Best desks – 11 stylish spots where you can work from home

The Livingetc edit of the very best desks for comfort, style and practicality. From swoon-worthy wooden desks to minimalist metal options, peruse our picks

Made Solly Wide Desk with concrete-effect top and black legs, beside plant and with rattan chair
(Image credit: Made.com)

Choosing a brand new desk? We've been spending some time sleuthing out the best desks you'll want to type atop when working from home. Whether for five days a week or one, owning a comfortable and stylish desk – complete with practical storage – will make your 9-5 easier.

Whether for sitting inside your bijou city apartment or your gargantuan county home, there are lots of unique style desks to select from in our shopping edit below. We've been shopping everywhere from Swoon to west elm, Habitat and we even had a little browse at The Conran Shop. The result? Plenty of gorgeous finds for your home office, a corner of your living room or even for your bedroom.

Whatever your home decor style from boho to contemporary or Scandi-style, we've found a range of desks to carry your clutter and emanate style. What are you waiting for?

Head straight to our home office ideas page to be inspired when it comes to re-arranging your office furniture and decorating. Why not deck your new desk out with some attractive desk accessories while you're at it? Because no desk is complete without a stunning desk lamp or even a compact coffee machine (should there be enough space).

The best desks – as chosen by the Livingetc team

Livingetc knows design. We spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, bringing only our edit of the very best to you. Find out more about how we review.

1. west elm's Penelope Mini Desk

west elm Penelope Mini Desk

(Image credit: west elm)

west elm Penelope Mini Desk | £399 at John Lewis
This gorgeous rounded desk features a stunning marble top and a more than spacious drawer to hide eyesore paperwork and otherwise unattractive stationary. Sitting on slim tapered legs with a eucalyptus wood frame, it's also sturdy as well as stylish. We recommend adding this desk to a smaller home office or pushing it into a corner of your living room or spare room to work from. Easy to keep clean, too, it even has brass accents – plus, it emanates a soft yet modern and slightly mid-century vibe. 

2. Habitat's Max Oak Desk with 1 Drawer

Habitat Max Oak Desk with 1 Drawer

(Image credit: Habitat)

Habitat Max Oak Desk with 1 Drawer | £195 from Habitat
Choose this understated yet masterful Habitat desk for a boho-style or scandi home. With a drawer and a cupboard for storage purposes, there's enough space within this desk for a small printer, your myriad of notebooks plus a little more, all to be hidden away. It's created from an oak and oak veneer mix with an oiled finish, while this characterful desk is practically made for bright and airy spaces. In the background, there's cable management to keep things tidy, while it's hard to miss its unique chamfered-edge front. We love!

3. Dunelm's Franco Desk

Dunelm Franco Desk

(Image credit: Dunelm)

Dunelm Franco Desk | £169 at Dunelm
This handsome desk is, believe it or not, from Dunelm. Boasting a retro yet undeniably modern vibe, it oozes style since it's bang on-trend right now. It even has a black wooden frame and two teeny (yet indisputably handy) rattan drawers for holding anything from your pen collection to various knick-knacks. Complete with gold-effect handles for a sophisticated yet charming appearance, it will be sure to stand striking inside any home office.

4. Swoon's Pembridge Folding Desk

Swoon Pembridge Folding Desk

(Image credit: Swoon)

Swoon Pembridge Folding Desk | £229 at Swoon
If space is at a premium to you – especially in your cosy home office – then why not opt for a space-savvy folding desk? This one from Swoon Editions is our favourite since it's the epitome of function and form. It's made of stunning Acacia wood and will need to be wall-mounted to use. Inside it's a stunning deep green colour, and there are cubby holes for storing clutter. Look out for the cable management features, too. Boasting a minimalist look all in all, especially with help from its conical brass handle that sits neatly once folded, waiting for you to give it a tug. Simply fold it down when you're ready to open your laptop.

5. Habitat Gala Desk

Habitat Gala Desk

(Image credit: Habitat)

Habitat Gala Desk | £295 at Habitat
This complete glass desk screams to belong inside any contemporary interior scheme, while its sleek design ought to blend in seamlessly with the rest of your home decor. It's made of tempered glass to stand the test of time, while its curved edges provide a soft look in your home office. Plus, its glass nature means that this Habitat desk won't clog an otherwise busy looking home or room. Though it definitely looks the part, be sure to bear in mind that it doesn't have any storage or cable management.

6. Made's Solly Wide Desk

Made Solly Wide Desk

(Image credit: Made)

Made Solly Wide Desk | £379 at MADE.com
This gargantuan desk is nailing the industrial look. With a striking concrete-effect top, it won't be long until it becomes the focal point of your home office. Sitting solidly atop black steel trestle legs, its sharp corners say business, and it offers plenty of space for your laptop, monitor, printer, plant and even desk lamp to sit. Striking is one word to describe this Made.com desk, and allurring is another – especially when paired with a stylish desk chair.

7. Habitat's Jessie Walnut Ladder Desk

Habitat's Jessie Walnut Ladder Desk

(Image credit: Habitat)

Habitat Jessie Walnut Ladder Desk | £85 at Habitat
A leaning ladder desk is a revolutionary buy for a home working area in which floorspace is premium. It's slim in design with two shelves for storage, plus you can tuck a desk chair underneath to save even more space. This one from Habitat comes in your choice of a walnut or oak finish, and it's a total bargain. Use the shelves above the desk space for displaying your favourite reading material, or as a place for your plants to live.

8. Swoon Elson Desk

Swoon Elson Desk

(Image credit: Swoon)

Swoon Elson Desk | £399 at Swoon
Well, isn't this desk something to marvel at? Its unique lozenge shape and gold frame call for an elegant affair, while it's complete with an organised drawer to keep this space looking neat and tidy. A black-stained mango wood body provides sturdy construction and a distinctive texture. It's truly one of a kind and we can just imagine it sitting inside a monochrome decorated home, or tucked away in a contemporary setting.

9. Dunelm's Evelyn Concrete Effect Folding Desk

Evelyn Concrete Effect Folding Desk

(Image credit: Dunelm)

Evelyn Concrete Effect Folding Desk | £39 at Dunelm
A folding desk that's fit for modern homes? We'll carry on talking. This Dunelm find even features a concrete-effect top, with slimline striking black metal legs – and a sleek frame. It's space-savvy meaning that you can move it around your home, from your bedroom to your living room, and even outside on a warm day, all with ease.  It can be stored inside a cupboard or wardrobe, too, or you can fold it away and perch it against a wall when not in use. It's pretty much perfect for anyone who is working from home for only a few days a week, wouldn't you agree?

10. Matthew Hilton for Case Furniture Brockwell Desk

Matthew Hilton for Case Furniture Brockwell Desk

(Image credit: Matthew Hilton for Case Furniture/The Conran Shop)

Matthew Hilton for Case Furniture Brockwell Desk | £585 at The Conran Shop
If you are a big fan of The Conran Shop, then you will love this desk made for Case Furniture by Matthew Hilton. Boasting an understated yet elegant design in your choice of oak or walnut, it's a simple fix for a home office. With a veneered desktop, this expertly crafted desk sits on slim, angled legs for an unobtrusive look. A robust powder-coated steel border that's wrapped around this desk keeps your items in place, while it provides a small amount of privacy and a little bit of closure from the rest of the room. This also means you can use it in an open-plan space. Cable management is hidden in the back, but bear in mind that it's drawer-less! 

11. Swoon's Watts Corner Desk

Swoon Watts Corner Desk

(Image credit: Swoon)

Swoon Watts Corner Desk | £349 at Swoon
If you're eyeing up one corner of your home that you'd like to be inhabited by a desk, then buy this one from Swoon for the perfect fit. It's created for corners with its uniquely shaped top and three legs. With a mid-century and slightly scandi style look, it's as pretty as it is practical. Especially since it boasts spacious drawers plus two handy compartments. 


What to look for in a new desk?

Size
It goes without us saying that you will need to choose a desk that will suit the size of your home office – or wherever else you will be working from. Whether it's a foldable desk, a leaning ladder desk or even a corner desk you are after – perhaps it's your standard-size desk? Try not to go for one that will drown out a room. While you obviously want a desk with space, it's important that this doesn't take over a living room or dining room space.

Storage
Desk storage is an important feature, whether you tend to put pen to paper a lot or not. You'll need somewhere – even if it is small – to hide your belongings from pens to knick-knacks and various paperwork. Whether this is a drawer or cupboard is your choice.

Then comes cable management, another important desk feature – especially if you would like this space to stay looking tidy. Cable management is usually hidden and can vary in form, whether it's a hole in the desk for weaving wires through or a tray for your wires to rest on.

Material
This will be down to your preference – and style but all-in-all, you'll want to opt for something that's sturdy. Especially when it comes to the frame. Solid wood and metal are both great choices.

Easy to clean?
Make sure your new desk has an easy to clean top so that after shutting your laptop each evening, you can give your workspace a little clean – and with ease. Shiny desktops tend to be easiest to wipe clean.


Where to buy a new desk?

If you've perused our picks above and are still after a desk to suit your interior style, then don't you worry: there's lots more where those ones came from. Here's where else you should search for a new desk. Just click through below to shop.

  • Shop John Lewis desks
  • Shop Dunelm desks
  • Shop Swoon desks
  • Shop The Conran Shop desks
  • Shop MADE.com desks
  • Shop Maisons du Monde desks
  • Shop Habitat desks
Annie Collyer
Deputy Ecommerce Editor

Annie is Livingetc's Deputy Ecommerce Editor, and with a penchant for shopping and four years of ecommerce experience in her cart, she's more than equipped to advise when it comes to exactly the home decor you need to buy for your home. With a particular love of home fragrance, she always ensures her interiors emanate a luxurious scent to match her bijou residence. Annie and her team work to provide you with the best in-class content, whether you are searching for fluffy towels for your bathroom, clever drawer organizers for your kitchen or even a new dinnerware set for when guests come to dine. Whatever the season — or the latest trend — Annie and her team work to cover events for Livingetc, whether that be holidays or sale events, spanning Mother's Day to Black Friday.


Annie's knowledge has been sprawled across several homes websites, including Real Homes, Ideal Home, Homes & Gardens and Gardeningetc. She has also injected her ecommerce skills into the titles of Woman & Home and Country & Townhouse.


Annie lives in South East London in a sizeable two-bed apartment with her husband-to-be and her Pug called Doug. Annie's space, though surprisingly substantial, lacks storage space meaning that she's always on the lookout for things to buy to maximize space at home. She's currently redecorating this space whilst on a budget, and loves discovering a dupe or DIYing something to look triple its price tag. Next on her list of things to do at home are DIY crittal-style doors leading from her living room to her hallway.


You can follow Annie's home Instagram account at @athome.withannie.