Will an office chair with arms fit under my desk?

Only if the top of the arms sits lower than the underside of the desk, or lower than the rail or drawer beneath it if there is one. Measure from the floor to the lowest point under the desk top and compare it with the arm height on the chair's listing. If the arms are higher, the chair will stop at the edge of the desk rather than sliding under it.

Which of your office chairs have no arms?

The Orion, the Otis and the Sterling are all armless, so each slides fully under a desk. The Aero has arms, but they flip up 90 degrees, which lets it tuck away too.

How much room do I need behind a desk chair?

As a rule of thumb, allow about a metre between the edge of the desk and whatever is behind you, whether that is a wall, a bed or a sofa. That is enough to push the chair back and stand up without hitting anything. In less space than that, a chair that tucks fully under the desk matters more.

Is a chair on feet better than one on wheels for a small room?

It depends on how you work. A chair on feet stays where you put it, will not roll into the wardrobe when you stand up, and will not mark a wooden floor. The trade is that it does not adjust for height, so check its seat height against your desk before you buy. A chair on castors is easier to move in and out all day.

Can I just use a dining chair at my desk?

For an hour of emails, yes. For a full working day, most people want a seat that turns and adjusts to the height of the desk, which a dining chair does not. If you like the look of a dining chair, one of our armless walnut desk chairs gives you something close to it with a swivel base and a gas lift.

Office Chairs for a Small Home Office: What Tucks Under the Desk

A small home office is really a desk that has to share a room. It lives at the end of the bed, in the alcove beside the chimney breast, on a wide landing or in the corner of the living room. The chair is the biggest thing on show, and in a small room it is also the thing most likely to be in the way.

Three decisions make the difference: the arms, what the chair stands on, and how it looks when you are not working.

The arms decide whether it disappears

A chair that slides fully under the desk takes up almost no floor when you are finished for the day. Whether it can do that comes down to its arms.

No arms. An armless chair tucks all the way under, every time. Ours are the Orion, with its curved walnut-finish shell, the Otis, on a walnut bentwood frame, and the Sterling, a grey velvet chesterfield-style chair with a seat stated at 52cm wide. Going without arms also lets you shift position through the day and sit cross-legged if that is how you work.

Arms that move. The Aero has padded armrests that flip up 90 degrees. Fold them up and the chair slides under the desk; fold them down when you want them.

Fixed arms. Chairs such as the Oliver, with its wooden armrests, or the Aston, with chrome arms, are comfortable for a long day, but the arms have to clear the underside of the desk. Measure from the floor to the lowest point under the desk top, including any rail or drawer, and compare it with the arm height on the listing before you order.

Leave room to push back

As a rule of thumb, allow about a metre between the edge of the desk and whatever is behind you. That is enough to push back and stand up without catching the bed or the sofa.

Most small rooms do not have a metre to spare, which is exactly why a chair that tucks away earns its place. If yours has to stay out, put it where it is part of the room rather than blocking a route through it.

Wheels, or feet

Most desk chairs roll on castors, and there are good reasons for that: you can turn to a shelf or a printer and back without getting up. On a wooden or laminate floor, check the castors are the soft kind, or put a mat down.

Some chairs sit on feet instead, and in a small room that is often the better choice.

The Ornix swivels a full 360 degrees on an X-shaped metal frame, with an adjustable anti-slip pad on each foot, so it sits level on an uneven floor and does not creep. It has no gas lift and no tilt.
The Kasper is a quilted velvet swivel chair on a black metal base with no castors and no gas lift, with a stated fixed seat height of 48cm.

A chair on feet will not roll into the wardrobe when you stand up and will not mark the floor. The trade is that its height is fixed, so check it against your desk.

There is a middle way. The Nash rolls on castors that lock, so you can fix it at the desk and release it when you want to move.

Choose it like furniture

In a small room you cannot shut the door on the office, so the chair has to look right when you are not sitting in it. A low back keeps the sightline across the room open. A wooden shell, like the Orion and the Otis, reads as a piece of furniture rather than equipment. A velvet chair such as the Sterling suits a bedroom and doubles happily at a dressing table.

If the chair is going to be seen, a colour can do more than a neutral. The Aero comes with black, white, blue, pink or purple frames, and the Orion in several colours on the same walnut shell. For more on matching a chair to its room, see our guide to home office chairs that look like furniture.

Light the desk, not the room

A small office often borrows the room's ceiling light, which is harsh on a screen and lights everything except your work. A lamp on the desk puts light where you need it and lets the rest of the room stay calm in the evening. Our table lamp guide covers sizes and shades.

Find yours

Free UK delivery and 30-day returns on every chair, and you can Make an Offer on any of them.

For a chair that tucks away, see the Orion, the Otis or the Sterling. For one on feet, the Ornix. For the difference between mesh, velvet and faux leather, read our office chair materials guide, and for what the levers underneath do, office chair adjustments explained. Or browse all the office chairs.