How to Set Up an Office Desk: Five Steps, Chair First

Five steps for setting up any office desk, from the chair to the cables, with the OSHA guidance behind each one, plus a short look at the four common desk shapes.

By John N. Updated 8 minute read

Office desk setup on a walnut-finish L-shaped executive desk with a screen, keyboard, shaded lamp and an open file drawer
A render of the OfficeSimpli L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers from where you would sit: screen, keyboard and shaded lamp on the main top, file drawer open. In this render the keyboard sits off to one side; at your desk, center it under the screen. The task chair appears in step 1's photo; the rest is staging.

The short answer: get your office desk set up in the order your body meets it: chair, keyboard and mouse, screen, light, then cables, because each step changes the next. OSHA, the federal workplace safety agency, puts the screen 20 to 40 inches from your eyes with its top at or a little below eye level. If your desk does not go up or down, the chair does the adjusting, plus a footrest if your feet no longer reach the floor. OfficeSimpli sells the L-shaped desk in these photos. It does not adjust, and the steps work at any desk.

How should your office desk be set up? Five steps, in order

Keep the order: a change to the chair moves your elbows and your eyes, so the keyboard and the screen come after it.

Fit the chair to your back and legs first

Walnut-finish L-shaped executive desk from the visitor side with a black mesh office chair and headrest behind it
A render of the L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers from the visitor side, with a mesh office chair behind the main top. Only the desk is ours; the chair and decor are staging.

For: lower-back supportWorks at any desk

Start with the parts of the chair that fit your body. OSHA's chair guide asks for a lumbar support you can slide up or down to fit your lower back. No lumbar support? OSHA suggests a rolled-up towel or a back cushion for now.

The seat should hold most of your thigh without its front edge touching the back of your knee. Armrests, if you have them, should be soft and let your shoulders drop. Leave the seat's up-and-down lever for step 2: at a desk that does not adjust, that lever is what fits you to it.

Try this: sit all the way back first. If you perch to reach the floor, set the seat for your elbows in step 2 and add a footrest.

Bring the keyboard and mouse to your elbows

For: wrists and shouldersDesk does not adjust? The chair does

Put the keyboard straight in front of you, with your elbows by your sides. OSHA's keyboard guide says your elbows should be about level with the keyboard, shoulders relaxed and wrists straight. Keep the mouse right beside it; a keyboard without a number pad lets it sit closer.

If your desk does not go up or down, the chair does the adjusting: raise or lower the seat until your elbows meet the keys. If your feet then hang, OSHA's guide to good working positions says a footrest may be used when the desk does not adjust. If the chair cannot get you level, OSHA's next fix is an adjustable keyboard tray, which holds the keyboard lower than the top. Check that a tray fits before you buy one; for our desk, ask us first.

Laptop only? OSHA's evaluation checklist says a laptop used as your main computer is set up like a desktop, with a separate keyboard and mouse. Then raise the laptop to put its screen where step 3 says.

Try this: rest your fingers on the keys and let your arms hang loose. If your shoulders lift or your wrists bend up, change the seat before you move on.

Then place the screen where your eyes land

For: neck postureCosts nothing

The screen comes after the chair because raising the seat raised your eyes too. Center it behind the keyboard. OSHA's monitor guide gives a preferred distance of 20 to 40 inches from your eyes to the screen. OSHA also puts the top line at or a little below eye level, with the middle of the screen 15 to 20 degrees below where you look straight ahead.

Tip the screen back so it faces your eyes; OSHA says that usually takes no more than 10 to 20 degrees. Wear bifocals? OSHA says to set the screen lower and tilt it up, so you do not tip your head back to read through the bottom of your lenses. Working mostly from paper? The paper goes straight ahead and the screen just to the side. Two-screen setups are covered separately.

Try this: every so often, look away at something far off. OSHA's example is a clock on a wall 20 feet away.

Aim a shaded lamp at the paper, not the screen

For: glareLamp: a separate buy

OSHA's buying checklist wants bright, wide light for printed pages and limited, focused light for the computer. So add a desk lamp for reading and writing, with a shade or hood that points the light down at your work and out of your eyes. The checklist also asks for a large base and an arm you can move.

Then look for reflections. If ceiling lights show in the screen, tilt it back less, or slightly down, as OSHA's lighting guide suggests. Wipe it often, since dust adds glare, and dark text on a light background shows fewer reflections. For where the window goes, see our home office setup ideas.

Try this: switch on the lamp, sit down and look at the dark screen. If you can see the bulb or a bright patch in it, turn or move the lamp until it is gone.

Run the cables last

For: cords off the deskCheck where the grommet is

OSHA's buying checklist wants cords long enough to move the keyboard, mouse and computer around, and calls at least six feet of cord desirable.

Keep the floor under the top clear: OSHA's desk guide says nothing stored there should crowd your legs and feet, so put power strips off to the side. If your desk has a grommet, a lined hole that lets cords pass through the top, run each cord through it rather than over the back edge.

Fit the modesty panel, the front panel your visitors see, before you run any cords; on our desk, they drop behind it.

Try this: tape a label on each plug before it goes through the grommet.

What are the four common office desk configurations?

Most office desk layout ideas start from one of four shapes, and the five steps work on all of them.

Straight desk

One rectangular top for one wall or the middle of a room. Everything you use sits in front of you.

L-shaped desk

A main top plus a return, a second top at a right angle, so it tucks into a corner. OSHA's desk guide notes a corner can add depth for a large monitor. Where to sit at an L and what goes on the return get a guide of their own.

U-shaped desk

Three surfaces around your chair: a desk in front, a bridge (a connecting top) to the side and a credenza (a low cabinet) behind. It needs open floor, so it suits a large room.

Desk with a hutch

Shelves or cabinets on top of the desk, so storage goes up instead of across the floor. Give it a wall to stand against, and check that the screen can still sit 20 to 40 inches from your eyes, OSHA's range.

Stuck between an L and a U? Our L-shaped desk buying guide weighs one against the other.

The desk in our photos is an L: the OfficeSimpli L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers. Pick from three sizes, 64" × 63", 74" × 63" or 84" × 72", and set the return on whichever side suits the room. Every drawer locks, and half of the bottom drawer holds hanging files (the open drawer in the photo at the top). It is engineered wood with a thermally-fused laminate surface, a factory-fused, wood-look layer with a clear coat that resists scratches and water, in a walnut-look finish, made in the USA.

The product page lists cable grommets as standard; before you choose a Left or Right return, ask us where they sit, so you can place the screen right in front of one.

It ships in 2-3 business days, mostly assembled, in four or five pre-assembled sections that you join into the L. Freight to your curb or loading dock is free in the continental US; carrying it inside is a paid add-on, and White Glove Delivery to the room you choose can be added at checkout. You supply the chair, footrest, lamp and screen. The product page links an assembly video; watch it before you fit the modesty panel.

Worth knowing: this desk has a fixed work surface and no standing mode. OSHA's buying checklist says a desk that does not adjust may need a keyboard tray to fit some people; our product page does not say whether one fits under this desk, so check with us first.

Or browse every L-shaped desk we sell.

Room in front of you for the keyboard, screen and lamp

Three sizes, a Left or Right return, drawers that lock and a cable grommet for the cords.

Made in the USA · Ships in 2-3 business days · Free curbside and dock freight

See the desk and price

Office desk setup questions, answered

What should every office desk have?

A top deep enough that, from your chair, the screen lands 20 to 40 inches away (OSHA's range), open space under the top for your legs, room for the keyboard and mouse side by side, a lamp for paper work, and a path for the cords. Add a chair whose seat, backrest and armrests adjust (step 1).

How do I lay out my desk?

By how often you reach for things. OSHA's desk guide keeps the keyboard, mouse and phone in your primary work zone, the area you reach without stretching. The screen goes behind the keyboard, paper to one side (or in front, if you work mostly from paper), and things you use now and then farther out.

What if my desk is too high for me?

Raise your chair until your elbows are about level with the keyboard, then put a footrest under your feet if they no longer rest flat. OSHA's desk guide gives the same fix for a desk that cannot be lowered. If the chair cannot get you there, an adjustable keyboard tray is the next step; if the tray is for our desk, ask us first whether one fits (step 2).

Do I need a standing desk?

It is not required. OSHA's buying checklist calls a desk that raises and lowers desirable, since with an adjustable chair it fits most people and lets you change positions. At a fixed desk, move anyway: OSHA suggests small chair changes, stretching and short walks.

Sources
  1. OfficeSimpli L-Shaped Executive Desk with Lockable Drawers product page, opened 2026-10-05: product facts, shipping and delivery. The engineered wood core is from our product records.
  2. OSHA, Computer Workstations eTool, opened 2026-10-05: Monitors, Keyboards, Pointer/Mouse, Chairs, Good Working Positions, Workstation Environment, Checklists, Purchasing Guide, Checklists, Evaluation, Desks.
  3. Photos: our own renders of the desk. The rooms, chair, computers and lamps are staging.