry
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Hate those power outlets under and behind desks and shelves! And there are never enough for all the 'chargables' we seem to accumulate these days!!
Well done copper46. That is beautiful. I love the wire sculptures of the musicians on the top of the bookcase. Where did you get them?
I have avoided the standard boring desks you get from office furniture stores and have tried to inject personality into my space. My next task is to find a beautiful and ergonomically correct chair and then paint paint paint!!
Good tips in here - especially the PowerPoints in the drawer. Given my hubby is an electrician I now have yet another job for him to do ;-)