We’ve got 5 people in our beloved 1460 square foot home. That’s helped us get creative with some amazing desk ideas for small spaces! We have been able to use 4 different desk ideas for small spaces to give each of us our own workspace.
Many of us live, work, and school (or at least homework) from home. We can squeeze desks into our already filled homes with desk ideas for small spaces. Our family of five live (and for a time also- worked & schooled) in a 1,440 square foot home. Even in our beloved little home we have some great desk set-ups for everyone now! They are all desks meant for small spaces, and work perfect for us.
Desk Ideas for Small Spaces with Photos of how we’ve implemented each in our home.
- Floating Desks
- Wall Mounted Secretary Desk
- Ladder Desk
- Narrow Table Desk
Desk Ideas for Small Spaces #1: Floating Desks
In the girls’ shared room we have Floating Desks. These desks don’t take up much space at all. We made ours from Ikea Lack Shelves because we already had them when we moved in here. They are only $20 and 2 of them fit easily into the girls’ room. They aren’t super deep, so if that would bother you, then scroll along to the next 3 options with deeper working spaces.
Our girls love them & join their virtual school Zoom calls at them. They have small chrome books and their writing notebooks fit on them, and that’s all they use them for. These see-through chairs also give the illusion of taking up less space, keeping the room looking like a nice open space. I bought an inexpensive chair, like this one, and painted the base gold. (I searched high and wide while shopping for those chairs and the nice looking gold base chairs were always more $$.)
Desk Ideas for Small Spaces #2: Secretary Desk
We wanted a desk in the main area of our house but there wasn’t a designated space for one. I came across this vintage wall mounted secretary desk on Facebook Marketplace. I fixed it up and put it in the little corner nook between the couch and the dining room table. It looks great & functions perfectly! If we were to need additional space it does fold up. The chair is from World Market, swivels, and is as comfortable as it is cute. Quick tip for fellow World Market shoppers- I signed-up for their price drop notification on it and got it for $99 rather than $199!
Desk Ideas for Small Spaces #3: Ladder Desk
Ladder desks are very inexpensive, lightweight and fit well into small spaces. This was an old laminate one I got– in the trash. I painted it, and added some plywood, waxed with Annie Sloan dark wax, and secured it into the studs. It is sturdy, and has a nice big working space as well as shelves for storing things.
Desk Ideas for Small Spaces #4: Entry Table as a Temporary Desk
The hubs uses an old entry table, that we had sitting in the garage, as his desk. It’s the perfect height for him to look straight ahead at his computer screen thus no sore neck from looking down. We have it right in front of our shelves in our bedroom. It is narrow enough to not get in the way when we are opening & closing our closet door. This desk is temporary- we won’t keep it here after this work-from-home stint ends.
In the Spring, quarantine was so unexpected so we did a lot of improvising on who went where, to do their work & school. After the addition of these 4 types of desks for small spaces we’ve all got our designated space. The house runs smoother and everyone’s stuff is more organized- thus less of the… “Where’s my notebook, where’s my computer charger, etc…”
You really don’t need a lot of “space” to create a great little workspace for you & your people. We love living in our tiny home, even after being here so much! Hope you enjoy creating some similar “desks for small spaces” in your home so you & your peeps all have a place to get your work D-O-N-E!
Swooning over our wall mounted secretary desk? That was a DIY Facebook Marketplace Transformation. Check out how we Revamped this Old Desk!