Home office guide: setting up a desk, and what we actually stock

Most home office advice is a shopping list. This one starts with the things that change how a working day feels and cost nothing, then says plainly which parts of a desk setup we sell and which we do not.

The order to fix things in

If you are setting up or repairing a home desk, this sequence gets the most improvement for the least money.

1. Screen height. The top of the screen at roughly eye level. A stack of books does this as well as a stand does.
2. Chair and desk height. Forearms level with the desk, feet flat. A cushion and a box under the feet will fix most kitchen-table setups.
3. Daylight from the side. Behind you and it reflects on the screen. In front of you and you squint all afternoon.
4. A second light for the evening. A small lamp beside the screen removes the contrast between a bright display and a dark room, which is where most evening eye strain comes from.
5. Somewhere for the cables and the clutter. One tray or box is usually enough.
6. Something alive and something quiet. A plant and a surface you like looking at do more for a small room than any gadget.

Notice that four of those six cost nothing. Buying is the last step, not the first.

What is worth buying secondhand

Desks, chairs, shelving and monitor arms are the categories where used is genuinely better: they are built to last, they are widely available secondhand, and a good used office chair outperforms a cheap new one by a wide margin. We do not sell any of those, and we would rather say so than pad this page.

What we actually stock for a desk

Two things: pieces for the room, from our home decor range, and the clothes you spend the day in. That is the whole list. We do not sell desks, chairs, monitor stands, stationery or paper.

An honest note about materials. For clothing we publish our fibre data in full, including the gaps, in the label truth report. For home decor we hold far less. We can usually tell you the main material of a lamp or a planter and the country it ships from, and we cannot tell you much beyond that. If you ask us about a specific item we will tell you what we hold and where the record stops.

Four things we do sell for a desk

Mediterranean Minimalist Table Lamp

A small warm light for beside the screen. Home decor, so we hold no fibre or material breakdown for it.

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Geo Rounded Trio Ceramic Planter Set

Three small ceramic pots for a desk or a windowsill. Ceramic is all the material detail we hold on it.

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Boat Neck Dolman Sweatshirt

88% cotton, 12% polyester. Warm enough for a cold room, presentable enough for a video call.

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Ex-Moda Two-Piece Co-ord Set

70% cotton, 30% polyester. The compromise between a tracksuit and getting properly dressed.

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Questions people ask

Do you sell desks, chairs or office furniture?

No. We sell clothing, home decor and beauty. For desks and chairs, secondhand is both cheaper and better built than most new budget furniture.

Do you know what your home decor items are made of?

Partly. We can usually name the main material and the country an item ships from. We do not hold full material breakdowns for non-textile goods, and we are not going to imply otherwise. Ask about a specific item and we will tell you exactly what we have.

Is any of this eco-friendly?

We do not make that claim. We hold no environmental certification and we do not audit our suppliers' factories. What we do is publish our own material data, correct what is wrong, and give 5% of each sale to a cause you choose.

Browse home decor, or see everything we stock in the full catalogue.