The reception desk is usually the first piece of millwork a visitor sees. It presents the brand to guests and is a working station for the staff behind it, so layout, accessibility, technology, materials and delivery all need to be settled before the desk is drawn. Here is what to plan for an office, building lobby, clinic or showroom.
Most reception desks have a raised transaction counter on the visitor side and a lower work surface on the staff side. The raised counter gives visitors somewhere to sign or set down a bag, and hides the clutter of the workstation. The work surface sits at desk height for seated work, or is height-adjustable. The visitor side and the staff side should line up at the accessible section so staff can serve a seated visitor face to face.
In Ontario, a reception counter where visitors are served is a service counter under the province’s Design of Public Spaces Standards. New service counters need a section usable by a person seated in a mobility aid, at a suitable height, with knee clearance where a forward approach is required and clear floor space in front. Our cash wrap guide covers the requirements in more detail. Treat the accessible section as part of the design from the start, so it looks like a deliberate part of the desk rather than an add-on.
Reception desks are where clients often choose their most visible materials: veneer, solid surface, quartz or stone, metal, back-lit panels or a feature logo. A few points to plan:
For visually important desks, a sample board or a partial mockup lets the client approve finishes and details before production; see mockups and first articles.
A reception desk is often too large to deliver in one piece, so it is built in sections that fit through doors, corridors and elevators, then joined on site. Check the delivery route, including the elevator cab size and any tight turns, before the desk is drawn, and place the joints where they are least visible, often at changes in material or plane. Curved desks and long stone tops need the most planning. See our field measuring guide.
Desks are usually fixed to the floor or a wall so they cannot shift, especially with heavy tops or tall back panels. Feature walls behind the desk, with signage or shelving, need backing in the wall; see wall blocking for millwork.
We build custom reception desks in our Vaughan plant, handling CNC cutting, finishing, solid surface and lighting provisions in-house, and working with partners for metal, glass and quartz. Our drafting team issues shop drawings for review before production, showing equipment, cable routes, joints and the accessible section. See commercial office millwork, or send us your drawings.
Most have a raised transaction counter on the visitor side and a lower work surface at desk height on the staff side, plus a lower accessible section where a seated visitor can be served face to face.
A reception counter where visitors are served is a service counter under Ontario’s Design of Public Spaces Standards, so a new desk needs a section usable by a person seated in a mobility aid, with knee clearance where a forward approach is required.
In sections sized to fit through the doors, corridors and elevators on the delivery route, then joined on site. Joints are placed where they are least visible, often at changes in material or plane.
Solid surface, quartz or a durable high-pressure laminate. Solid surface can be repaired if damaged; quartz is very hard and stain resistant but heavy, so the desk structure has to be designed to carry it.
Bring power and data in through a floor box or wall feed, run cables through trays, grommets and vertical chases inside the desk, and provide removable access panels so IT staff can reach them.
