15 DIY Desk Ideas That Will Miraculously Turn Any Room Into a Home Office

If you have wood scraps on hand—and you're already pretty handy with power tools—consider building this DIY structure. The trickiest part is getting your measurements right thanks to these simple sawhorse brackets.

Combine your dining room and home office with a long modular table that can function as a surface for both eating and working. In this space designed by Devin Kirk, the chairs are staggered to allow the homeowners to spread out and get down to business at the same time.

Revive an unused console table or outdoor patio table with a fresh coat of paint (or leave it as is in more rustic spaces). Here, crisp white bursts against a monochromatic blue backdrop, while a comfy throw pillow recasts an iron garden chair for the indoors.

This home office may not look like anything fancy, but it gets the job done. A floating shelf gives you a dedicated place to crank out work when you're short on space. Just be sure that it's deep enough to fit your laptop and installed at the proper height, then slide over a chair and get emailing.

You don't need much to carve out a proper workspace. Simply place a table lamp on a side table, slide up a chair, and voila, you've got yourself a little makeshift desk. This vibrant vignette designed by Anthony Baratta is a maximalist example, but any combination will do in a pinch.

Turn a nubby, uneven surface into a professional job site by adding a glass top to it. A skirt like the one on this vanity designed by Cameron Ruppert Interiors allows you to store folders and paperwork beneath it while ensuring a polished, uncluttered aesthetic.

Designed by Lindsey Bond, this workspace feels modern yet laidback and features a floating desk secured to the wall in a main bedroom. An antiqued mirror reflects light and makes the room feel larger, while the ghost chair keeps bulky furniture to a minimum for a wide-open feel. Follow Bond's lead and upholster your floating shelf in leather, then add some nailhead trim for a tailored look.

Keep your eyes peeled for a secretary desk to rehab at local antiques shops, vintage stores, estate sales, or flea markets. This one in a bedroom designed by Libby Cameron was refurbished with new paint, but you could also swap out the hardware or affix a thin marble slab to the top of it to add a personal touch.

By installing a shelving unit on the wall in an unused corner of his apartment, Tariq Dixon, co-founder of furniture brand TRNK, turned a tiny space into a writer's retreat.

Use an old bench, side table, or console table like Leanne Ford did in this artist's retreat. If you choose a reclaimed wood piece or rustic outdoor option, you won't have to be too precious with it, especially if you work with paint and other messy materials as an artist or designer.

Verdant greens set the scene for a calming home office designed by Ingrid Rasmussen. This kit lets you assemble a similar wood desk yourself in just a few easy-to-follow steps.

A DIY or custom fold-out desk is the best option for tiny work-from-home spaces where additional furniture just isn't in the cards. Brockschmidt and Coleman customized this built-in bookshelf with a fold-out desk so that work could be hidden at the end of the day. Out of sight, out of mind—and out of the way.

Stack a shoe cubby or DIY floating shelf unit on top of a console table to give it the added perk of storage space. Not only does it look more visually interesting, it'll definitely help you stay organized.

Because it's in an alcove, the desk in this bedroom feels totally separate from the rest of the space. Though an architectural nook can make a floating-shelf-desk hybrid look extra neat, a floating shelf in any old corner will do, too. Designed by Shapeless Studio, each nook and cranny in this NYC apartment reaches its full potential.

This converted kitchen pantry proves that you can make just about any space work-friendly with the right organizational tools. If your surface area is large enough, use trays on the desk to corral odds and ends and keep your papers organized. If you don't have room on your desk, secure a corkboard to the wall and take advantage of vertical real estate.