Home Office Measurements

Comfort is king in the home office – you have the choices in your hands to make purchases that will ensure the ultimate comfort for your seating, desk height, keyboard height and monitor.  When planning and decorating your home office, make sure you take ergonomic comfort into account to make sure your physically comfortable in your workspace.

Computer Screen

Make sure your monitor can be tilted to suit you and reduce glare.  Normal tilt is approximately 10 – 20 degrees.  Your screen should be set directly in your line of vision, you shouldn’t need to move your neck or head to see your computer screen.   To calculate your sitting eye height range subtract 10 inches from your height.

Chair Height

Of course a chair that adjusts in height is essential to making sure your desk top and monitor suit your height.  Normal office seat height is approximately 16 inches.  A swivel chair with wheels is an important feature in home office seating.  Make sure you have flooring that can handle the wheels.  If you have carpet or an area rug in your home office, invest in a chair pad so you can roll to make the most of ergonomic comfort.

Keyboard

The most difficult aspect of working from a laptop is having the keyboard and the monitor at the right height.  You may want to invest in an extra keyboard to attach to your laptop to make sure you can keep your keyboard low enough and your monitor high enough.  Not having your keyboard at the right height can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a very painful condition. 

Your normal elbow height is just over two feet from the floor and depends on your height.  Make sure your keyboard can be adjusted to the proper height for your comfort.   Consider investing in a wrist rest, they’re inexpensive and will save y our hands and wrists in the long run.  Again, you don’t want to get carpal tunnel syndrome, I can tell you from experience – it hurts!

Telephone

Make sure you have a dedicated phone for your home office, whether it be a cell phone or dedicated phone line.  It needs to be in easy reach of your computer so you can work or email while on the phone.

While home office décor is an important part of your home office setup, ergonomics and comfort need to be top priority to ensure a comfortable and proper work environment.  You now have the freedom to tailor each aspect of your office to your needs, so take advantage of it.