Wires aren’t design elements anyone wants to highlight, so when planning or renovating your office, finding which desks have the best wire management will be at the top of the list.

To provide guidance for this desk search, as well as some general wire clutter clearing advice, we turned to Circle Furniture co-owner Richard Tubman. He also drew on the desk wire management expertise of furniture maker BDI, whose well-thought and contemporary designs feature in the Circle Furniture line of desks.

What Do We Mean When We Say Wire Management?

Before getting to desk design, let’s clarify our goal: What exactly is wire management? There are three primary concerns when examining this topic.

You want wires to be functional—that is, accessible and long enough to reach where you need them. You want wires to be as hidden as possible. And you want wires to be orderly and tangle-free.

This means you’ll need to address desktop wire management as well as under desk wire management. And you’ll need a way to route the wires from the desktop, to underneath it, and then to an outlet in a way that is organized and hidden.

Read More: How to Design the Perfect Home Office

The Best Wires Are Invisible

Another consideration when addressing wire management in your desk seeking journey is that you may end up with fewer wires over time. Or you may want to switch to wireless equipment as part of your office redesign, if that’s possible.

A lot of wireless office equipment is already widely available—printers, desktop speakers, mouses, keyboards—so think through that possibility in your planning process.

What equipment might you be replacing in the near future? Will that change your desk design needs? Obviously, the fewer wires you have to deal with, the better.

Desk Design Features for Wire Management

Alas, while wireless is nifty, many of our electronics will be fueled or connected by cords for some time to come. So we need to know, what desk design features help create a clean set-up?

The experts at BDI suggest looking for the following:  

• Integrated cable routing channels thoughtfully engineered into the design
• Innovative design features like removeable back panels that store and hide away a power strip and cables
• Grommet holes in the desktop to feed cables through

Addressing the Changeable Height Desk

Desks that transform between seated and standing are popular. And well they should be, for health and comfort. But they do pose an extra wiring issue, since some cable length needs will change depending on the desk’s position.

You won’t want to be tugging on cables or alternatively dealing with a web of excess wiring every time you stand or sit.

Again we turn to advice from BDI. A top suggestion is to mount a power strip under the desktop.

This provides a shorter distance to the plug-in. It also gives you a constant length of cable, which solves any pulling or drooping issues.

You can then use built-in cable routing, cable clips, self-adhesive wire holders, or the like to affix the cable coming out of the power strip to the underside of the desk and down a desk leg, out of sight. And this will be the only cable that needs to lengthen and shorten when the desk moves.

General Wire Management Tips

It’s important for your desk design to address wire management, but some general cable control tips will also come in handy when setting up your workspace.

It’s likely you’ll have excess cable to deal with. Here, cable bundlers will solve the problem. You can find them in various colors and designs, so they can add a decorative element to an otherwise unsightly issue. Velcro straps are also available for this purpose.

It’s helpful if you can configure your desk near a power outlet. In lieu of that, power strips help consolidate the number of cables you have running from your desk to the wall.

Routers and cable covers are useful for concealing unattractive wiring, as well as keeping it in place and out of the way. They also provide a clean, tidy appearance.

The aim is to keep wires out of sight and not dangling or underfoot in a way that someone might catch or trip on them. This is as much an issue of keeping things looking nice as it is about ensuring safety, for people in the office as well as the equipment.

Catching a cable could cause an injury and send your electronics flying. You don’t want that either.

Key Takeaway

The primary takeaway is to make sure that wire management has been well considered in the design of a desk. Before embarking on your desk shopping quest, decide how you want to use the desk and what equipment it will need to support.

The right desk for you will accommodate your electronics, along with their many cords, such that the end result is beautifully and seamlessly functional.

We’re Here to Help

Circle Furniture offers a selection of desks that offer well-engineered wire management solutions. We always welcome you to bring in your office décor and wire management needs, and we’ll work with you to find the desk options that work best, down to the last well-placed cord.