The Monday call with the Perth team starts, and half the room is out of shot. One person is lit from behind by the window, another sits a head lower than everyone else, and the far end hears an echo. A well-planned video conference room fixes most of this with the right table, chairs, screen position and a few soft surfaces.
This guide works through the room piece by piece, with seven products and their stated specs. If the table is the first thing to replace, start with our boardroom tables.
How to lay out a video conference room
Put the screen on one short wall and set the table end-on to it, so every seat faces the camera. Leave the end nearest the screen empty, or whoever sits there blocks the view. Rectangular tables work well. Boat-shaped tables narrow towards the ends and D-end tables round them off, which helps people along the sides see the screen and each other.
The Casnan Potenza Boardroom Table (2400mm x 1200mm) (from $1,709) seats 8 to 10 people at a single-piece melamine top with a shark-nose edge. It stands on black and chrome legs with aluminium feet, and you can order it with or without a cable tray. The table is 2400 x 1200 x 750mm and carries a 5 year warranty.
For video, everyone should be in frame without leaning in, so do not oversize the table for the room. Our guide to boardroom table sizes and how many people each one seats covers smaller and larger rooms.
Chairs that seat everyone at an even height
On screen, a row of faces at different heights looks untidy, and the shortest person can vanish behind a laptop. Matching height-adjustable chairs fix that, because each person can bring their eyes to roughly the same level. The Catania Boardroom Chair (from $435) has a seat height of 460mm to 510mm, with adjustable seat and back angle and weight tension.
Its knee tilt mechanism locks in 3 positions, so people can hold the chair upright for a call. Fixed arms sit on a black powder coated frame over a 660mm heavy duty black aluminium base. It takes up to 130kg, comes in Terracotta, Black PU or Black Mesh, and carries a 5 Year Warranty.
Mounting the screen: a wall bracket or a mobile cabinet
Mount the screen so its centre sits a little above seated eye level, with the camera centred just above or below it. The Horizon TV Mount ($59) is a tilting wall mount for screens from 42 to 90 inches, with a 70kg load capacity. It holds the screen 48mm off the wall, tilts from 0° to -12° and fits 600mm x 400mm mounting hole patterns. It carries a 10 Year warranty.
If you cannot drill the walls, or the room changes use during the week, a mobile unit does the same job. The Rover Mobile TV Cabinet (from $3,334) is designed to hold a 55-inch screen, with two fixed-height shelves and soft-close hinges below. It is wrapped in recycled acoustic board with a stated 0.9 NRC rating, around a 50x50mm maple hardwood frame. NRC rates how much sound a surface absorbs, from 0 for none to 1 for nearly all.
The cabinet rolls on four large castors with built-in brakes and comes 1620mm or 1920mm high, both 1358mm wide. It needs assembly with tools and carries a 10 Year Warranty.
Power at the table and a credenza for the equipment
Laptops come to most calls, so put power within reach of the table rather than on a far wall. The Flip Boxes (from $186) sit flush in the table top, with configurations such as 2 GPO with 3 data, 2 GPO with 2 USB, or 4 GPO. They come in white or black, link to a cable basket, adjoining power rail, wall starter or power pole kit, and carry a 2 year warranty.
Order the table with its optional cable tray so leads run under the top instead of across the floor. The screen wall then needs storage for the room computer, spare cables, remotes and adaptors.
The Casnan Potenza Credenza ($1,425) has 2 doors on the left and right and 2 filing drawers in the middle, in matt Casnan / White melamine on aluminium feet. It measures 1600mm wide, 425mm deep and 917mm high, and carries a 5 Year Warranty. It comes from the same Casnan Potenza line as the table above.
Acoustic panels to stop calls sounding hollow
Hard rooms sound hollow to the people on the other end, because the microphone picks up reflections as well as voices. Treat the side walls and the wall behind the table, which is also your backdrop on camera. The Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel ($196) measures 2730mm x 600mm x 21mm, with 12mm MDF slats bonded to a 9mm polyester fibre base. Its page says it absorbs incident sound, dampens reverberation and reduces ambient noise.
The slats are 27mm wide with a 13mm gap, in White Oak, Mid Oak or Ebony veneer. Panels mount on walls or ceilings and carry a 10-Year Warranty. Our acoustic wall panels range adds flat and coloured options.
The table below sums up each product's role in a video conference room.
| Role in the room | Product | Stated spec to check |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting table | Casnan Potenza Boardroom Table (2400mm x 1200mm) | Seats 8-10, optional cable tray |
| Seating | Catania Boardroom Chair | Seat height 460mm to 510mm |
| Screen on the wall | Horizon TV Mount | 42 to 90 inch screens, 70kg load, 48mm off the wall |
| Screen on wheels | Rover Mobile TV Cabinet | Holds a 55-inch screen, 0.9 NRC acoustic board |
| Power at the table | Flip Boxes | Sits flush in the table top, white or black |
| Equipment storage | Casnan Potenza Credenza | 1600 x 425 x 917mm, 2 doors and 2 filing drawers |
| Echo control | Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel | 2730 x 600 x 21mm, wall or ceiling |
Video calls from Australian offices
Australian teams often call across time zones. While NSW and Victoria are on daylight saving, Perth is three hours behind Sydney and Melbourne, and Brisbane is one hour behind. A shared room can be booked from early morning to evening, so comfortable chairs and good light matter all day.
Strong sun is the other local issue. West-facing glass can wash out faces on camera in the afternoon, so keep windows beside the camera rather than behind the people on screen, and fit blinds where you can.
Deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance, and each product page has a Delivery line naming its metro cities. The Casnan Potenza table and credenza and the Catania chair go to metro Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, but not SA. The Horizon mount, Rover cabinet, Flip Boxes and Wooden Slat panel pages also list metro Adelaide.
Video conference rooms — frequently asked questions
What furniture do you need for a video conference room?
A video conference room needs a table set end-on to the screen wall, matching height-adjustable chairs, a wall mount or mobile cabinet for the screen, power at the table and storage for equipment. Acoustic panels on bare walls stop calls sounding hollow.
What is the best table shape for video calls?
A rectangular, boat-shaped or D-end table set end-on to the screen works best, because every seat then faces the camera. Leave the end nearest the screen free so nobody blocks the view.
Where should the camera go in a meeting room?
The camera should sit at the screen, centred and just above or below it, close to seated eye level. People then look towards the camera whenever they look at the screen.
How many people fit at a 2400mm boardroom table?
The Casnan Potenza Boardroom Table, at 2400mm x 1200mm, seats 8 to 10 people according to its product page. For video calls, seat people along the sides and keep the screen end free.
Shop the range
Every product in this guide is listed below in the order it appears. Our meeting and boardroom chairs range has more seating for the room.
- Casnan Potenza Boardroom Table (2400mm x 1200mm) (from $1,709): a table for 8 to 10 people with an optional cable tray
- Catania Boardroom Chair (from $435): a height-adjustable boardroom chair that lines faces up on camera
- Horizon TV Mount ($59): a slim tilting wall mount for large meeting room screens
- Rover Mobile TV Cabinet (from $3,334): a mobile screen cabinet with acoustic board for rooms you cannot drill
- Flip Boxes (from $186): flush table power, with USB or data options, so laptops charge during calls
- Casnan Potenza Credenza ($1,425): closed storage under the screen for the room computer and cables
- Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel ($196): a timber slat acoustic panel that doubles as a camera backdrop
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
