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SF Good Questions: Is My Jens Risom Dining Table Too High to Be a Desk?

4-30-jens risom.jpgAT:SF, I have a handsome Jens Risom dining table. Is it my imagination or is it too high to be a comfortable desk? This one is 31 inches high. What is the recommended height of a desk? I am a high school English teacher and need a lot of space for grading essays, sorting them out. . . I don't need a dining table per se since I live alone.

-GregorSamsa

 
 

GregorSamsa,

Desks can be anywhere between 28" and 32". We think that what will make the real difference regarding your comfort is the height of your chair.

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Image: Jens Risom

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tables - desks, Good Questions, tables - dining & occasional

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Comments (7)

This is easy. Can sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your elbows at 90 degrees? If you have to raise your arms or roll your shoulders, your table is too high or too low.

posted by kimg924 on April 30th 2008 at 9:52am
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Desks are usually 27-28 inches high which is lower than a standard dining table. Though, obviously this can be counteracted with a higher chair and foot rest if needed.

I would suggest going somewhere that sells both desks, office chairs, and dining tables and dining chairs and trying different combinations...keeping the height of your table in mind.

posted by Enamorada on April 30th 2008 at 9:53am
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I had a 30" desk and it was terribly uncomfortable. I could not find a chair that boosted me up enough so my arms weren't up on the desk too high at a bad angle. It's hard to imagine how an inch would make a difference, but now I have a 29" desk and I love it.

posted by ridge_van_winkle on April 30th 2008 at 9:54am
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Don't raise the bridge, lower the river.... This is where a good quality, appropriate-height chair comes in. I actually prefer a higher work surface for my design work. But I also have a higher chair that keeps my elbows at table height. Good luck!

posted by quiltmaster on April 30th 2008 at 10:00am
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Having a desk that's too high is the worst. Not only is it bad for your body, it always seems to look like I have less space, since I'm not looking down on my work surface. I don't know why... At work I have a bigger computer with way more papers around, but since my chair is higher, it seems more spacious than my desk at home.

posted by spaceagemouse on April 30th 2008 at 10:04am
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Whenever I have encountered an especially comfortable desk to sit in front of, I've measure them. For me personally the ideal height for a desk is 28 inches. My suggestion is to keep a measuring tape handy, go to some furniture stores and figure out what your ideal height for a desk is.

As a sidenote, I have a table I love that I've been using for a desk for years now, the above for me was a recent discovered. I have bought and replaced numerous chairs because I never felt comfortable. And when I did the measuring tape exercise, I realized the problem wasn't my chairs (I even have an Aeron B and an Eames zenith shell chair with padding, both of which I find extremely comfortable). The culprit was my table, which when measured, turned out to be 32 inches! 4 inches higher than my ideal desk height, no wonder.

posted by redshirt on April 30th 2008 at 10:04am
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What type of desk? Writing Desk or Computer Desk?
A writing desk should be @ 29" high, but if you're putting a keyboard for a computer on it, it should either be somewhat lower (for a laptop) or have a keyboard tray attached to the underside.

posted by bepsf on April 30th 2008 at 10:18am
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