Earnings Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jul. 02, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jul. 02, 2011
Numerators:
Numerator for both basic and diluted EPS attributable to HNI Corporation net income	$ 7,025	$ 4,657	$ 6,884	$ 2,902
Denominators:
Denominator for basic EPS weighted-average common shares outstanding	45,419,564	44,745,474	45,285,545	44,799,013
Potentially dilutive shares from stock-based compensation plans	525,000	922,000	529,000	934,000
Denominator for diluted EPS	45,944,815	45,667,453	45,814,296	45,732,598
Earnings per share - basic	$ 0.15	$ 0.10	$ 0.15	$ 0.06
Earnings per share - diluted	$ 0.15	$ 0.10	$ 0.15	$ 0.06
Earnings Per Share, Diluted, Other Disclosures [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	1,936,382	1,783,651	1,871,937	1,159,965