Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 29, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Numerators:
Numerator for both basic and diluted EPS attributable to HNI Corporation net income	$ 11,421	$ 7,025	$ 12,829	$ 6,884
Denominators:
Denominator for basic EPS weighted-average common shares outstanding	45,412,668	45,419,564	45,283,716	45,285,545
Potentially dilutive shares from stock-based compensation plans	697,000	525,000	608,000	529,000
Denominator for diluted EPS	46,109,563	45,944,815	45,891,246	45,814,296
Earnings per share - basic	$ 0.25	$ 0.15	$ 0.28	$ 0.15
Earnings per share - diluted	$ 0.25	$ 0.15	$ 0.28	$ 0.15
Earnings Per Share, Diluted, Other Disclosures [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	880,657	1,936,382	1,303,625	1,871,937