Home office setup for a small corner

How to fit a comfortable, good-looking workspace into a corner of a room: desk placement, light, screen height and storage.

Updated November 1, 2026 · 4 min read

A small home office corner with an oak desk, a cane chair and a brass lamp

Put the desk beside or at an angle to the window, not facing away from it, so daylight falls across the desk without glare on the screen. Set the top of the screen at about eye level, about an arm’s length away, add a task lamp, and store upwards, not outwards.

The room before — The same corner: an oak desk, a lighter chair and a brass lamp turn it into a place you want to sit.

The room redesigned — The same corner: an oak desk, a lighter chair and a brass lamp turn it into a place you want to sit.

Where the desk goes

Side-on to the window is usually best: you get daylight on the desk without staring into it or reflecting it on the screen. If the corner has no window, a good lamp and a light wall colour do most of the work.

Desk and chair

A desk around 100–120 cm wide and 50–60 cm deep fits most corners and a laptop with a second screen.
A chair that supports your lower back matters more than how the desk looks.
Elbows at roughly desk height, feet flat on the floor.

Screen and light

Put the top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, about an arm’s length away; a laptop stand and a separate keyboard make a big difference. Add a task lamp on the side opposite your writing hand so your hand does not cast a shadow.

Storage

Wall shelves above the desk and a narrow drawer unit below keep the surface clear. In a living room, closed storage hides the work at the end of the day.

Send room redesign a photo of your corner and ask for a small home office: it draws the desk, chair and lamp into your room and finds each one in stores in your country.

Questions people ask

Which way should a desk face?+

Side-on to the window, so daylight falls across the desk without glare on the screen and without sitting with your back to it.

How high should a monitor be?+

The top of the screen at or slightly below eye level, about an arm’s length away.

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