office wall cabinet depth

[scott vroom]

I'm building some office cabinets (uppers & lowers) for a home office. The desk will be 27" deep. I want the wall cabinets to be deeper than the std 12" and am considering 14" or 15" deep. These will be face frame cabinets with overlay doors (so a 15" deep cabinet would protrude 15-3/4" from the wall including the doors). Any thoughts on ergonomics that I may be overlooking? Would the 15" cabinets just look odd produding that far over the desk?

I know this is probably a trivial decision....just looking for things I may not be considering before I power up the saw :)

[scott vroom]

14" it is.

[John Sanford]

Why more projection? A LOT of ergonomic's research has gone in to office furniture, so for most folks and circumstances, sticking with the standards makes sense. If you're tall, or have a long reach or the like, then the greater depth may have value, otherwise reaching things in the back becomes more difficult, and the cabinets can "intrude on your space, man." (I don't know if they'll also harsh your mellow though, some things are beyond the ken of men.) I'd suggest mocking up a workstation using a desk/table and some cardboard boxes, and then spend a while working at the desk to get a sense of whether or not the cabinets are crowding you.

[scott vroom]

I suspect that economics more than ergonomics is the reason most wall cabs are 12": manufacturers can get four 12"slices off a 4' sheet of plywood.

[Bill Huber]

I would go with the 15" depth of usable space.
That way you can put a package of 14" paper in the cabinet and still shut the door.

[glenn bradley]

There is quite a bit of science involved in our "standard" workstation ergonomics. However, I put magazines in 3 ring binders which will not fit in "standard" depth uppers. Build to your needs my friend.

[Jim Becker]

The upper cabinets over my credenza are based on a 15" total depth including the face frames.

[Jim Rimmer]

I waited to answer until I was in my office at work. I have a hutch/credenza behind my desk. The credenza is 20" deep and the hutch that sits on it is 13 1/2" deep including the doors. My experience with desks is that the most common sizes are are 30" and 36" deep.