5 Home Office Setup Ideas That Start With the Desk
Five home office setup ideas built around one L-shaped desk: where the window goes, which side the return goes on, where the computer and printer sit, and how to set the screen and the chair.
The short answer: start with the desk. Most home office setup ideas come down to where the desk goes and what sits on it. Turn the desk so the window is at your side, run the return (the part of an L-shaped desk that turns the corner) along a wall, and give the return the computer, the printer and the paper. Then put the screen straight in front of you, at least 20 inches from your eyes with its top at or just below eye level, and raise the chair until your feet rest flat. Each idea below is built around the L-Shaped Executive Desk that OfficeSimpli sells.
What are some good ideas for a home office layout? 5 setup ideas
Each idea fixes one common problem: glare on the screen, a desk that crowds the room, a cluttered top, a sore neck or tired legs. Pick the ones that match your room. For style ideas such as a dark accent wall, a wall of books or a seating corner, see our masculine home office ideas.
1
Turn the desk so the window is at your side
Fixes: glare on the screenCosts nothing
Daylight is welcome in a home office, and it is also the usual cause of glare. OSHA's guide to computer workstations says: "Place the face of the display screen at right angles to windows and light sources." In plain words, the window goes at your side, not behind the screen and not behind your back. The photo at the top of this page shows the idea: the tall window is on the wall beside the desk.
A window behind the screen puts bright light in your eyes, so the screen looks dim. A window behind you shows up as a bright spot on the screen. On video calls, a window at your side also puts daylight on your face instead of behind your head.
On dark days, add a desk lamp and aim it at your papers, away from the screen, so its light does not bounce off it. If you also want to see the door from your chair, our masculine home office post covers that in its first idea.
Try this: sit at the desk at the brightest time of day and look at the screen. If you can see the window in it, turn the desk until the window is at your side.
2
Run the return along a wall
Fixes: a desk that crowds the roomDecide before you order
An L-shaped desk has a main top and a return, the part that turns the corner. On the L-Shaped Executive Desk you pick the side when you order: with a Right return, the return is on your right as you sit at the main top, and with a Left return it is on your left.
Pick the side that has a wall. With the return against the wall, the printer and the paper stay out of the walkway, and the open side of the L faces the room. Then check the window (idea 1) and the outlets, because the computer and the printer plug in near the return (idea 3).
Try this: draw the room on paper with the door, the window and the outlets marked. Draw the L both ways and keep the one that leaves the walkway open.
3
Give the return the computer, the printer and the paper
Close-up of the return on the L-Shaped Executive Desk: a small desktop computer on the return's open shelf, binders below, drawers beside it, and a cable coming out of the grommet (a round opening that lets cords pass through) above.
Fixes: a crowded main topDrawers that lock
The product page says the main top holds two or three monitors with room to write, and the return adds a wing for a printer and spread-out paperwork. So give each part of the L its own job: the screen, keyboard and mouse on the main top, and everything else on the return.
In this photo a small desktop computer sits on the open shelf in the return, which keeps it out of your leg room. OSHA's desk guide puts it simply: "Avoid storing items, such as a CPU, under desks." (A CPU here means the computer's case.) Files go in the drawers beside the shelf. All of them lock, and half of the bottom drawer holds hanging files.
Cable management comes standard. The product page says monitor, laptop and charger cables pass through the surface and drop behind the modesty panel, the panel across the front that hides your legs and cords from the other side of the desk.
Try this: keep the screens on the main top and put the printer on the return, close to an outlet, so its cord stays short.
On where the grommet is
“The only grommet is on the shelf side, but having monitors on that side makes accessing the drawers awkward.”
Joe · Verified review · April 2026
If the grommet on your desk is on the shelf side too, you can still keep the screens in front of you: run the monitor cables under the main top to the grommet side, held up by a cable tray or a few cable clips.
4
Put the screen straight ahead, with the top at or just below eye level
Fixes: a sore neckUses what you have
Put the monitor directly in front of you, at least 20 inches away, with the top of the screen at or just below eye level. OSHA's preferred range is 20 to 40 inches from your eyes to the screen.
On an L-shaped desk, that puts the screen on the main top, lined up with your chair, not on the return beside you. With two screens, put the one you use most straight ahead and the second right beside it, at the same height. If you work mostly from paper, flip it: the paper goes in front of you and the screen a little to the side.
The photo at the top of this page places the screen off to one side for the picture. For long days at the screen, center it.
Try this: check the distance once with a tape measure, from your eyes to the front of the screen.
5
Raise the chair, not the desk
Fixes: tired legs and shouldersNeeds: a chair that adjusts
The L-Shaped Executive Desk is a fixed, seated-height desk, so you fit it to your body with the chair. If the desk feels high, raise the chair and add a footrest if your feet then leave the floor.
Set the chair so your feet rest flat and your elbows stay close to your body, bent between 90 and 120 degrees (OSHA's range). A chair with a five-leg base on casters rolls easily and stays steady.
Two people sharing one desk? Each person sets their own chair. A shorter person may need a footrest, and a very tall person should sit at a desk of the same height and check the knee room before buying.
Keep the space under the main top clear for your legs. That is one more reason the computer goes on the return's shelf (idea 3).
Try this: set the chair height first and the screen second. Raising the chair changes where your eyes are.
What desk is shown in these setup ideas?
Every photo here shows the L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers. The L puts a main top and a return at a right angle, so one desk gives you two places to work. It comes in three sizes, 64" × 63", 74" × 63" and 84" × 72", each with a Left or Right return. The first number is how wide the main top is. The second is how far the desk reaches from the back of the main top to the end of the return. For which size suits your room, see the FAQ in our guide to the best L-shaped executive desks.
The desk is engineered wood with a thermally-fused laminate surface in a walnut finish. A clear protective coat on top makes it water resistant and scratch resistant, and it wipes clean with a damp cloth. It is made in the USA.
The desk ships in 2 to 3 business days, mostly assembled in four or five sections depending on the size, with free curbside and dock freight to the continental US (the driver leaves it at your curb or loading dock). The product page lists the 64" × 63" size at 330 pounds and the 84" × 72" size at 490 pounds, and gives no weight for the 74" × 63", so plan for help if it has to go up stairs. White Glove Delivery to the room you choose can be added at checkout.
Worth knowing: this desk does not raise or lower, so the fit comes from your chair (idea 5). And every photo here is our own render of the 84" × 72" size with a Right return, staged with a computer, a lamp, a chair and decor that do not come with the desk.
A desk with room to keep the screen at least 20 inches from your eyes, a chair you can raise and lower, light from the side, drawers for files, and a way to get cables off the desk. The five ideas above show how to set up each one.
What is the best desk setup for a home office?
Put the screen, keyboard and mouse on the main work surface, straight in front of your chair, and give the computer, printer and paper a spot to the side, such as the return of an L-shaped desk. Keep the space under the desk clear for your legs, and set the chair so your feet rest flat (see ideas 3 to 5).
Where should the printer go in a home office?
On the return of an L-shaped desk, off the main top and close to an outlet. The product page names a printer and spread-out paperwork as what the return is for (see idea 3).
Sources
OfficeSimpli L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers product page, read 2026-10-04: the three sizes and their dimensions, the Left or Right return, the two work zones and what the main top and the return hold, the lockable drawers and the hanging-file drawer, cable management and the modesty panel, the thermally-fused laminate surface, clear coat and walnut finish, Made in the USA, the shipping time, mostly assembled, free curbside and dock freight, the listed weights, White Glove Delivery, and the customer review, quoted verbatim with the reviewer's name and month as published. The engineered wood core is from our product records.
Photos: renders of the OfficeSimpli L-Shaped Executive Desk (84" × 72" size, Right return) from our image library. The rooms, computers, chairs, lamps and decor are staging and do not come with the desk.
