Home Office Floor Plan
A home office floor plan has to fit a desk, a chair that can roll back, storage and good light, often in a spare bedroom or a corner of another room. This page covers typical sizes, the main desk positions, how much space the chair needs and the usual mistakes. The example is a 2.7 × 3.0 m (9 × 10 ft) room with a desk, chair, bookshelf and armchair that you can open and change.
A small home office
Drawn to scale. The links open this room with the same furniture, ready for you to add doors and windows and resize anything.
Typical home office sizes
| Metric (typical) | Imperial (typical) | Fits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk nook | 1.2 × 1.5 m to 1.5 × 2.1 m | 4 × 5 ft to 5 × 7 ft | Desk and chair |
| Small office | 2.1 × 2.4 m to 2.7 × 3.0 m | 7 × 8 ft to 9 × 10 ft | Desk, chair, shelving, a second seat |
| Office and guest room | 3.0 × 3.6 m | 10 × 12 ft | Desk plus a single bed or sofa |
What a home office needs
The working core is the desk plus the chair zone behind it. A desk 60–75 cm (24–30 in) deep and about 90 cm (36 in) or more behind its front edge for the chair adds up to roughly 1.5–1.7 m (5–5′ 6″) from the wall. Add the width of the desk and any storage, and you have the minimum room.
Everything else, a second desk, a reading chair, a guest bed, comes on top. This page is about working from home; for business premises, see the office floor plans.
Home office layouts
Desk against the wall
The most compact layout, used in the example plan. Shelving goes on a side wall within reach.
Desk facing the room
Sitting with your back to a wall gives a view of the door and a tidy background for video calls.
Desk side-on to the window
Daylight from the side reduces glare on the screen and shadow on the desk.
Two desks
Back to back in the middle of the room, or along one long wall, for two people.
Window, door and desk position
Light is the main reason to move a desk. With a window behind the screen you look into the brightness; with the window behind you, it reflects in the screen and lights your back on calls. Side-on to the window usually avoids both.
The door matters for calls and interruptions: many people prefer to see it from the desk. Keep the desk and chair out of the door swing, and check what the camera sees behind you, an open door, a bed or a window, before you settle on a position.
Space for the chair and storage
Leave about 90 cm (36 in) behind the front edge of the desk so the chair can roll back and you can stand up, and more, around 1.1–1.2 m (42–48 in), if someone walks behind you. A desk 60–75 cm (24–30 in) deep holds a monitor at a comfortable distance; the library desk is 70 cm (2′ 4″).
In front of shelves and filing drawers, about 90 cm (36 in) lets you open them and reach in. In the example there is about 1.3 m (4′ 3″) between the front of the desk and the armchair.
Office furniture in the library
Default library sizes; resize the desk to yours.
Desk
140 × 70 cm (4′ 7″ × 2′ 4″). For a corner, the Office section also has a Corner desk (150 × 150 cm) and an L-shaped desk (160 × 160 cm).
Chair
48 × 50 cm (1′ 7″ × 1′ 8″). Plan space for it to roll back from the desk.
Bookshelf
90 × 35 cm (2′ 11″ × 1′ 2″). Tall shelving; check it against windows in 3D.
Armchair
85 × 85 cm (2′ 9″ × 2′ 9″). A reading chair or a seat for a visitor.
Single bed
90 × 200 cm (2′ 11″ × 6′ 7″). For an office that is also a guest room.
Where a home office fits in the home
A spare bedroom is the usual choice because it has a door and a window. A desk in a living room or on a landing works too, but plan it like a room: the desk, the chair zone and the storage need their own space, not the walkway.
Noise travels both ways: an office next to a children’s bedroom or the TV is hard to work in, and calls carry into a bedroom next door. Shelving or a wardrobe on the shared wall helps.
Common home office mistakes
Chair backed against the bed
In an office guest room, check that the chair can roll back without hitting the bed frame.
Screen facing a window
Glare makes the screen hard to read for half the day. Turn the desk side-on.
Storage out of reach
Files and supplies you use daily belong within a chair’s turn, not across the room.
Forgetting sockets
A desk far from a socket means cables across the floor. Note socket positions with text labels.
Plan your home office in the editor
Open the example
Or select a spare room in an existing plan and furnish it as an office.
Mark the window
Add it with N and set its width and sill height, so you can place the desk side-on to it.
Place the desk and chair
They snap flush to walls; rotate with the rotation field or the rotate button.
Check the view in 3D
Use walk mode to check what you see from the chair.
Office templates, guides and tools
- Villa template with a studyA study on the upper floor of a two-floor house.
- Office floor plans for businessesLayouts for offices with several desks, meeting rooms and a reception.
- Furniture spacing and layout tipsClearances around desks, beds and sofas, room by room.
- Furniture layout plannerCheck that chosen pieces fit with a walkway gap before you draw.
Frequently asked questions
What size room do I need for a home office?
A desk and chair fit in a nook of about 1.5 × 2.1 m (5 × 7 ft). A room around 2.7 × 3.0 m (9 × 10 ft) adds shelving and a second seat.
Should a desk face the window or the wall?
Side-on to the window is usually the most comfortable: daylight without glare on the screen. Facing the wall saves space; facing the room lets you see the door.
How much space does an office chair need?
About 90 cm (36 in) from the front edge of the desk lets the chair roll back so you can stand up. Allow more if someone walks behind it.
Can a home office double as a guest room?
Yes. A room of about 3.0 × 3.6 m (10 × 12 ft) fits a desk and a single bed. Plan both on the same plan and walk through it in 3D.
Can I plan a corner desk?
Yes. The Office section has a Corner desk (150 × 150 cm, about 5 × 5 ft) and an L-shaped desk (160 × 160 cm, about 5′ 3″ × 5′ 3″); select one and type your own size.