Where do you work these days? Sure, you can sit in bed with your laptop or park yourself on the couch, but that’s not nearly as effective as sitting at a dedicated workspace that gets you into the right headspace to work efficiently. Let’s face it, not every seating area in your home is meant to be a makeshift office. That doesn’t mean you can’t find a solution, however.
Enter, the tiny desk. No, not the titular NPR show, but rather, small desks that can help you better maximize the area you do have. Clever options like floating desks, ladder desks and the common writing desk are perfect work stations, and they have a small physical footprint. No matter how much square footage you have to spare, we’re confident you can find a small desk for your home.
With this in mind, we’ve rounded up 10 of the best small desks on the market in order for you to get your tasks accomplished. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, we recently wrote about our favorite drafting tables, which can also function as small desks for your home office. Our selections, below.
1. Small 4NM Folding Desk
If your apartment or home doesn’t have enough room for a desk, then a folding desk is what you need. The 4NM laptop desk folds and unfolds in seconds for easy storage when not in use. Affordable and pre-assembled, it might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
2. Athena Writing Desk
If you have 40 inches of room to spare, then this mid-century modern style writing desk is the perfect addition to your work-from-home setup. The hairpin legs add a touch of style to your home decor, and two small cubbies offer storage for your office essentials. Plus, for under $150, it’s an economical desk as well.
Related Stories
3. Laurel Foundry Modern Farmhouse Bronson Desk
If you prefer your desk space to be more vertical than horizontal the Bronson Desk from Laurel Foundry Modern Farmhouse will help to keep you and your work nice and organized. The top shelf allows for plenty of items, whether it’s books or even decor, while the additional under desk storage can be used to hold a tray with desk essentials for an exposed look. The whole unit itself is on the slightly larger end of the desks on this list, but should still fill a small space with ease.
4. Kavalan Laptop Desk Stand
If you’re really tight on space and need to work from a bed, a kitchen top, the sofa, or even a dress, this stand from Kavalan can quickly turn any surface into a desk space. The stand includes enough room for most modest-sized laptops as well as a mouse for navigation. Furthermore, once you’re done working for the day, you can collapse the legs and tuck it away so your work is out of sight and out of mind.
5. IKEA Vittsjö Desk
IKEA has and continues to be a fantastic brand for all kinds of home interior needs and we particularly like this Vittsjö desk as a minimalist option. It’s just big enough to fit a laptop and mouse on to for all of your work needs. Furthermore, the minimalist design allows you to focus on just whatever work needs to be done and is tall enough that you won’t need to strain or hunch your back when using it. Plus, when you’re done for the day, it can make a great side table.
6. TANGKULA Wall Mounted Fold Out Desk
Similar to a Murphy Bed — but for a desk — this wall-mounted fold-out desk from TANGKULA allows you to have a desk when you need it and then tuck it away when you don’t. The sturdy construction ensures it won’t fall apart on you with extended use. Additionally, interior storage space allows you to put a few things in for organizational purposes and still let you have room to fold the desk back into itself when you’re done. Truly a space saver, this is a great option for city-dwellers who are considerably tight on room.
7. AceTT Folding Desk
With a fantastic value price, this folding desk from AceTT is the option to get if you’re in need of some sort of desk but don’t want to spend a considerable amount of money to do so. With extendable legs to adjust the height to your specific need, a side table for mouse use, and durable construction, this is a fantastic portable option to keep around in extremely tight spaces or even to just have a DIY standing desk option for countertop use.
8. Winston Porter Tyriq Ladder Desk
While this is technically a bookcase, this Winston Porter ladder can be easily repurposed a slim and sleek desk. The entire length of the Tyriq model is 25″, making it great for tight corners, while it’s strong build makes it great to support a computer and some accessories on its main shelf. Supplemental shelves allow for decor and additional accessories (i.e, some actual books, if you’re so inclined!) to round out an option that both stylish and functional.
9. Industrial Style Laptop Desk
This small desk combines the extra storage of a ladder desk with the small footprint of a wall-mounted desk. The industrial style will blend perfectly into a variety of home decor styles. At just 38 inches wide, it’s a great space-saving solution.
10. Industrial Rustic Folding Wall Mounted Workbench
Well, if you’re looking for a small desk, they don’t get much smaller than this. This rustic-style wall-mounted desk takes up virtually zero square feet, while providing enough of a work area for your laptop and some papers. Even better, it can fold down when you’re not using it, which makes it the perfect desk for studio apartments and bedrooms that don’t have enough space for a full writing desk.
13 Home Desks to Help You Accomplish Any Task While Working at Home