diff --git a/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts b/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
index be7f322a371..86e2dc5ee10 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/repos-create.test.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 import { describe, expect, it, vi, beforeEach } from 'vitest'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
-import { DEFAULT_REPO_BADGE_COLOR } from '../../shared/constants'
+import { DEFAULT_REPO_BADGE_COLOR, getDefaultWorkspaceDir } from '../../shared/constants'
 
 const {
   handleMock,
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ const {
     addRepo: vi.fn(),
     removeProject: vi.fn(),
     getRepo: vi.fn(),
-    updateRepo: vi.fn()
+    updateRepo: vi.fn(),
+    getSettings: vi.fn()
   },
   mkdirMock: vi.fn(),
   accessMock: vi.fn(),
@@ -107,6 +108,8 @@ describe('repos:create', () => {
   }
   const tmpPath = (...segments: string[]): string => join('/tmp', ...segments)
   const defaultProjectParent = join('/Users/alice', 'orca', 'projects')
+  // The value a fresh install seeds Settings -> Workspace Directory with.
+  const defaultWorkspaceDir = getDefaultWorkspaceDir('/Users/alice')
 
   const callCreate = (args: CreateArgs): Promise<CreateResult> => {
     const handler = handlers.get('repos:create')
@@ -132,6 +135,7 @@ describe('repos:create', () => {
     removeHandlerMock.mockReset()
     mockStore.getRepos.mockReset().mockReturnValue([])
     mockStore.addRepo.mockReset()
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReset().mockReturnValue({ workspaceDir: defaultWorkspaceDir })
     mockWindow.webContents.send.mockReset()
     invalidateAuthorizedRootsCacheMock.mockReset()
     prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepoMock.mockReset().mockResolvedValue(undefined)
@@ -156,6 +160,52 @@ describe('repos:create', () => {
     await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe(defaultProjectParent)
   })
 
+  // ── create-project default parent (orca#14767) ────────────────────
+
+  it('defaults new projects to a configured Workspace Directory', async () => {
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({ workspaceDir: 'J:\\PROJECTS' })
+    await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe('J:\\PROJECTS')
+  })
+
+  it('prefers the local host override over the client-default workspace directory', async () => {
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({
+      workspaceDir: 'J:\\PROJECTS',
+      hostSettingOverrides: { local: { defaultWorktreeLocation: 'D:\\code' } }
+    })
+    await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe('D:\\code')
+  })
+
+  it.each([undefined, '', '   '])(
+    'falls back to ~/orca/projects for a blank workspace directory: %p',
+    async (workspaceDir) => {
+      mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({ workspaceDir })
+      await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe(defaultProjectParent)
+    }
+  )
+
+  // Why: workspaceDir is seeded, never blank, so the seeded value is not a user
+  // choice. Honouring it would move every existing user's new projects into the
+  // worktree root, where each project would host its own worktrees inside itself.
+  it('ignores the seeded workspace directory that the user never changed', async () => {
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({ workspaceDir: defaultWorkspaceDir })
+    await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe(defaultProjectParent)
+  })
+
+  it('ignores the seeded workspace directory spelled with a trailing separator', async () => {
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({ workspaceDir: `${defaultWorkspaceDir}/` })
+    await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe(defaultProjectParent)
+  })
+
+  it('ignores a Windows seeded workspace directory regardless of drive-letter case', async () => {
+    homedirMock.mockReturnValue('C:\\Users\\alice')
+    mockStore.getSettings.mockReturnValue({
+      workspaceDir: 'c:\\users\\alice\\orca\\workspaces'
+    })
+    await expect(callDefaultCreateProjectParent()).resolves.toBe(
+      join('C:\\Users\\alice', 'orca', 'projects')
+    )
+  })
+
   it('unregisters any previously-registered repos:create handler', () => {
     // registerRepoHandlers must call removeHandler('repos:create') before
     // ipcMain.handle to avoid the "second handler for same channel" throw
diff --git a/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts b/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
index f0ab4f91b08..35dfab5d7ee 100644
--- a/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
+++ b/src/main/ipc/repos/repo-creation-handlers.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@ import { homedir } from 'node:os'
 import { isAbsolute, join } from 'node:path'
 import type { Store } from '../../persistence'
 import type { Repo } from '../../../shared/repo-types'
-import { DEFAULT_REPO_BADGE_COLOR } from '../../../shared/constants'
+import { DEFAULT_REPO_BADGE_COLOR, getDefaultWorkspaceDir } from '../../../shared/constants'
+import { normalizeRuntimePathForComparison } from '../../../shared/cross-platform-path'
+import { LOCAL_EXECUTION_HOST_ID } from '../../../shared/execution-host'
+import { getEffectiveHostSetting } from '../../../shared/host-setting-overrides'
 import { gitExecFileAsync } from '../../git/runner'
 import { detectRepoIconAndUpstream } from '../../repo-icon-autodetect'
 import { prepareLocalWorktreeRootForRepo } from '../../worktree-root-preparation'
@@ -31,13 +34,37 @@ async function isGitAvailable(): Promise<boolean> {
   }
 }
 
-function getDefaultCreateProjectParent(): string {
-  return join(homedir(), 'orca', 'projects')
+/**
+ * Where the "Create new project" Location field starts. Settings -> Workspace
+ * Directory owns this once the user has actually set it, including a per-host
+ * override for the local host, which is the only scope this handler answers for.
+ *
+ * Why the untouched default does not count: `workspaceDir` is never blank -- new
+ * installs seed it with `~/orca/workspaces`. Treating that seeded value as a choice
+ * would silently relocate every existing user's projects into the worktree root,
+ * where each project would then host its own worktrees inside its working tree.
+ */
+function getDefaultCreateProjectParent(store: Store): string {
+  const home = homedir()
+  const settings = store.getSettings()
+  const configured = getEffectiveHostSetting(
+    settings,
+    LOCAL_EXECUTION_HOST_ID,
+    'defaultWorktreeLocation',
+    settings.workspaceDir ?? ''
+  ).trim()
+  const isUntouchedDefault =
+    normalizeRuntimePathForComparison(configured) ===
+    normalizeRuntimePathForComparison(getDefaultWorkspaceDir(home))
+  if (configured && !isUntouchedDefault) {
+    return configured
+  }
+  return join(home, 'orca', 'projects')
 }
 
 export function registerRepoCreationHandlers(mainWindow: BrowserWindow, store: Store): void {
   ipcMain.handle('repos:isGitAvailable', () => isGitAvailable())
-  ipcMain.handle('repos:getDefaultCreateProjectParent', () => getDefaultCreateProjectParent())
+  ipcMain.handle('repos:getDefaultCreateProjectParent', () => getDefaultCreateProjectParent(store))
 
   ipcMain.handle(
     'repos:add',
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.test.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.test.ts
index 6b1a7204fb8..6b1035feea2 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.test.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.test.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,18 @@ describe('create project defaults', () => {
         defaultParent: '/Users/alice/orca/projects'
       })
     ).toBe('~/orca/projects')
+    expect(
+      formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
+        parent: '/home/alice/orca/projects',
+        defaultParent: '/home/alice/orca/projects'
+      })
+    ).toBe('~/orca/projects')
+    expect(
+      formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
+        parent: 'C:\\Users\\alice\\orca\\projects',
+        defaultParent: 'C:\\Users\\alice\\orca\\projects'
+      })
+    ).toBe('~/orca/projects')
     expect(
       formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
         parent: '',
@@ -101,4 +113,25 @@ describe('create project defaults', () => {
       })
     ).toBe('host folder not selected')
   })
+
+  it('keeps a configured Workspace Directory verbatim in the summary', () => {
+    expect(
+      formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
+        parent: 'J:\\PROJECTS',
+        defaultParent: 'J:\\PROJECTS'
+      })
+    ).toBe('J:\\PROJECTS')
+    expect(
+      formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
+        parent: '/data/orca/projects',
+        defaultParent: '/data/orca/projects'
+      })
+    ).toBe('/data/orca/projects')
+    expect(
+      formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
+        parent: 'D:\\code\\orca\\projects',
+        defaultParent: 'D:\\code\\orca\\projects'
+      })
+    ).toBe('D:\\code\\orca\\projects')
+  })
 })
diff --git a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.ts b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.ts
index 9197a8a7d91..f5f65c853c3 100644
--- a/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.ts
+++ b/src/renderer/src/components/sidebar/create-project-defaults.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,15 @@ function pathSeparatorFor(pathValue: string): '/' | '\\' {
   return pathValue.includes('\\') ? '\\' : '/'
 }
 
+/** True only for `{home}/orca/projects` on the usual OS home layouts. A configured
+ *  directory that merely ends in `orca/projects` (e.g. `/data/orca/projects`) must
+ *  stay verbatim — the `~` shorthand would otherwise lie. */
+function isHomeProjectsFallback(pathValue: string): boolean {
+  return /^(?:\/(?:Users|home)\/[^/]+|[A-Za-z]:[\\/]Users[\\/][^\\/]+)[\\/]orca[\\/]projects$/.test(
+    pathValue
+  )
+}
+
 function trimTrailingSeparators(pathValue: string): string {
   const trimmed = pathValue.replace(/[\\/]+$/, '')
   if (trimmed === '' && pathValue.startsWith('/')) {
@@ -81,7 +90,13 @@ export function formatCreateProjectParentSummary({
   if (!trimmedParent) {
     return runtimeEnvironmentId || isRemoteHost ? missingServerLocationLabel : missingLocationLabel
   }
-  if (defaultParent && trimmedParent === defaultParent && !runtimeEnvironmentId && !isRemoteHost) {
+  if (
+    defaultParent &&
+    trimmedParent === defaultParent &&
+    !runtimeEnvironmentId &&
+    !isRemoteHost &&
+    isHomeProjectsFallback(trimmedParent)
+  ) {
     return '~/orca/projects'
   }
   return trimmedParent
diff --git a/src/shared/constants.ts b/src/shared/constants.ts
index 5a8fae51a07..4683c93c004 100644
--- a/src/shared/constants.ts
+++ b/src/shared/constants.ts
@@ -162,7 +162,9 @@ export function getDefaultOnboardingState(): OnboardingState {
   }
 }
 
-function getDefaultWorkspaceDir(homeDir: string): string {
+/** The stock worktree root. Exported so callers can tell an untouched default apart
+ *  from a workspace directory the user actually chose. */
+export function getDefaultWorkspaceDir(homeDir: string): string {
   const separator = homeDir.includes('\\') ? '\\' : '/'
   const trimmedHomeDir = homeDir.replace(/[\\/]+$/, '')
   return [trimmedHomeDir, 'orca', 'workspaces'].join(separator)