Fitting Out a 10-Person Office in Australia: What to Buy, Budget and Phase

Kitting out a new office for a team of ten is one of those jobs that looks simple until you open a spreadsheet. Ten desks and ten chairs, surely? In practice a 10-person fit-out in Australia usually means closer to 25 to 30 individual items once you add reception, a meeting table, breakout seating and a few spare workstations for growth. This guide walks through what to buy, roughly what to budget in bands, and how to phase the purchase so you are not paying for furniture that sits in a box for three months.

Start with a headcount map, not a shopping list

Before pricing anything, map every seat in the space and label it by role, because role drives desk size. A typical 10-person office breaks down into roughly 6 to 7 individual desks, 1 to 2 manager or director desks, a reception position, and a shared meeting table. Sketch the floor plan and mark power points, natural light and the front door first. As a rough Australian planning figure, allow around 4 to 6 square metres of usable floor per person once you account for walkways, so a genuine 10-seat office generally needs 50 to 80 square metres of open plan before meeting and amenity space is added.

Workstations: one desk and one chair per seat

The bulk of a fit-out is the individual workstation, and here the honest rule is one desk plus one supportive chair per person. For general staff at a fixed workstation, an entry-level straight desk such as the Desk One LiteEdge (available in 1.2m and 1.4m widths at a 750mm working height on a steel frame) or the Desk One Compact Office Desk with Storage Cabinet (1200mm and 1400mm sizes) covers a laptop or single monitor comfortably. Step up to a 1.4m width for anyone running dual monitors.

Pair every desk with an ergonomic task chair rather than a stool or a hard, non-adjustable seat, since your team will sit in it for eight hours a day. Desk One's mesh range runs from the entry-level Ergo Lite through the Ergo Flex v2 and V3 to the BIFMA-certified Ergo Comfort, with chairs rated to around 150kg. Budget for a mid-range mesh chair as your default and reserve one or two premium chairs for staff with existing back concerns.

Managers, directors and the executive corner

Senior roles usually justify a larger corner or L-shaped desk, both for the extra work surface and for the storage that keeps sensitive documents off open shelves. The Desk One A003 L-Shaped Executive Corner Desk comes in 1.8m x 1.6m and 2m x 1.6m footprints, in left or right corner orientation, with two drawers, a lockable cabinet with a key lock, and a dedicated PC compartment. For a director's office where presence matters, the A008 (a 2000 x 1800mm L-shape with a hutch and a built-in password lock) or the 2400mm S901 and S902 workstations give a full command-centre setup. Buy the orientation that matches the corner the desk will actually live in; a right-corner cabinet in a left-corner room is a common and avoidable mistake.

The shared spaces: reception, meeting and breakout

Reception is the first thing a visitor sees, so a dedicated front desk earns its place even in a small office. The Desk One Front Reception Desk comes in 1600mm and 2000mm sizes with an integrated storage cabinet and drawers, giving a clean counter for a receptionist and a screen for guests. For meetings, size the table to your largest regular gathering rather than your whole team: the DeskOne Boardroom Table in 2.4m seats roughly 6 to 8 people, while the 3.2m version handles 8 to 10, and both include integrated power modules so laptops stay charged without leads across the table. A 10-person office rarely needs everyone in one room at once, so a 2.4m table plus a small breakout corner is often the more economical call than a table that seats all ten.

Sit-stand and future-proofing

Height-adjustable desks are worth considering for at least a portion of the team. A sit-stand desk like the Desk One L-Shaped Standing Desk uses a triple-motor, three-leg frame in cold-rolled steel, supports up to 120kg, and adjusts from 620mm to 1270mm at 35mm/s with near-silent operation under 50dB. You do not need to convert all ten seats on day one; fitting two or three adjustable desks initially lets staff trial standing before you commit the whole floor. On future-proofing, order one or two spare workstations if you expect to hire within the year, so new starters are not sitting on a folding table while a matching desk is sourced.

Budget bands and phasing the purchase

Rather than quote figures, think in three tiers per item and mix them by role. An entry-level layer covers general staff with compact straight desks and mid-range mesh chairs; a mid-range layer covers team leads with L-shaped corner desks and better chairs; and an executive layer covers directors and shared spaces with the larger 2400mm workstations, a boardroom table and premium seating. Because these tiers can be bought separately, a fit-out phases neatly: Phase 1 is the core workstations and chairs so the team can actually work; Phase 2 adds reception and the meeting table; Phase 3 layers in sit-stand upgrades and spare desks for growth. Splitting the spend this way spreads cashflow and lets you refine choices based on how the first desks land in the space.

How Desk One fits in

Desk One is a dedicated office furniture supplier, so a single order can cover workstations, executive desks, ergonomic chairs, reception and boardroom furniture rather than piecing a fit-out together from several retailers. Desk One offers guidance on matching desk sizes and orientations to a floor plan, and products are backed by a 1-year frame warranty and a 7-day faulty-return policy that includes return freight. Desktops use E0-grade board for lower emissions, and the ergonomic chair range carries a Judge.me rating of 4.8 stars across 90+ reviews. For pricing, stock and delivery timing on a specific 10-seat configuration, check current listings or contact the team directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many desks and chairs do I need for a 10-person office?
At minimum, ten desks and ten ergonomic chairs, but a realistic fit-out totals closer to 25 to 30 items. That figure adds a reception desk, a meeting or boardroom table, breakout seating and one or two spare workstations for new hires, on top of the ten primary seats.

What size desk is right for each role?
General staff are well served by a 1.2m to 1.4m straight desk, while managers and directors suit an L-shaped corner desk. A single-monitor user is comfortable on a 1.2m Desk One LiteEdge or Compact desk; dual-monitor and senior roles benefit from the 1.4m width or a 1.8m to 2.4m L-shape such as the A003 or S901 with lockable storage.

How much floor space should I allow per person?
Plan for roughly 4 to 6 square metres of usable floor per person, including walkways. That puts a 10-seat open-plan area at around 50 to 80 square metres before you add a meeting room, reception and kitchen, so measure the space against headcount before ordering.

Should we buy sit-stand desks for everyone?
Not necessarily on day one; fitting a few adjustable desks first lets staff trial standing before you convert the whole floor. A model like the Desk One L-Shaped Standing Desk adjusts from 620mm to 1270mm at 35mm/s and supports up to 120kg, so it suits heavy multi-monitor setups whether or not the rest of the office is height-adjustable.

Can we fit out in stages instead of all at once?
Yes, and phasing is often the smarter approach for cashflow. A common split is Phase 1 for core workstations and chairs, Phase 2 for reception and the meeting table, and Phase 3 for sit-stand upgrades and spare desks, since each layer can be ordered independently.

What does Desk One offer for a 10-person fit-out?
Desk One offers a full office furniture range under one supplier, covering desks, ergonomic chairs, reception and boardroom furniture. Products carry a 1-year frame warranty and a 7-day faulty-return policy that includes return freight, and Desk One offers guidance on matching sizes and orientations to your floor plan; for pricing and delivery on a specific configuration, check the current listings or contact the team.

A 10-person fit-out is really a series of smaller decisions: the right desk for each role, a chair the team will actually thank you for, and shared spaces sized to how you really work. Map the seats, buy in tiers, and phase the spend, and you end up with an office that fits both the floor plan and the budget.

By James Whitfield, Melbourne