Desks

How to Choose a Modern Desk for the Home Office

Fuel your creativity and motivate productivity with a modern desk that fits your home office needs. Coordinate with your existing contemporary office furniture such as your office chair, bookcases, shelves, coffee tables and filing cabinets to create the ideal home office or to dress up any other space in your house. Explore home office ideas for inspiration on your work-from-home setup. Stylish contemporary desks look great outside of the office too. For example, use one as tween furniture to give your preteen a convenient homework station.

Types of Desks for Home Offices

Corner or L-Shaped Desks: Easily customizable, this style works well in just about any space, but especially in large rooms. The economical shape of modern L-shaped desks use the surface area to create either one expansive workspace or cozy dual spaces side-by-side. In some cases, they can also function as a standing office desk.

Leaning Desks: Even more economically designed than the L-shaped, small versions of this home office desk are made for apartments and small rooms, while bigger styles function as minimalist, contemporary media consoles in living rooms and bedrooms. The extra shelving can go beyond office supplies—display inspiring botanicals and florals in vases, books, magazines and other collectibles. A white leaning desk offers a bright approach that complements a minimalist aesthetic, while dark brown delivers a more traditional feel. Lean it against a plain wall or situate it near a couple of wood bookcases to bring it to life.

Secretary Desks: Similar in design to a modern console table, this computer desk with drawers and shelves nestles up nicely against an entryway wall and seamlessly blends with other typical entryway furniture and entryway storage. Featuring front panels that drop down into tabletops, these home desks' crisp lines and space-saving form add elegance and personality to any space. Look for an option with extra shelving for added organization and display.

Work Table: The work table's oversized shape is balanced by the design of its elegant lines. Though the extra space is meant to give owners more room to work on projects and crafts or to organize creative materials, it also allows the table to be right at home as the centerpiece of the dining room. Take advantage of this contemporary desk's dual functionality and utilize it somewhere less expected, like the entryway, and use as needed.

Choosing the Right Desk Materials

To give your home desk a classic look, opt for rich wood finishes like cherry, walnut and wood with a medium to dark finish to give your workstation that classic academic look. Black or white painted wood offers a modern office desk option that brings a crisp and stylish look to your workspace. For a unique modern desk style, replace your original drawer handles with modern cabinet knobs and pulls and opt for wood frames with floating tempered glass tabletops. Glass atop metal frames provides a contemporary industrial office look, with sharp and urban angles. Metal framing paired with a wood top adds interesting texture and a distinct modern office character to the space.