Best Desk Placement in Your Home Office: Light, Posture & Video-Call Ready
The right desk placement in your home office is about more than just aesthetics. It’s a foundational decision that impacts your comfort, eye health, and overall productivity throughout the day. A well-placed desk can reduce eye strain, minimize screen glare, and ensure you look your best on video calls. This guide will walk you through the key considerations and provide practical, research-backed advice on where to put your desk in your home office.
When you’re setting up your workspace, remember that the goal is to create a functional and comfortable environment. A good setup minimizes distractions and maximizes your ability to focus, whether you’re tackling a major project or jumping on a quick video call.
Quick Rules
Ergonomics First: Aim to place your monitor directly in front of you. The top of your screen should be at or slightly below eye level, and it should be about an arm’s length (20–40 inches) away. This is a critical factor for maintaining good posture and preventing neck strain.
Embrace Side Light: To avoid direct screen glare and harsh backlighting on video calls, prefer natural light from the side or at a slight angle. If the light is too strong, use blinds or diffusers to control it. This approach is recommended by design-forward publications like Ideal Home, which highlight the importance of maximizing natural light strategies.
Placement Options
Facing the window
Pros: This placement offers a great view and a mood boost from seeing the outdoors.
Cons: It can cause significant screen glare and make you appear backlit on video calls, appearing as a dark silhouette.
Quick Fix: Use blinds or shades to diffuse the light, or adjust your camera’s exposure settings.
Perpendicular / side light (recommended for most)
Pros: This is the best desk placement in a home office for balancing natural light with minimal direct glare. It provides a bright, even light on your workspace and is easy to control with a simple set of blinds.
Cons: You may need to adjust your desk or monitor angle slightly throughout the day as the sun moves.
Back to the window (window behind you)
Pros: This orientation offers minimal screen glare on your monitor.
Cons: It creates a strong backlight that will make you look like a silhouette on video calls. It can also cause eye strain due to the high contrast between the dark screen and the bright light behind it.
Quick Fix: Add a soft, frontal fill light to illuminate your face and balance the backlight.
Against the wall / facing wall
Pros: This option is excellent for saving space and provides a tidy, simple background for video calls.
Cons: It can feel less inspiring or claustrophobic without a view.
Quick Fix: Personalize the space with wall art, plants, or a mood board to add visual interest. For those interested in feng shui desk placement, this setup can work well if the desk is positioned to allow a view of the door, placing you in a "command position." This is a common and respected approach for creating a sense of control and stability in your workspace, as noted by The Spruce.
Ergonomics & Practical Dimensions
Once you’ve chosen your general desk placement, fine-tune your setup with these ergonomic principles.
Monitor distance and height: Keep your monitor about an arm’s length away (around 20–40 inches). The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level to prevent neck strain.
If glare persists: While ideal home office desk placement prevents most glare, sometimes it persists. Use blinds, a monitor hood, or an anti-glare screen. You can also swivel your desk slightly or relocate it. If you're using a desk lamp, consult guides our guide on choosing the right desk lamp.
Video-Call & Background Tips
The best desk placement for video calls is one that puts your background and lighting in a positive light.
If you’re facing a window, add a neutral front fill light to avoid a dark, silhouetted look.
If your back is to the window, use a soft frontal light (like a desk lamp with a warm bulb) to avoid being a dark silhouette. This is an important distinction when considering the best desk orientation for Zoom and other platforms.
Prefer simple, tidy backgrounds. A solid-colored wall, a few plants, or a neat bookshelf creates a professional and appealing look on camera.
Small Space / Multi-Use Rooms
In small spaces or multi-use rooms, creativity is key. Corner desks and floating shelves are great for maximizing limited square footage. Use a room divider, a tall plant, or a bookshelf to physically and visually separate your workspace from your living areas. The goal is to place your desk so it can be angled toward natural light without blocking the flow of the room.
Quick Wins Checklist
Try side lighting first: Test it out at different times of the day to see how the light changes.
Move monitor to face forward: Check that the top of the screen is at the right height.
Add blinds/dimmer switches or a desk lamp: Use these to control light and add fill light when needed. For specific products, check out our 10 Best Desk Lamps guide.
Use a neutral, uncluttered background for all video calls.
Add plants/art for visual interest if your desk faces a blank wall.
FAQs
Should I face the window? Facing a window offers a nice view but can cause significant screen glare and backlighting on video calls. For most people, a perpendicular placement is better, but if you have good blinds and can control the light, facing the window can work.
Best desk orientation for Zoom? The best orientation for video calls is one with soft, even light on your face and a simple, non-distracting background. Placing your desk to receive side light is often the easiest way to achieve this.
How to stop glare without moving the desk? Use blinds or curtains to diffuse direct light. You can also buy an anti-glare screen for your monitor or a monitor hood to physically block incoming light.
Ready to Upgrade Your Home Office?
Choosing the right desk placement is the first step toward a more comfortable and productive work-from-home experience. For more in-depth advice on creating your perfect workspace, check out our Ultimate Guide to Home Office Lighting (2025 Edition), and explore our cluster of posts on topics like Task Lighting vs Ambient Lighting.
