Most under-desk pedestals fall into three width bands (around 300–330mm, 400–430mm, and 480–600mm), two depth ranges (400–450mm and 500–610mm), and two height categories (roughly 560–600mm for low mobile units, 690–740mm for desk-height ones). Before you order anything, measure the clear space from the underside of the desk top to the floor, plus the desk’s side clearance to the nearest obstruction. Get that one figure wrong and the rest of the spec sheet is irrelevant. The exact nominal sizes you’ll see on supplier listings sit in the table below.
TL;DR:
- Pedestals generally come in three width bands: narrow (300–330mm), standard (400–430mm), and wide (480–600mm), with depth and height scales matching their usage.
- Accurate measurement of desk underside height, lateral clearance, and drawer access routes is critical to prevent returns or installation issues.
- Mobile pedestals are shallower and narrower than desk-height units, which are taller and deeper to support work surfaces or load-bearing.
- Internal drawer dimensions are usually slightly less than external sizes due to carcass thickness and mechanisms, so always verify usable space before ordering.
- Request technical datasheets or samples before bulk purchases, especially for complex or tight-fitting layouts, to avoid costly mistakes during installation.
Suppliers group pedestals into narrow, standard, and wide bands, and once you know which band you’re shopping in, comparing spec sheets across manufacturers gets a lot faster. Narrow pedestals typically run 300–330mm wide, built for tight aisles or compact desks. Standard units sit around 400–430mm, the most common width for general office fit-outs. Wide or double-width pedestals stretch to 480–600mm, usually where a pedestal doubles as extra worksurface support.
Depth follows a similar split. Mobile pedestals commonly measure 400–450mm deep, shallow enough to tuck fully under a desk and still roll clear for cleaning. Desk-height and fixed pedestals often run deeper, 500–610mm, matching a standard desk’s front-to-back depth.
| Pedestal band | Typical width | Typical depth | Typical height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrow/compact | 300–330mm | 400–450mm | 560–600mm |
| Standard mobile | 400–430mm | 400–500mm | 560–600mm |
| Wide/desk-height | 480–600mm | 500–610mm | 690–740mm |
One manufacturer’s product data sheet lists mobile pedestals at 330mm and 430mm widths with heights ranging from 548mm up to 740mm depending on whether the unit is a low mobile type or a desk-height one. Another cutsheet shows the same pattern across a wider range of nominal sizes, with mobile, floorstanding and tray-top variants each occupying distinct width and depth bands rather than one universal size.
Here’s the catch procurement teams miss most often: the external dimension on a spec sheet is not the same as the usable drawer space inside it. Carcass thickness and runner mechanisms eat into that figure, sometimes by 20mm or more per drawer. Always ask the supplier for internal usable dimensions separately from the nominal external size.
Getting this wrong is the single most common reason pedestals get returned or left in a storeroom. Four checks cover almost every failure point:
Pro Tip: Before committing to a bulk order, build a cardboard mock-up at the exact external dimensions from the spec sheet, or ask the supplier for a single sample unit. It takes ten minutes and catches the clearance mistakes a tape measure alone often misses.
Pedestal type dictates size more than brand does, and mixing types across a floor plan without checking this first is how procurement ends up with units that don’t match. The three main categories:
The Knoll cutsheet shows desk-height pedestals offered with continuous top panels, letting them act as a structural support rather than a purely mobile accessory. That distinction matters for your procurement filters: if you’re specifying by width and depth alone without flagging mobile versus fixed, you’ll end up comparing units that solve different problems.
Nominal drawer height is usually quoted in millimetres or in “HE” units on European spec sheets, where 2 HE typically equates to around 100mm nominal. The usable internal height always comes in slightly under that figure once you allow for the drawer’s own construction.
For a typical 430×500mm pedestal, the Bene data sheet shows how usable internal depth runs measurably shorter than the 500mm external figure once carcass walls and runner hardware are accounted for. Always request that usable figure in writing before signing off a bulk order.
Small additions on a spec sheet have a habit of becoming big problems on site. A cushioned or upholstered top pad can add several millimetres to overall height, which matters if the pedestal needs to sit level with a desk surface for use as a seat or extra worksurface. Handle style affects protrusion too.
Get this wrong and you’re reordering, or worse, cutting into flooring after the fact. Four checks before the fit-out crew leaves site:
Pro Tip: Send one sample pedestal down the actual fit-out route, lifts, corridors, doorways, before confirming a bulk order. A unit that fits under the desk can still be too wide for the lift that has to deliver forty of them.
Pedestal suppliers stock pedestals across the narrow, standard, and desk-height bands covered here, with drawer configurations from simple stationery storage through to lever-arch filing. Rather than guessing from a photo, procurement teams can request a technical datasheet or a physical sample before committing to volume orders. For complex layouts, hybrid floors, mixed desk depths, tight aisle widths, it’s worth getting written confirmation of dimensions before the fit-out date is fixed.
— Furniture
Once you know your width, depth, and height bands, the fastest route to sign-off is a proper spec sheet rather than a product photo. Furnitureforbusiness’s office storage range lets you filter pedestals by dimension and request a technical datasheet directly, which is the single best way to avoid a costly reorder on a bulk purchase.
If you’re planning a wider fit-out, it’s worth checking desk depths and aprons on the office desks range at the same time, since pedestal fit depends as much on the desk as it does on the pedestal itself. Furnitureforbusiness offers bulk pricing for larger orders and free delivery to the UK mainland as standard, so there’s no separate negotiation needed once you’re ready to move from spec sheet to purchase order. Request a sample unit or a datasheet through the office storage range before you place a multi-unit order, it’s the quickest way to get final sign-off without a site visit.
The dimension bands and drawer figures throughout this guide draw on manufacturer cutsheets, including the Bene pedestal data sheet for width, depth, and nominal-versus-usable drawer sizing, and the Knoll Anchor cutsheet for mobile and desk-height variants. Drawer configuration examples come from a Diamond Office product listing. For procurement documentation and tax guidance on bulk business purchases, Gov remain the primary UK reference.
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