The new desks went in on Saturday. On Monday the first drawer unit rolls up to its desk and stops dead against the edge of the top, 5mm too tall to go under. Mobile pedestals look like the simplest furniture in the office, yet they share its tightest space with your knees, the desk frame and sometimes a moving top.
This guide covers mobile or fixed, drawer layouts, fit, steel or laminate and locks, using stated sizes from the pedestals and drawer units range.
Mobile pedestals versus fixed desk pedestals
A pedestal is the small drawer unit under or beside a desk, usually with shallow personal drawers and often a deeper file drawer for hanging folders.
A fixed pedestal attaches directly to the desk and hangs clear of the floor. It cannot wander, but it stays on one side of one desk. The Rapid Worker Fixed Pedestal 3 Drawer ($144) has three lockable personal drawers on metal runners and no file drawer. It is 465mm wide and 454mm high, in a 447mm depth for Rapid Worker straight and corner desks or 370mm for the return desk.
A mobile pedestal stands on castors and attaches to nothing, so it can sit left or right or follow its owner to a new desk. The GO Steel Mobile Pedestal ($197) is the standard pattern: two personal drawers over a file drawer that takes foolscap folders side to side. It is 460mm wide, 472mm deep and 610mm high, with a 100kg weight rating and a 10 year warranty, and it is delivered assembled.
Two drawers plus file, or all file drawers?
Two personal drawers plus a file drawer suits most desk workers, and it is the safe layout when you are buying for a whole floor.
Paper-heavy roles such as accounts and payroll can fill one file drawer quickly. The Steelco 2 Drawer Classic Mobile Pedestal ($261) gives both drawers to suspension files, on full extension ball bearing runners. It is 470mm wide, 515mm deep and 630mm high, with lockable front castors, Blue Tick AFRDI approval and a 10-year warranty. The trade-off is small items, which end up loose in the bottom of a file drawer.
Whichever layout you choose, look for a fifth wheel. A loaded file drawer pulled right out puts its weight ahead of the front castors, and the extra wheel helps stop the unit tipping forward. All five mobile pedestals here have one.
Will it fit under the desk? Height, depth and knee room
Measure from the floor to the underside of the desktop, then look for any rail below that. Most fixed office desks stand between about 710mm and 750mm high, and a 25mm top is common, which leaves roughly 685mm to 725mm. Our guide to standard office desk sizes and heights lists real measurements.
The mobile pedestals here run from 527mm to 690mm high. The tallest is the Rapid Worker Mobile Pedestal - 3 Drawer ($239): 465mm wide, 447mm deep and 690mm high, in Beech or Ironstone melamine with two standard drawers, a file drawer and a lock. Rapid Worker desks are 730mm high with a 25mm top, so it rolls under its own range with 15mm to spare. Under a 710mm desk with the same top, it is 5mm too tall.
Depth is rarely the problem, unless a modesty panel or cable tray sits at the back of a 600mm deep desk. Width is the measurement you feel every day. A 460mm pedestal under a 1200mm desk leaves 740mm, less the desk's own legs, for a chair and two knees.
A slimline unit gives some of that back. The GO Steel Slimline Mobile Pedestal ($197) is 300mm wide, 472mm deep and 610mm high, returning 160mm of leg room against the standard GO Steel. To stay that narrow, it takes foolscap files back to front. That makes it the pick for the 900mm and 1200mm wide sizes in the office desks range.
Sit-stand desks, and a pedestal you can sit on
A height adjustable standing desk changes the sum, because the clearance moves. A 610mm pedestal that fits at your sitting height can meet the top or a frame crossbar when a shorter colleague lowers the desk.
The GO Steel Mobile Pedestal for Height-Adjustable Workstations ($197) is built low for that reason: 527mm high, 390mm wide and 472mm deep. Its page says it is designed for height adjustable workstations that meet the AS/NZS 4442:2018 height range. You get one personal drawer and one file drawer in 0.7mm steel, one drawer fewer than the standard unit.
A mobile pedestal can also be a seat. The Seat Cushion To Suit Standard Steel Mobile Pedestal ($104) is a 460mm by 475mm pad with 40mm of padding, upholstered to order in house fabrics. The pedestal is sold separately.
The cushion brings a standard pedestal to 660mm, far higher than a chair seat, so it suits a five-minute conversation and not a meeting. That 660mm also has to clear the underside of your desk.
Steel or laminate, locks, and the types compared
Steel pedestals cope well with knocks from chairs and vacuum cleaners. The four steel units here carry 10 year warranties, and three state that they arrive assembled. Laminate pedestals are melamine board, so they can match the desk. The Rapid Worker units come in Beech and Ironstone finishes with 5 year warranties, and their pages do not say assembled, so plan on building them.
On locks, master key locking, as on the GO Steel units, gives each pedestal its own key while one master key opens the series. Keyed alike, available to order on the standard GO Steel, means one key fits every unit. The Steelco has barrel exchange locks, with a digital lock option.
| Type | Example | W x D x H (mm) | Storage | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed, laminate | Rapid Worker Fixed 3 Drawer | 465 x 447 or 370 x 454 | 3 personal | $144 |
| Mobile, steel | GO Steel | 460 x 472 x 610 | 2 personal, 1 file | $197 |
| Mobile, all file | Steelco 2 Drawer Classic | 470 x 515 x 630 | 2 file | $261 |
| Mobile, laminate | Rapid Worker Mobile 3 Drawer | 465 x 447 x 690 | 2 standard, 1 file | $239 |
| Slimline, steel | GO Steel Slimline | 300 x 472 x 610 | Foolscap files back to front | $197 |
| Low height, steel | GO Steel Height-Adjustable | 390 x 472 x 527 | 1 personal, 1 file | $197 |
Foolscap files, shared desks and delivery day in Australian offices
Australian offices print on A4 but mostly hang it in foolscap suspension files, which are a little wider. The GO Steel and GO Steel Slimline pages both name foolscap.
In a hot-desking office, a mobile pedestal becomes the one thing that belongs to a person. It rolls to whichever desk is free, so the lock earns its keep.
If desks are on order for the new financial year, add the pedestals to the same order, because metro delivery is a flat charge per order. Deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance, and the Steelco arrives pre-assembled at 23.5kg, so it rolls to the lift on its own castors.
Mobile pedestals — frequently asked questions
What is a mobile pedestal?
A mobile pedestal is a small drawer unit on castors that sits under or beside a desk. Most have two personal drawers, one file drawer and a lock.
How tall is a mobile pedestal?
Most mobile pedestals are about 600mm to 630mm high. In this guide, heights run from 527mm for the low GO Steel to 690mm for the Rapid Worker.
Will a mobile pedestal fit under a standing desk?
It fits when the desk is raised, but it may not clear the top or frame at the lowest setting. Choose a low unit such as the 527mm GO Steel, or park the pedestal beside the desk.
Can you sit on a mobile pedestal?
You can sit on one briefly if it has a seat cushion made for it. The cushion in this guide adds a 40mm pad and brings a standard steel pedestal to 660mm high.
Shop the range
Browse every size and finish in pedestals and drawer units, or the wider office storage range when one file drawer is not enough.
- Rapid Worker Fixed Pedestal 3 Drawer ($144): Rapid Worker desks that need three lockable drawers off the floor
- GO Steel Mobile Pedestal ($197): the all-round steel choice for most desks, delivered assembled
- Steelco 2 Drawer Classic Mobile Pedestal ($261): paper-heavy roles that need two full file drawers at the desk
- Rapid Worker Mobile Pedestal - 3 Drawer ($239): a laminate match for the 730mm high Rapid Worker desks
- GO Steel Slimline Mobile Pedestal ($197): narrow desks and home offices where leg room comes first
- GO Steel Mobile Pedestal for Height-Adjustable Workstations ($197): sit-stand desks that need a pedestal only 527mm high
- Seat Cushion To Suit Standard Steel Mobile Pedestal ($104): turns a standard steel pedestal into a short-stay guest perch
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
