Remote work, online classes and evening paperwork mean more families need a proper home office instead of a corner of the dining table. A good workspace doesn't need to be large; it needs the right sizes, good light, quiet and enough power and data. These are the principles HICONIQUE × PQT architects use in Hai Phong apartments and townhouses.
Choosing the location
- Quiet and away from traffic: not next to the living room, kitchen or entrance. In townhouses, upper floors are quieter than the street-level ground floor.
- Near daylight, but not facing the window: place the window to your side to avoid glare and backlighting on video calls.
- Avoid the west sun, or protect against it with blackout curtains, louvres or solar film.
- Back to a solid wall, facing the room: a traditional feng-shui preference that also gives a tidy video background.
Useful spots include a bedroom corner, a wall recess, a mezzanine, a wide landing by the stairs or part of a living room screened by shelving.
Ergonomic sizes
| Item | Reference size |
|---|---|
| Desk height | 72–75 cm (or height-adjustable) |
| Desk width, one person | 100–120 cm, 120 cm or more is comfortable |
| Desk depth | 60–80 cm |
| Chair clearance behind desk | 80–100 cm |
| Eye to screen | about 50–70 cm |
| Top of screen | at or slightly below eye level |
Use an adjustable chair with lumbar support; feet flat, knees and elbows around 90 degrees, wrists straight. Laptop users should add a stand with a separate keyboard and mouse.
Lighting
Desk work is commonly recommended around 500 lux, more than general living-room lighting. 4000K neutral white helps concentration; in a bedroom, combine a warm 3000K ceiling light with a neutral desk lamp. Choose shielded or diffused fittings so lamps don't reflect in the screen, use CRI 80 or above, and light your face softly from the front for video calls. Our lighting calculator estimates the number and power of fittings by room size.
Power, data, sound and climate
Put sockets at desk level and a cable tray underneath. When building or renovating, run a LAN cable to the desk and add Wi-Fi access points on multi-storey houses, as concrete floors weaken signals. Curtains, rugs, full bookshelves and acoustic panels reduce echo; a solid door with seals keeps noise out. In the damp season, close windows and use a dehumidifier or air-conditioner dry mode to protect electronics and papers.
Storage
Use wall cabinets above the desk, a mobile drawer unit below, a pinboard for notes and closed cabinets for important documents. Keep colours calm: warm white, light grey or pale green with light wood.
Layouts by home type
In small apartments, use a 100–120 cm desk by a bedroom window, built into a wardrobe or bookcase, or a wall-folding desk. In townhouses, a mezzanine, an upper floor or a spot by the light well works well; two people can share a 2.4–3.0 m desk along one wall or an L-shaped pair. A dedicated room of about 8–10 m² fits a desk, floor-to-ceiling bookcase and a reading chair.
Get started
Try the apartment interior estimate, browse house designs with prices if you are building, or request a quote for a complete home-office design.
