Whether you move your work from an office to your home or just need a place to surf the web, pay bills, or scan emails. You’ll be more productive here, too, with a well-designed office workspace. But what if you don’t have the space for a real home office? It won’t be a problem if you can find the perfect small desk. To inspire you, here are some great DIY solutions for small spaces, from floating furniture to vertical risers.
If you have a small space and want to have a nice functional and practical desk simultaneously, do not miss these DIY desk ideas for small spaces.
Measure the Space Where You Want Your DIY Desk
Before starting your DIY office desk, first, measure the space in which you want to place it. Secondly, think about making the desk top itself. Reuse the top of an old dining table, for example, when creating it. You just need to let your imagination run wild to find environmentally friendly solutions.
When creating your home desk, there are two factors you need to consider – where you want it to be and the design itself. You have to choose the material from which you will make your desk. You don’t necessarily have to use wood, but let’s face it – it’s an option that will never go out of fashion. And one more small detail when making your furniture – you will need about 24-48 hours for your creation to be completely dry.
Before indicating the necessary equipment, you must define the surface you will need and at what height. So take out your tape measure!
- Place your work equipment on the table for the surface: computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Roughly measure the size that the top of your desk should be. If you want to place your computer and your screen side by side on your desk, we recommend a surface at least 70 centimeters wide.
- Then ask yourself what the height of your desk should be. Start by measuring the height of the table you want to turn into a desk. Then measure yourself from feet to elbows. Ideally, assume the posture you would take to work: relaxed shoulders, forearms raised to form a right angle to the upper arms, etc.
- You still have a few calculations to do: subtract your body measurement from the height of the table. The figure obtained is the length of the feet of your desk! Do not forget to remove the thickness of the top from the complete length.
So: Length of the feet = measurement from feet to elbows – the height of the table – thickness of the top of the desk.
Now let’s talk about the material you will need for your DIY desk!
Materials and Tools Needed for a DIY Desk
You will need different types of material for different desk ideas; however, below is an exhaustive list of the materials you may need to build a desk at home:
- 1 wooden plate (e.g. fir or spruce, approx. 18 mm thick). You may also choose a different-sized wooden plate.
- 1 long cleat for:
- 4 feet
- 2 sleepers
- 2 folding brackets
- 2 metal hinges
- 4 brackets
- 32 screws
- 4 runners (so that the legs do not damage the table top)
- Varnish / stain
Among the tools, you may need:
Here are the necessary tools:
- 1 tape measure
- Sandpaper
- Sanding block
- Screwdriver
- Spraying equipment
DIY Desk Ideas for Small Spaces
Floating Window Desk
You can create a nice place under a window to put your desk, you just have to put a floating shelf anchored to the wall, and you will have your perfect space. You will have created a functional workspace with a custom floating desk designed to fit the space.
Combined Styles
You may not have all the space that you would like, but in the living room, you have a space that you can take advantage of to have a desk. Choose the desk that you like the most and put it on. The desk can be combined with the rest of the decoration so that it is integrated or does not combine at all and that you can create a separate area within the same room you choose!
Floating Drawer Next to the Top
If you have a small space in the kitchen to put a desk, you can put a part with the same material as the countertop and a practical drawer just below it. It will look like it is hanging in midair. When it’s not cooking time, the kitchen can also be a great place to put a desk in small areas.
Folding Table in the Kitchen
Following the previous point, a small folding table anchored to the wall can be folded when not in use. You will only have to open it when you are going to use it, and when you have to cook, you will only have to fold it again. It is a great desk idea in small spaces.
Reused Vintage Table
Cheap vintage pieces are great and add great aesthetics to any place. An old wooden table can be converted with a little “veneer and paint” into a great desk on which you can work in any room in your home where it fits into the decoration. A table of almost any size can work, from a simple living room end table to a long dining room end table.
Bar Height Corner Desk
Novice DIYers can turn an untapped corner into a home office by building a corner desk for two. The main ingredients include plywood and some shelf supports. If necessary, you can also install some wall shelves above the workbench.
Table with Ghost Chair
What does a desk table look like with a ghost chair? It is as simple as putting a table and a chair of a suitable size to the available space but with the special feature that it is transparent. In this way, you can let in the light without reducing the space in any of its aspects, and it will hardly be noticed in the room!
Desk on a Bookshelf
Another idea to save space is to have a standing shelf and use it as a storage system and put a lower shelf at the height of a desk and use it with this function. You can buy this type of structure at any home supply store or home center. Attach the back of the shelving standards to the wall, attach some shelves and a desk, and voila, a home office space.
Table for bed
Lastly, if you do not have any space at home to put extra tables, you can put a table, for example, on the bed or on the sofa, to work whenever you need it. In this sense, you can buy or create a table to put on your legs and thus have your portable desk in the place you want.
Is It Worth Building a Standing Desk Yourself?
Many of us telecommute, yet not all of us have enough space for a suitable desk or the money to invest in modern equipment, such as a height-adjustable desk. By building a desk riser, you will make your life a lot easier: no need to invest in expensive equipment to work with a healthy posture.
So use whatever you have on hand, a dining table or a desk, place a booster seat on it and get comfortable. You can change your posture, which reduces fatigue, neck strain and back pain.
In short: when you sit too long and are inactive, your muscles atrophy. Sitting too long can make us lose seven years when we are in good physical health. To separate your office from other rooms, you can also build a room divider.
The advantages of a standing desk:
- Work more ergonomically thanks to a healthier posture
- Folding legs: the desk booster can be easily stored behind a sofa or simply placed against a wall
- The folding brackets lock in the open or closed position and ensure the stability of the extension
- It folds and unfolds in seconds
Building an office desk riser by yourself guarantees health and vitality. It will also be ideal as a support for the laptop or tablet in bed! You will surely enjoy making it yourself! By the way: you’ve probably thought about it: breakfast or movie night in bed.
Our Final Thoughts!
These are just some ideas that you can take into account to enjoy a desk in small spaces. You can work or simply use it occasionally in your home, but you will already have that special space or corner dedicated to the tasks you want to do at any time.
And although these are just some ideas, you can let your imagination run wild to create your ideas depending on how your home is. For example, have you ever thought about having a desk inside a closet? It can be a great idea if you do it right!
