The 11 Best Home Office Desks of 2023

A home office desk is crucial, whether you work from home a few days a week, telecommute full-time, or just need somewhere to focus on your household bill-paying process. “Finding the right desk requires having an understanding of how one works,” says interior designer Ahmad AbouZanat. “For example, someone who works on a laptop has completely different desk needs than someone who works on multiple screens.”

With buying tips from multiple designers in mind, we researched options of various sizes with functional features. Our top choice is Pottery Barn’s Pacific Desk, a durable, two-drawer workstation with a minimalist-modern aesthetic. Scroll down for the best home office desks.

Best Overall: Pottery Barn Pacific Desk with Drawers

Pottery Barn is always a reliable resource for high-quality furniture, and this piece is no exception. The Pacific Desk is crafted from kiln-dried poplar wood to enhance durability and prevent splitting, cracking, warping, mold, and mildew growth.1

It has an oak wood veneer, and all sides are finished in a uniform color, allowing you to place it anywhere in your home office, even with the back exposed. More color options would be nice, but the natural finish and minimalist-modern design are undoubtedly versatile.

This mid-sized workstation also has two wide drawers with smooth-gliding groove pulls. Like many Pottery Barn products, the Pacific Desk is made to order and takes weeks to ship out. But delivery includes white-glove service, meaning it arrives fully assembled and will be placed in your room of choice.

Best Budget: OFM Essentials Collection 2-Drawer Office Desk

On a budget? The OFM Essentials Collection two-drawer home office desk is an excellent choice. While the surface is made of engineered rather than solid wood, the frame is ultra-strong powder-coated stainless steel. It’s roomy enough to hold a laptop, a desktop monitor, and any other workspace essentials, with an especially durable 3/4-inch-thick desk top meant to stand up to daily wear.

At 44 inches wide, it’s on the smaller side, but you can bet it’ll fit in nearly any room of your home. Just a heads up, though: You’ll have to put this desk together at home. Luckily, the process should be quick and easy.

Best Splurge: Herman Miller Mode Desk

If you have a larger budget for furnishing your home office, consider the Mode Desk from Herman Miller. Available in six colors, this best-seller is constructed from powder-coated steel and wood with a smooth laminate surface. It’s designed for sleek functionality, with perks like discreet cable management, optional storage solutions, and a leg slot that’ll hide any unsightly dangling wires.

The modern, streamlined design is the perfect medium size—you’ll have plenty of room for your computer and other essentials but won’t have a problem fitting it in your space. We also like that this desk has three drawers that can be mounted on either side and a hidden cable-management slot.

Best Adjustable: SHW Electric Height Adjustable Standing Desk

“Sit/stand desks provide the flexibility of differentiating heights depending on your preferred use throughout the day,” says AbouZanat. We like this reasonably-priced Adjustable Standing Desk from SHW, with its electric lift system that adjusts from 25 to 45 inches in height.

The digital controls have four memory profiles, allowing multiple users to easily adjust it to their ideal height. While this desk doesn’t have any drawers, we appreciate the industrial-grade steel frame and reliable telescopic legs. The only drawback is a lack of available storage space. With no drawers, you’ll have to find somewhere else to stash your desk essentials.

Best Standing: Fully Jarvis Bamboo Adjustable-Height Standing Desk

You can always count on Fully for innovative office furniture, and you can bet the brand makes the best standing desk. We like the Jarvis Bamboo Adjustable-Height Desk because it combines versatile comfort with sustainability. Made of eco-friendly bamboo and steel, this thoughtfully designed piece boasts dual motors that raise or lower the surface to your preferred standing height or seated position.

Thanks to rubber grommets, the motor noise is muffled when it goes up or down. It also has four presets, so multiple users can quickly access their go-to height. Backed by a 15-year warranty, the Jarvis’s heavy steel frame makes it exceptionally stable, too, supporting up to 350 pounds of weight.

Best with Drawers: Monarch Specialties Hollow-Core Metal Office Desk

If built-in storage is a must, this three-drawer Hollow-Core Metal Desk from Monarch Specialties might be your best bet. Available in a whopping 10 finishes, the relatively lightweight design is made of metal, particleboard, and melamine (a super durable plastic).

At 60 inches wide, the sizable surface offers a spacious workstation with plenty of room for a computer, keyboard, mouse pad, accessories caddy, charging station—you name it. The drawers provide ample hidden storage for office supplies and files as well. The smooth drawer glides and interior filing capacity make it a breeze to stash or access everything from important paperwork to everyday essentials. Just note that you will have to put this desk together yourself when it arrives.

Best Compact: West Elm Mid-Century Mini Desk (36″)

Need something smaller? Check out West Elm’s Mid-Century Mini Desk. This compact yet sophisticated piece is just 36 inches wide and 20 inches deep, but it’s still big enough to fit a laptop or small desktop monitor. And you can place a wireless keyboard in the wide, shallow drawer.

This piece is made of crack- and warp-resistant solid kiln-dried eucalyptus wood,1

 sustainably sourced from lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). One thing to note is that unlike most West Elm products, you’ll have to put it together at home. You’ll also want to keep in mind potential shipping time, which can take weeks.

Best L-Shaped: East Urban Home Cuuba Libre L-Shape Desk

If you need something bigger with more storage, the Cuuba Libre Desk is a stellar choice. While it’s not solid wood, this L-shaped beauty is constructed using mortise-and-tenon joinery to ensure long-lasting durability. And when it comes to available working space, you’ll have plenty of room for everything from monitors to laptops to paperwork thanks to the dual work surfaces. Or, if you’d prefer, you can decorate the shorter arm of this desk with accents, photos, or plants.

The Cuuba Libre flaunts a spacious drawer, a large cabinet, and two shelves, plus a hole in the back to hide cords. You can adjust the orientation to have the storage components on either side, and thanks to the finished back, you don’t have to place it in a corner.

Best Curved: Crate & Barrel Courbe Curved Wood Desk with Drawer

We also like this curved number from Crate & Barrel. The oblong Courbe Desk is made of engineered wood with an oak veneer, all sourced from FSC-certified forests. With its sleek curves, it’s a totally different statement than your average home office desk–and it looks fantastic as the centerpiece.

With slab-style legs and rounded sides, it nods to mid-century design without compromising its minimalist, versatile appeal. The 50-inch width is an ideal medium size for home offices, and the finished back means you can place it anywhere in the room. However, you’ll want to note that with just one small drawer, there isn’t a lot of storage space available within the desk itself.

Best Solid Wood: Castlery Seb Desk

Partial to solid wood? You’ll appreciate the Castlery Seb Desk. It’s crafted from solid acacia lumber and finished with a medium-toned muted honey lacquer. Beyond the generously sized work surface, it has a built-in cubby and a spacious drawer underneath.

Featuring rounded corners and slightly flared legs, the Seb Desk has a tasteful mid-century modern vibe, with a bit of rustic flair. In addition to the steep price, we should note Castlery only accepts returns within 14 of receiving the desk.

Best Acrylic: AllModern Embassy Desk

We’re also big fans of AllModern’s modish, transparent Embassy Desk. It’s made of 100 percent acrylic, and since the slab-style legs and surface and legs are a single piece, it arrives fully assembled. If you’re searching for a statement-making piece, this desk won’t disappoint with its sleek, translucent appearance.

This desk is available in two sizes and colors, including classic clear acrylic or a black tinted hue. It doesn’t have any built-in storage, but in the end, a drawer or shelf might take from its striking simplicity. And although the Embassy boasts a hyper-modern design, it’ll pair effortlessly with industrial, mid-century, minimalist, and Scandinavian decor schemes alike.

What to Consider When Buying a Home Office Desk

Size

The first thing to consider when buying a desk is the size. You can find compact models like the West Elm ​​Mid-Century Mini Desk that fit in nearly any space, as well as extra-large options, L-shaped designs like the East Urban Home Cuuba Libre Desk, and everything in between.

According to AbouZanat, the most important detail is to choose a “big enough worktop surface for everyday use.” Height matters, too, so think about whether you need a standing desk or an adjustable model for more flexibility.

Material

The best desks for home offices are often made of wood or metal. Solid wood is ideal, as it’s durable and long-lasting—extra points if it’s kiln-dried like the Pottery Barn Pacific Desk. Powder-coated steel is exceptionally sturdy, too, as with the Herman Miller Mode Desk.

You’ll also find sleek, modern acrylic options like the AllModern Embassy Desk. Acrylic is a surprisingly durable, fade-resistant, antimicrobial material that’s conveniently easy to clean.2

Storage

“Consider if you need drawers for storage,” says interior designer Amy Forshew of Proximity Interiors. “We are seeing more and more desks with shallow pencil drawers or no drawers at all.”

Standing desks like the Fully Jarvis Bamboo Desk may not have storage, but many models have drawers, shelves, or cubbies, like the Castlery Seb Desk. Even if you’re not quite sure what you’ll put in the drawers of cubbies yet, you might be glad to have the additional storage space down the road.

Think about cable organization too. “If you want your desk to float in the middle of the room and the desk is open underneath, you have to consider the computer cords running down the desk,” says Forshew. “Alternatively, choose a desk with a finished back so you can hide the cords.”

Ergonomics

Some of the best office desks are designed with ergonomics in mind. They might be curved in the front to encourage proper positioning when typing at a computer, while others may feature adjustable heights to limit the amount of time spent sitting down during your work day, as with the SHW Electric Adjustable Standing Desk.

Any questions please feel free to ask me through Andrew@sinotxj.com