Understanding Office Furniture Measurements

Ordering new office furniture is an exciting time. Whether this is for upgrading to a bigger office space, starting up a new company or simply upgrading to higher quality furniture.

However, it can be a stressful time. It may sound daunting to plan out your new office space, especially when you’re dealing with numerous office desks, bookcases, pedestals, meeting tables and more.

In order to help to make buying office furniture as smooth as possible, we’ve written this guide to ensure you fully understand what the measurements of office furniture actually mean.

But before we dive right in, it’s worth noting that while we do follow industry standards, here at ChairOffice, others may do it differently which is where you may find discrepancies. This guide is to help you when shopping at ChairOffice.co.uk. Were you to shop elsewhere using this information, it would be best to double-check and confirm measurements just to be safe.

What does width, height and depth mean?

One of the biggest issues we hear is that people get the measurements width, height and depth mixed up.

The industry standard is to display these measurements in the order of width first, height second and depth third.

For example, our Price Point Beech Panel End Desk can be shown as 1600 x 730 x 600. What this means is, the office desk is 1600mm in width (W), 730mm in height (H) and 600mm in depth (D).

When measuring furniture be sure to measure when facing the item in question, as though you were going to use it.

• Width (W): The measurement from left to right (when facing the front of the piece of furniture)
• Height: (H): The measurement of the item from the floor (if freestanding) to the very top of the product
• Depth (D): The measurement of the item from front to back

The above image indicates how to properly measure the width, height and depth of an office desk. The same logic can be applied to numerous other office furniture pieces such as bookshelves, drawers, cupboards and so on.

Width

You’ll notice on our product category pages that you can filter the page down by size. But what size we mean is determined by which product type you are looking at.

For example, office desks are filtered down by the width of each office desk, while office bookcases are filtered down by height. This is because for those particular products that measurement is the one with the most variations.

Our office desks range from 800mm wide to 2000mm wide, enabling you to choose the perfect office desk for your particular needs.

Height

The height of a product is measured from the ground (if freestanding) to the very top. The large majority of our office desks come as standard (730mm in height), as this aligns well with accompanying products such as pedestals and office chairs.

Our bookcases product category has been filtered down by height as the height option has the most variations.

Depth

The depth is measured from standing in a position as though you were going to use the product, and from front to back. Many of our products come as industry standard to keep harmony across all our products. 

For example, all our office desks and pedestals work on a depth that no pedestal will be deeper than the office desk itself. However, this does not include our “Home Computer Desks” category, as these tend to be less deep due to primarily being used for laptops and for smaller spaces.

How wide should my office desk be?

As stated above, our standard office desks range from 800mm to 2000mm while some of our home office desks are just shy of 800mm.

Deciding on how wide an office desk you will like will depend on a number of factors such as space where you plan to fit the desk and what you will be using the office desk for.

Some people just use laptops for a couple of hours and may not need a whole lot of width to their desk while others enjoy desktop PC’s and utilise multiple monitors to help increase productivity.

You will also need to know if you plan on using a pedestal under the desk also. Should you plan too, you will need to factor in the storage’s width as well, so you have enough space under the desk to fit your legs comfortably.

Be sure to read our article “How to Properly Sit at a Computer” to get a better understanding of the ergonomics of an office chair.

How deep should my office desk be?

Depth is not considered by many as generally, you have fewer options to choose from. The industry-standard sizes for office desk depth is 600mm or 800mm.

Both of these sizes will comfortably house a storage pedestal underneath. Home office desks come in all shapes and sizes and the depth will often vary from one product to another. Be sure to check the depth before purchasing.

An 800mm depth office desk will fit everything required of a typical office setting. Some office desks come with a back panel attached so if you want more room for your legs, an 800mm depth desk may be more suitable than the 600mm depth desk.

How high should my office desk be?

The vast majority of our office desks sit in between 725mm and 730mm in height. This is the industry standard and will accommodate nearly every office chair and every sized person.

It’s important to invest in an ergonomic office chair that has a height-adjustable gas strut. This enables you to tailor your office chair height to your personal height and the height of your office desk for optimal comfort.

You may also want to consider a standing office desk which can be utilised in a seated position, enabling you to freely choose what position to work in. Our Height Adjustable Office Desks can range from 640mm to 1300mm in height, giving you the flexibility needed for a busy environment.

Questions to consider before buying office furniture

Now that you have a better understanding of office furniture measurements, it’s time to consider a few questions before purchasing.

• Space available - Where exactly is your desk going to go? Does the space account for both the width and depth of the desk?
• How the desk will be used - Will the desk be used for a prolonged time or in short bursts?
• What equipment will be used - Many people use a variety of equipment on their desks such as monitors, keyboards, printers, lamps etc.
• Your office chair - What chair do you plan on using with the desk? Does the chair compliment the desk? Will the chair fit under the desk when not in use?
• The type of material - Do you have other pieces of furniture the desk needs to compliment? Having a mishmash of office furniture looks very unprofessional.
• The shape of the desk - Do you plan on positioning the desk in a corner of a room, or aligned with another desk? Could a wave-shaped desk help complement your working style?
• Budget - Grand desks are very appealing but expensive. Consider every piece of furniture before finalising your decision (desk, office chair, pedestal etc).

Let us help you

If you’re still unsure of your measurements, or would just like advice on our products, don’t hesitate to call our friendly customer service team.

With 30 years of industry experience, we have the knowledge to help you get the best office setup possible.

We can walk you through all the different style and sizes options to help create something that works for you and your environment. Whether this be for a home office or for furnishing a company’s entire office space.

Call 012134 834693 or email sales@chairoffice.co.uk.