Think your small apartment doesn’t have enough space for a home office? Think again! You’ll be pleasantly surprised by these smart desk designs that cleverly work around the smallest of spaces. Whether you work from a kitchen, bedroom, or cupboard under the stairs, these unique and unconventional desk designs allow you to create a comfortable workspace just about anywhere.
Ladder Desks
Ladder desks (or leaning desks) are a space-saving solution for small home offices. These desks take up less space than traditional desks and have a sleek, modern design that is visually appealing. Despite the minimal design, ladder desks pack a lot of functions. The ladder design creates a spacious desk and comes with storage shelves above the table. They work well in narrow areas like hallways, living rooms and bedrooms with little space for a desk. Adding a ladder desk is definitely a great way to make use of vertical space in a small home.
Folding Desks
When you don’t have enough space for a work desk at home, improvise with a folding desk. These desks fold away after use, and are a perfect solution for studio apartments and small homes. Freestanding folding desks can be stowed away or pushed under a bed after use, while wall-mounted folding desks turn flat and hang flush against the wall.
Folding desks are extremely useful in small spaces and shared homes, allowing you to reclaim space when you’re done using them. You can add a wall-mounted folding desk to a living room, and combine it with a rolling cabinet or wall shelves for storage.
Floating Desks
Keep your workspace minimal and clean with a floating desk. These wall-mounted desks have no legs and can make small spaces look less cramped. Floating desks come in a range of styles to suit any interior. Minimalists will love a simple floating desk or one with open storage underneath, while wall desks with drawers and closed shelves can be useful for those who need to store stationery, devices, and files. Look for floating desks with sliding keyboard trays for an ergonomic setup with extra desk space.
Windowsill Desk
Turn dead spaces into workspaces with a custom window desk. A custom desk makes use of unused narrow spaces near windows, converting them into small home offices. Bay windows offer the best spaces for window desks, as do windows at the end of hallways. Window desks come with the added benefit of facing the light, which is great for the body, and also lights up your face better in video calls.
Modular Wall Shelf
When a wall’s all the space you’ve got, it’s time to get creative with it. Enter the modular wall desk. These desks can be installed along with a modular shelving system to form part of your wall storage. It can be part of a large bookshelf or your living room storage, allowing you to have the best of both worlds. Some modular storage systems come with cabinets that can be turned into office storage as well.
Hanging Desk
If all you need for work is a small space for your laptop or notebook, then hanging desks can be a great solution. These desks hang onto your balcony railings much like flower pots and need very little space. Some desks even come with a planter attached so you can always have flowers on your desk! Balcony desks are an innovative solution to small space woes, and can also be used as a change of scenery when you feel stuck at work indoors.
Closet Desk
Cloffices or Closet Offices have been trending since work from home became the norm. Adding a desk and wall shelves to a closet allows you to turn it into a small home office with ease. These offices offer privacy and dedicated office space to work from when you have limited space. Most cloffice tables are simply shelves or tabletops that run across the wall. Add wall shelves above the table for office storage, and your private home office is ready to go.
Corner Desk
Turn an empty corner into your home office with a corner desk. These V-shaped desks are perfect for those who need a large workspace, offering enough space for a setup with multiple screens. V and L-shaped desks come in different configurations. Depending on your space, choose from one with equal sides, or with one side shorter to make sure it fits wells in your room. Look for desks with inbuilt storage, or opt for a tiered desk to make space for your devices, lamp, and anything else you may need at work.
Laptop Desk
Take meetings and get work done from the comfort of your bed with a laptop desk. These desks are small, portable, and affordable – a winning trio in small spaces. Laptop desks range from lap desks that hold just your laptop, to folding stands and risers that hold all your basics and even tilt your laptop to just the right angle. With these, you can take meetings from bed, or write your next novel or email while seated on the couch. Desk converters and laptop stands also work as standing desks when propped onto a desk or table. Talk about all-rounders!
Window-Mounted Desk
Get creative in a small space with a window-mounted desk that sticks to glass windows. The window-mounted desk by Deskview is simple and easy to install – simply press the suction cups and push the lever to get going. The portable desk can be removed after every use, or left in place for months. Use it as a standing or seated desk in a small apartment and enjoy the view out your window while you work. The desk comes in a variety of materials and sizes, and also works well as a wall shelf and a cat perch.
Drop Leaf Desk
A desk that folds away, but not in its entirety. A drop-leaf desk is perfect for when you need to clear the area, but still need a place to keep your stuff. Some drop leaf tables have sides that fold away to make a smaller square table. This can be useful when you have a small space but don’t want to go through the hassle of clearing out your work desk every day. Some drop leaf tables fold into a narrow console table while wall-mounted drop leaf tables fold away to turn into a small wall shelf. These can work as desks in narrow spaces or pathways and can be folded after use to keep the walkways free.
Rotating Desk
Switch from sideboard to office desk effortlessly with a rotating desk. A rotating desk is a nesting desk with one fixed side and one rotating side that opens to create an L-shaped table.
Rotating desks are a smart way to fit a large table in tight spaces. They offer plenty of storage space for everything you need. When in need of more desk space, simply slide open the rotating side, and voila! Rotating desks are great in corners as well as in studio apartments and multi-use rooms. Add the desk to your bedroom or living room to set up a simple and spacious home office.
Convertible Fold Out desk
Convertible Fold Out desks are an ingenious solution to save space in small homes. The wall-mounted desks fold out to open, revealing storage space in the process. They work much like a box – concealing items when shut, with the lid turning into a desk.
Foldout desks appear as a slender wall cabinet when closed, unobtrusive in small rooms. Open the cabinet door to turn it into a table complete with side support. The open cabinet then reveals shelves which can be used to store home office supplies neatly, accessible when the table is being used. The simplicity of this design makes it popular in small home offices.
Rolltop desk
If you’re into thrifting and antiques, keep an eye out for traditional writing tables like the secretary desk and the bureau desk. These rolltop desks function as a compact home office, with enough space to store almost everything you’d need for work. They look like a dresser when closed, but open up to offer a desk and tons of storage space in the form of drawers and cabinets. While traditional secretary desks can be on the bulkier side, many brands also offer sleek modern forms to choose from. You can’t go wrong with these desks that are equally stylish and practical for a small home!
