How to choose office furniture: a buyer's guide for International City, Dubai

Furnishing an office is one of those jobs that looks simple until the first delivery arrives. The chairs are comfortable, but the desks are a different shade. The meeting table fits the room, but not the lift. The quote looked cheap, until assembly and delivery were added.

If your office is in or near International City, Dubai, you have an advantage: you can see and sit in furniture before you buy it, then have it delivered across the UAE. This guide walks through how to choose office furniture in a sensible order: rooms first, then measurements, then chairs, desks, meeting furniture and storage, then the budget, the showroom visit, the quote and the delivery. It uses the published prices and policies of one local supplier, VOFFOV, whose showroom is in Dragon Mart 1, International City, as a worked example. Prices are as listed on its site on 11 November 2026, including VAT.

Start with rooms and headcount, not the catalogue

The most common mistake is to start in a catalogue and fall for a desk. Start with how the office works instead. VOFFOV's own quotation checklist splits a company office into zones, and it is a useful template whichever supplier you use:

• Staff work area: workstations, task chairs and pedestals.
• Manager rooms: a manager or executive desk, visitor chairs and storage.
• Meeting room: a meeting table, meeting chairs and cable access.
• Reception: a reception desk, visitor seating and a coffee table.
• Storage: filing cabinets, tall cabinets and shelves.
• Lounge or breakout: sofas, lounge chairs and coffee tables.
• Delivery and assembly: site delivery, placement and installation.

Write down the headcount for each zone and how many hours a day people will sit there. A chair used for a full working day needs more thought than one used for a weekly meeting. Buying one item at a time, as the checklist puts it, "becomes risky for companies because sizes, finishes and delivery timing may not match".

Measure the room, and the route in

Measure every room wall to wall, then mark doors, windows, sockets, screens and anything fixed to the walls. Then measure the route the furniture takes: the building entrance, the lift (height, width and depth), corridor turns and the office door.

For desks and workstations, compare the room with the product's footprint. A four-person benching workstation with glass privacy panels, for example, is listed at W2400 x D1200 x H750 mm, before you add the space for four chairs to pull back.

For meeting tables, VOFFOV's size guide gives two working rules: allow about 70 to 80 cm of table edge per seated person, and keep at least 90 cm of clearance around the table. Its starting sizes:

A long tabletop that fits the meeting room can still fail at the lift, so ask whether it comes in sections.

How to choose office chairs

Chairs are where comfort, health and budget meet, and they are the item people notice first.

Match the material to the hours. For long working days in the UAE, VOFFOV's chair guide recommends mesh backs for airflow, and leather chairs for executive rooms and client-facing spaces where appearance matters more and sitting sessions are shorter.

Check the adjustments. A chair for full days should let you set:

• seat height, so your feet rest flat on the floor with your knees at a natural angle;
• tilt, so you can change posture during the day;
• lumbar support for the lower back;
• armrests, which on VOFFOV's ergonomic chairs adjust from 1D up to 6D;
• a headrest, if the user reclines or works long hours.

Size the chair to the person. Product pages often give dimensions and a guide by height and weight; compare those numbers with the chair you sit in now.

Know the after-sales terms. At VOFFOV, chairs can be returned within 30 days, and a VOFFOV chair defective in material or workmanship is repaired or replaced within one year of purchase, under the terms of its warranty policy.

For a sense of price, VOFFOV lists a mesh chair with a 3D adjustable headrest and armrests at Dhs 620 and a high-back leather executive swivel chair at Dhs 730.

How to choose an office desk or workstation

Single desks suit small offices and private rooms. Look for built-in storage if there is no room for a separate cabinet; a single pedestal desk is listed at Dhs 550.

Executive and L-shaped desks give a manager space for a screen, paperwork and a visitor across the desk. VOFFOV's L Shape Executive Desk OS-106-18 is listed at Dhs 2,000.

Workstations put two, four or more people on one frame. They save floor space and keep a team together. Decide between face-to-face and side-by-side layouts, and whether you need privacy panels. Listed examples: a two-seater face-to-face workstation at Dhs 1,000 and a four-person face-to-face workstation at Dhs 1,700.

Before you order, decide where the cables run, and where each person's pedestal goes. Measure twice: at VOFFOV, desks, sofas and cabinets cannot be returned, only chairs.

Meeting rooms, training rooms and reception

Choose the meeting table from the room and the seat count above, then choose the shape. Round tables make four-person discussions easier in a small room; rectangular tables suit screens and formal meetings; boat-shaped tables suit larger boardrooms. If people will plug in laptops, plan the cable box before the table is made or delivered. A circular meeting table is listed at Dhs 525.

A training room needs tables that can be arranged in rows and moved. A two-person side-by-side training table is listed at Dhs 455.

Reception is the first thing a visitor sees. A one-person reception desk such as the Rectangular 1 Person Laminate Reception Desk LI-Q24 is listed at Dhs 1,800; add visitor seating and a coffee table so the waiting area works.

The storage people forget

Storage is easy to leave off the list, and expensive to add after move-in because it rarely matches. VOFFOV's checklist names the items that most often go missing:

• mobile pedestals under desks;
• visitor chairs for manager rooms;
• filing cabinets for admin and HR;
• coffee tables for reception or lounge areas;
• cable boxes or trays for meeting tables;
• extra chairs for training or interview rooms;
• storage for the pantry, printer or stationery areas.

As a guide to price, a three-drawer lockable mobile pedestal is listed at Dhs 300 and a two-door vertical filing cabinet at Dhs 550.

Set a budget you can defend

Add up the zones, not just the headline items. VOFFOV's quotation checklist gives planning ranges for a complete office package in Dubai: about AED 12,000 to 25,000 for a 5-person office, AED 20,000 to 45,000 for 10 people and AED 35,000 to 85,000 or more for 20 people, with larger offices quoted as projects. As the checklist itself says, these are planning ranges only: your own list, quantities and building decide the real figure.

Three things change the total more than buyers expect:

1. VAT and invoices. Check whether prices include VAT. VOFFOV's do, and it issues a tax invoice when you send your company's TRN.
2. Delivery. Fees usually depend on weight and address; at VOFFOV the shipping fee is calculated at checkout, addresses far from the city centre cost more, and building fees such as a gate pass are paid by the customer.
3. Payment terms. Cash on delivery is often limited. At VOFFOV it covers orders up to AED 2,800 of office chairs only; other orders are paid before delivery.

Visit a showroom in International City

Photos rarely show how a chair feels after an hour, or what a laminate finish looks like next to the floor. That is the reason to visit before you sign. VOFFOV, an office furniture supplier with a showroom in Dragon Mart 1, is at Shop No. JB01 in International City. It is open 10 am to 10 pm from Saturday to Wednesday, until 11 pm on Thursday, and from 2 pm to 11 pm on Friday. It also has a second Dubai showroom in Oud Metha, so ask which location has your shortlisted model on display before you travel.

Go prepared:

• Bring your room measurements and the product link for each item you want to see.
• Sit in each chair for a few minutes and adjust it the way you would at your desk.
• Check the finish of desks and cabinets side by side, under the showroom's light.
• Ask about stock for the exact colour and quantity you need.

Keep the shortlist organised before you go. Save each product page you are considering in one folder per room, and add the size, finish and price to the bookmark's note, so the comparison is on your phone when you are standing in the showroom. Our guide on how to organize your bookmarks so you can actually find them shows a simple folder-and-tag setup that works well for this.

Ask for an itemised quote

A single total is not a quote you can compare. VOFFOV's checklist lists what each line should show:

When you ask, give the supplier the five things VOFFOV asks business buyers for: the model or intended function, the quantity and finish, the dimensions and configuration, the delivery address and required date, and the assembly and site conditions. And remember its warning that a product range is not a stock reservation: ask for a dated confirmation of the model and quantity.

Plan delivery and assembly

Agree the delivery date with the building as well as the supplier: towers and malls often need a booked lift or loading bay. At VOFFOV, orders ship from its UAE warehouse with its own delivery team, usually in 3 to 7 business days, and orders to Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm al-Quwain may take 7 to 10 days. Its checkout offers delivery with free assembly or fast delivery with free assembly, after which its Dubai team calls to arrange the time, and the packaging leaves with the team. If you would rather fetch a small order yourself, its Click & Collect service is free, from the warehouse the same or the next day.

A one-page checklist

• List every room and the headcount in each.
• Measure the rooms, the lift, the corridors and the doors.
• Choose chairs by hours of use, adjustments and size.
• Choose desks and workstations by layout, storage and cables.
• Size the meeting table from the seats and the clearance.
• Add the storage and small items people forget.
• Check VAT, delivery fees and payment terms.
• Visit a showroom with measurements and saved product links.
• Get an itemised quote and a dated stock confirmation.
• Book the delivery with the building.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose office furniture for a small office?

List the rooms and the headcount, measure the space, then buy the essentials for each zone together: desks and chairs for the staff area, storage, and a small meeting table if you need one. Buying as one plan keeps sizes, finishes and delivery dates matching.

Is mesh or leather better for office chairs in Dubai?

For long working days, mesh is usually more comfortable in the heat because air passes through the back. Leather suits executive rooms and client-facing spaces where people sit for shorter periods.

What size meeting table do I need for six people?

As a starting point, a rectangular table of 180 to 220 cm, or a round table of 150 to 180 cm, with at least 90 cm of clearance around it for chairs and walking space.

Can I return office furniture after delivery?

It depends on the supplier and the item, so ask before you order. At VOFFOV, chairs can be returned within 30 days, but desks, sofas and cabinets cannot be returned.

Where can I see office furniture in International City?

VOFFOV's showroom is in Dragon Mart 1, Shop No. JB01, International City, Dubai. Check which location has your model on display before you go, and bring your measurements.