Most desk setup photos online show a six-foot desk in a spare room. Most people have a small desk in the corner of a bedroom, a studio flat or a dorm. A desk 32 to 40 inches wide and 20 inches deep doesn't leave much room for error. Every object on it has to justify its place.
The good news is that small desks can look better than big ones. There is less surface to get messy, and a tight, well-planned setup has a neatness that a sprawling one doesn't. Here is how to get there.
Start by taking everything off
Clear the desk completely. Then put back only what you use every day: screen, keyboard, mouse, and one drink. Everything else needs a different home. On a small desk, the surface is for working, not for storage.
Use the space above, below and beside
A small desk has little horizontal room, so use the other directions.
- Up: a monitor arm clamps to the back edge and lifts the screen off the desk, freeing the whole area its stand occupied. That can be a quarter of a small desk. A monitor riser shelf is the cheaper alternative, and you can slide the keyboard under it when you are not typing.
- The wall: a shelf above the desk holds speakers, books and plants. A pegboard holds headphones, cables and small tools.
- Under: the PC tower goes on the floor or on a small stand beside the desk. A clip-on headphone hook under the edge takes the headset. A cable tray under the top hides the power strip.
- Beside: a small rolling cart or a set of drawers takes whatever is left.
Choose compact gear
- Keyboard: a 60%, 65% or 75% keyboard is 11.5 to 13 inches wide, against 17 to 18 inches for a full-size board. That is five inches of desk returned to you. Unless you type numbers all day, you won't miss the number pad.
- Screen: one good monitor is better than two on a small desk. A 24-inch screen is about 21 inches wide, and a 27-inch is about 24. Measure before you buy.
- Lighting: a clamp lamp or a light bar that sits on top of the monitor takes up no desk space at all.
- Speakers: on a shelf, or use headphones.
The right desk mat for a small desk
A desk mat helps a small desk more than a large one. It defines the working area, protects the surface, and pulls the keyboard and mouse into one tidy unit. The size has to be right, though.
We make three sizes.
- 14.4 × 12.1 inches: a large mouse pad. This is the one for a laptop user, or a desk under 30 inches wide. It gives the mouse plenty of room, both across and front to back, and leaves the rest of the desk clear.
- 23.6 × 13.8 inches: fits a compact keyboard and a mouse side by side. This is the best choice for most small desks, from about 32 to 40 inches wide. It leaves a few inches of clear desk on each side for a drink and a phone.
- 31.5 × 15.5 inches: needs a desk at least 36 inches wide to sit flat, and it will fill most of a small one. Choose it only if you want the mat to cover almost the whole surface, which can look very clean on a desk of 36 to 40 inches.
Check the depth too. Measure from the front edge of the desk to the front of the monitor stand. If that is less than 14 inches, a monitor arm or riser will free the space you need. The desk mat size guide goes through the measurements.
Make the mat your decoration
On a big desk you have room for figures, plants and lamps. On a small one you don't. The mat becomes the main source of colour and character. That is a reason to choose one you really like. A calm design, such as Blue Mountain Fog, makes a small space feel less crowded. A bold one, such as Purple Pink Wormhole, gives a plain corner a focal point. Lofi Cat Meow sits between the two: cosy and characterful.
Use the wall for everything else
The wall above a small desk is the largest space you have. Use it.
- One piece of art, centred above the desk. It gives the corner an identity and costs no desk space. A piece about two-thirds the width of the desk looks balanced: around 20 to 24 inches wide for a 36-inch desk.
- Portrait orientation draws the eye upward and makes a low or narrow corner feel taller.
- Art with depth, such as a landscape or a street receding into the distance, makes a wall feel further away. In a cramped corner, that helps.
- Posters are ideal in a rented room or a dorm, since they hang without nails. See how to hang posters without wall damage.
Match the wall to the mat by colour, and the whole corner looks planned. Our post on choosing a desk mat by colour scheme covers this.
Light makes a small space feel bigger
- A light strip behind the monitor washes the wall with light and makes it recede.
- Avoid a single harsh overhead light, which flattens everything.
- Pale walls and a pale desk reflect more light. If your desk is dark, a lighter mat brightens it.
Cables: the biggest difference for the least money
On a small desk, a tangle of cables takes up a real share of what you see. A few adhesive cable clips along the back edge, some reusable ties, and a power strip fixed underneath will hide almost all of it. It takes about an hour, and the desk will look twice as tidy.
If the desk does double duty
When the desk is also a dressing table or a dining table, make the setup easy to clear.
- Use a laptop, or a monitor on an arm that swings out of the way.
- Keep the keyboard and mouse on the mat, so the whole lot can be lifted off in one go.
- Roll the mat when you are done. It takes seconds, and it marks the end of the working day.
A small-desk checklist
- Only daily essentials on the surface.
- Screen lifted on an arm or a riser.
- A compact keyboard.
- The medium desk mat for most desks, the small one for laptops.
- One piece of art above, about two-thirds the desk's width.
- Cables clipped and hidden.
- A light behind the monitor.
A small desk is a constraint, and constraints are good for design. Browse the desk mats and posters collections to finish yours.