How to Choose an Office Chair When You're Petite (150–165cm): Seat Height, Depth and Footrests

Most office chairs are engineered around an "average" adult, and if you sit somewhere between 150cm and 165cm tall you have probably felt the consequences: feet dangling or barely grazing the floor, a seat pan so long it pushes your lower back away from the lumbar support, and armrests that sit too high no matter how you set them. A chair that fits a taller colleague can leave a shorter person perched rather than supported. This guide walks through the handful of measurements that actually decide whether a chair fits a smaller frame, and points to the real DeskOne ergonomic models whose adjustment ranges suit petite users.

The two numbers that decide fit: seat height and seat depth

For a shorter user, two figures matter far more than the marketing copy: minimum seat height and seat depth. Seat height determines whether your feet can rest flat on the floor with your thighs roughly parallel to the ground and your knees near a 90-degree angle. Seat depth determines whether your back reaches the backrest while leaving a small gap (about two to three finger-widths) behind your knees. Get these two right and the rest of the chair has a chance to work; get them wrong and no amount of headrest or armrest tuning will rescue the posture.

A useful rule of thumb: your seated popliteal height (the distance from the back of your knee to the floor) is what the seat height should roughly match. For many people in the 150–165cm range that lands somewhere around 40–46cm, which is why the minimum of a chair's seat-height range matters more to you than its maximum.

Seat height: look at the bottom of the range, not the top

A gas lift that travels from, say, 48cm up to 56cm is generous for a tall user but may never come down far enough for a petite one. When comparing DeskOne chairs, read the lowest number first. The Desk One Ergo Supreme quotes a seat height of 43.5–59cm, the lowest minimum in the current ergonomic range, which gives shorter users the best chance of planting both feet flat without a footrest. The Desk One Ergo Pro sits at 46–55cm, and the DeskOne Apex Ergo at 48–56cm. If you are at the shorter end of the band and want feet-flat contact straight out of the box, the Ergo Supreme's lower floor is the standout; the Ergo Pro is a close second.

Seat depth: a shorter pan keeps your back supported

Seat depth is where taller chairs quietly sabotage smaller users. If the pan is too long, you either sit forward and lose the backrest, or sit back and get pressure behind the knees. Two things help here: a genuinely shorter pan, and seat-depth adjustment. The DeskOne Apex Ergo is strong on both counts, with a compact 42–44.5cm seat that also slides forward and back so you can match the pan to your leg length rather than accepting a fixed depth. The Desk One Ergo Supreme likewise uses a sliding seat to reduce thigh pressure over long sessions. If you have ever felt a chair "ends" a few centimetres too far forward for your back, a model with a short, slidable pan is worth prioritising.

When a footrest earns its place

Sometimes the chair that fits your back best still seats you a touch high, or your desk height forces a higher seat so your forearms clear the desktop. That is exactly when a footrest stops being a gimmick. Several DeskOne chairs offer a built-in or optional footrest, including the Ergo Pro (footrest and no-footrest variants), the Apex Ergo (retractable footrest on the Apex Ergo+, extending up to 17cm), the Prime, and the built-in extendable footrest on the Ergo Supreme. A footrest lets you set the seat height for your arms and desk, then support your feet independently, which keeps your thighs level and takes pressure off the underside of your legs. For a petite user juggling a fixed-height desk, that decoupling is often the difference between "close enough" and "actually comfortable".

Armrests and lumbar support for a smaller frame

Armrests that only move up tend to defeat shorter users, because the problem is usually that they sit too high, crowding the shoulders. Look for multi-directional armrests you can lower and bring inward. The Ergo Pro and Apex Ergo use 3D armrests (height, depth and angle), and the Prime and Ergo Vortex step up to 4D armrests. More axes of movement means a better chance of getting your elbows supported at roughly 90 degrees without hunching. Adjustable lumbar support matters too: the Ergo Supreme offers height-adjustable lumbar (up to around 20cm across four levels), which lets a shorter torso place the support where the curve of your own back actually is, rather than where a fixed pad assumes it should be.

Quick guidance by scenario

If your main issue is that your feet never reach the floor, start with the lowest minimum seat height, which points to the Ergo Supreme (from 43.5cm). If the seat pan always feels too long against your lower back, prioritise seat depth and adjustability, which points to the Apex Ergo with its compact 42–44.5cm sliding pan, or the sliding seat on the Ergo Supreme. If you like a taller seat for desk clearance but still want your feet supported, choose a footrest variant such as the Ergo Pro with footrest or the Apex Ergo+. DeskOne's ergonomic chairs are rated to 120–150kg depending on the model (150kg on the Ergo Pro and Apex Ergo), so weight capacity is rarely the limiting factor for petite users, fit is.

Frequently Asked Questions

What seat height should a petite person (150–165cm) look for?

Focus on the lowest point of the seat-height range rather than the highest. Aim for a chair that drops low enough for your feet to sit flat with your knees near 90 degrees, which for many people in this height band means a minimum around 43–46cm. Among DeskOne chairs, the Ergo Supreme reaches the lowest minimum at 43.5cm, followed by the Ergo Pro at 46cm. If a chair only comes down to 48cm and you sit at the shorter end of the range, plan to add a footrest.

What is seat depth and why does it matter if I'm short?

Seat depth is the distance from the front edge of the seat to the backrest, and it decides whether your back reaches support while leaving a small gap behind your knees. Shorter thighs need a shorter pan. A quick check: sit fully back, and you should be able to fit about two to three finger-widths between the front edge and the back of your knees. The Apex Ergo has a compact 42–44.5cm pan that slides forward and back to match your legs, and the Ergo Supreme also uses a sliding seat to ease thigh pressure.

Do I still need a footrest if the chair goes low enough?

Not always, but it helps more often than you might expect. Even when a chair drops to a comfortable seat height, a fixed-height desk can force you to raise the seat so your forearms clear the desktop, leaving your feet unsupported. A footrest lets you set seat height for your arms and support your feet separately. DeskOne offers footrests on the Ergo Pro, Apex Ergo+, Prime and Ergo Supreme, so you can keep your thighs level regardless of desk height.

Are DeskOne chairs adjustable enough for someone around 150cm?

For most people at 150cm the fit comes down to seat height and depth, and the Ergo Supreme (seat height from 43.5cm) plus a compact or adjustable pan gives you the best starting point. Pair it with a footrest if your desk sits high. As with any chair, adjustment ranges are guides rather than guarantees, so check the published seat-height and seat-depth figures against your own popliteal height before buying, and use the footrest option if you are at the very short end.

How do I stop the armrests sitting too high?

Choose armrests that move in more than one direction so you can lower them and bring them inward, not just raise them. The Ergo Pro and Apex Ergo use 3D armrests (height, depth and angle), while the Prime and Ergo Vortex offer 4D adjustment. Set them so your elbows rest at roughly 90 degrees with your shoulders relaxed; if the lowest setting still crowds your shoulders, drop the armrests fully and let the desk carry your forearms instead.

Can a well-fitted chair help with lower-back discomfort from sitting?

A chair that lets you sit with feet flat, thighs supported and your lower back against adjustable lumbar support may help you maintain a more neutral posture, which supports comfort over a long day. It is not a medical device and cannot treat an underlying condition, so if you have ongoing or significant back pain it is worth speaking with a physiotherapist or your GP. Combine any chair with regular breaks and movement rather than relying on the seat alone.

The bottom line

If you're petite, ignore the headline features and read two numbers: how low the seat goes and how short (or adjustable) the pan is. Add a footrest when your desk height fights you, and pick multi-directional armrests so they come down to you. Across the DeskOne range, the Ergo Supreme's low 43.5cm seat and the Apex Ergo's compact, slidable pan give shorter users a realistic path to feet-flat, back-supported sitting. DeskOne chairs carry a 1-year warranty and hold a 4.8-star rating across 90-plus verified reviews on Judge.me, but the figure that matters most is whether the fit is right for you.

By James Whitfield, Melbourne