Setting Up an Ergonomic Home Office

Good posture is a furniture arrangement problem. Set up your chair, desk, and screen in the right order and the aches mostly follow.

Ergonomics is not a discipline for gym mat professionals. It is a sequence of measurements around your body. Set these five things up in this order and a wooden desk becomes a genuinely good workplace.

1. The chair comes first

Everything else hangs off the chair. Set the seat height so your feet rest flat and your knees sit at or slightly below hip level — that is roughly a 90–100 degree angle at the hip. The lumbar support should sit in the small of the back, and armrests (if any) at a height where elbows rest at about 90 degrees without your shoulders lifting.

If your chair lacks lumbar support, a simple rolled cushion or support wedge is a stopgap; a proper task chair is the right long-term purchase. A wood-and-metal dining chair is lovely furniture but wrong for ten-hour days.

2. Set the desk height to the chair

Sit in your chair with elbows at 90 degrees. Your forearms should rest on the desk without your shoulders raising or slumping. For most people that means a desktop around 68–75 cm — which is why the standard 72–75 cm desk suits average heights and why tall and short users should look at height-adjustable desks.

Two honest options:

Fixed desk at your height — buy or make a desk with a top at the number that fits you, not the aisle standard.
Height-adjustable desk — a wooden top over a dual-motor base lets you alternate sitting and standing. More on choosing these in the home office guide.

3. Position the monitor

The top of the screen should sit at or just below eye level (many experts suggest the top third of the screen at eye level) with the screen about an arm’s length away — roughly 60–80 cm. If the screen is too low, raise it on risers or a board; too low for long is how necks complain.

Ergonomically arranged wooden desk with monitor at eye level — Screen at eye level, keyboard at elbow height, feet on the floor — the whole job.

4. Keyboard, mouse, and the “number one” zone

Everything you touch most often — keyboard, mouse, phone, notepad — belongs in a body-width arc from your torso, with the keyboard centered on your body, not your monitor. Keep wrists straight, floating above the keys, and shoulders relaxed. If you lean forward to reach the mouse, the mouse must move, not your spine.

5. Light, breaks, and the wooden extras

Light: perpendicular to the monitor to avoid glare; warm task light for evening work. Mid-tone wood desktops reflect softly and reduce monitor glare.
Breaks: no furniture fixes hours of stillness. Stand or stretch after every 40–60 minutes.
Wooden storage: a desk riser, a tray, and a shallow drawer keep the reaching zone tidy — the fewer things in your body-width arc, the better the stance. Use the care guide to keep the desk top in good shape over time.

The honest limit

Ergonomic advice varies between professions and clicks poorly with individual bodies. This is general guidance, not medical advice. Persistent pain is a reason to consult a doctor or physiotherapist — see our disclaimer.

Ergonomics is a furniture arrangement problem solved in one afternoon: chair under your body, desk under your elbows, screen at your eyes, everything you touch inside arm’s reach.