Custom Built In Desk Ideas, plus Tips on Designing Cabinetry for Your Home Office

I’ve got more custom built in desk ideas than you can poke a stick at in today’s post. So if you’ve been tinkering with the idea of installing a permanent work area in a room at your place, these pearls of wisdom have come at the right time.

It’s fair to say we’re not only exploring built-in desk ideas here, but everything you need to know about built-in cabinets, shelving, drawers and more, too. We’ll cover off idea desk dimensions, functional requirements, achieving the right look, and so much more.

I’ve installed home office joinery in my own apartment, outside of my work with clients as an interior designer, so rest assured you’re in safe hands. This post also contains a tonne of imagery that’ll inspire you to make your home office space a stunner.

Firstly, Who’s Going to Use the Office?

I know this sounds like a really obvious question, but you should think about this as a ‘now, next month, next year’ proposition.

You’re looking to install home office joinery; it’s a somewhat permanent custom desk solution. You’re investing in quality materials that will be tailor-made for you and attached to walls. You want to get it right.

Consider if this home office is a dedicated space/separate room just for you with your own desk in it. Or, will your partner use it in time too. Kids might be in the equation now, or they could come in the future.

I would always suggest installing a desk area that can accomodate more than one person. This is unless you’re absolutely sure it’s never going to be a shared desk space.

Once you know this, start to make a list of specific needs; the things you’ll require in the home office based on how you work. Let’s expand on this below.

Custom Built In Desk Ideas: Questions to Answer

Function first: it’s how I approach every single design job I work on, and cabinetry for a home office is no different. You need to take time to ask yourself the questions below (and more) in order to avoid building a home office that doesn’t meet your needs.

A few questions to mull over include:

• Is just one simple desk OK, or do you want to accomodate more people in the future?
• What about storage? Do you need to keep paperwork in file cabinets?
• Do you need to a place to house larger office equipment like a printer?
• Do you want to be able to display decor to personalise the space?
• Do you need to pin things on bulletin boards? Or do you need to write on a whiteboard at times?
• Do you want a set of drawers to store stationery and other items in?
• What type of computer do you have? Do you need to store a tower somewhere, or do you have a Mac?
• Do you want this space to be a home office forever, or should it be convertible to something else?

These answers become the brief you’ll give to your joiner/cabinet maker, so you honestly can’t afford to skip this step.

Future Proofing the Room for Other Uses 

Think about it: is it likely the room your home office is in might need to become something else in the future? Not only can your answer effect the joinery ideas and configuration you choose, but the location of the office too.

For example, you might be retiring in five to 10 years, or planning to change jobs, or have kids. So the office in question might be null and void at that time. If you install full wrap-around-the-room joinery it might deem the room unable to be used for anything else.

But if you just did cabinetry on one wall, it might be able to house a TV and become a media room or spare room down the track. It could house a single bed and become a guest room. It could even be a temporary nursery, or a formal dining room depending on how much space is left over.

So, go easy with the joinery if you think the room needs to become something else at some point. Or, future proof it now and leave space for a TV to go on the wall.

Will a Smaller Nook in the Home Work?

If you’ve decided a dedicated room might not be the best solution, there are loads of other areas in the home you can work office joinery into.

There are images in this post of home offices tucked into hallways, landings, and even nooks in kitchens where open shelving and a floating desk can look very successful.

These are all amazing spaces, but whether or not these zones work for you is a question of (here I go again) functionality. How you use the space is everything.

A few things to think about if you’re putting joinery in open spaces around the home:

• Zoom calls. What’s going to be behind your work desk when you’re on-camera?
• Noise levels. Do you need privacy to take calls away from open plan spaces like a living room or kitchen?
• Do you want to look at your work zone when you’ve ‘left work’ and are chilling on the sofa?
• Will a small home office nook accommodate all of your office supplies (printers, screens & towers, copiers, modems etc?)
• Do you have a chair on wheels? Will you need a chair mat underneath? Will this work in a thoroughfare?
• How often will you use this zone? If only occasionally, a small desk with a laptop on it could be enough
• Do you need natural light? Dark corners are often terrible for productivity and motivation
• What type of work are you doing? If the work surface is going to be covered in papers, a small nook won’t cut it

Knowing the Ideal Desk Dimensions

We’ve got most of the functionality questions answered, which is great. Now I want to impart a few pearls of wisdom on you around the ideal dimensions of your work space. Knowing what sort of measurements you should be playing with will hep greatly in determining how much joinery (or zones) you can fit into the space in question.

Width:

You want to go for a desk width no smaller than 100cm. That’s cosy, and it won’t allow you to fit a set of drawers underneath.

Around 120cm in width is comfortable without drawers, but you could squeeze in a very narrow set. A desk wider than 120cm is a great amount of space to play with, depending on what you want to fit in.

If you have more than two metres to play with, you have plenty of space to fit in a double desk without drawers, or one desk with wide drawers built in underneath.

If you’re hovering around three metres in wall width or greater, you can easily fit in two desks with room for plenty of storage space below. With that much room you could even have shelving above with some open display space for decorative objects or books.

Depth: 

The depth of the desk you’ll install does depend on how often you’ll use the desk. A desk with less depth is fine if you’re not spending a lot of time at it.

If you’re just sitting at your desk occasionally with a laptop, a depth of around 50cm would be fine. But I’d not recommend that for everyday use.

Cabinet makers will suggest a standard depth of around 65cm for a desk you’ll use daily. That’ll fit a computer and keyboard on it, with room for a small table lamp.

Ergonomics are important if you’re at a desk every day, so I would go as deep as you can without it looking ridiculous. You shouldn’t need to go beyond 80cm.

Height:

The standard desk height for a home office, be it a large zone or small space, is 70cm. While the desk width and depth can vary, desk height tends to sit at 70cm.

You can go higher if it’s a thick piece of joinery (like in the image below), but just keep in might you’ll need an adjustable chair otherwise you’ll be sitting too low. You always want plenty of room under the desk when you sit.

Here’s a list of our fave adjustable office chairs on wheels if you need.

Ensure You Nominate Where You Want Power Points

When mapping out where you want your desk, sets of drawers, shelving and extra storage in the home office, don’t forget power points. You want plenty of them, and you want them in the right place.

A minimalist look is the best approach when it comes to power points, and by that I mean: you shouldn’t see them! If you’ve built cabinetry against the wall, your carpenter should work with the electrician to conceal the power points inside cupboards.

They should also sit them just under the desktop, so even from afar you barely notice them. A good option is to have a cable management system installed on the under side of your desk, with all the cords held with in.

Nominate Power Points Well Ahead of the Cabinetry Install

If you have a freestanding desk in the middle of the room (as seen above), then you either want a powerpoint built into the floor beneath the desk, or on a wall to one side behind the desk, on the side you’ll walk the least to prevent tripping on it.

The most important thing is to let the cabinet maker and electrician know about all the things you want to plug in. Things like a floor or desk lamp, printer, speakers, internet etc. You could even mark them up on the floor plan of the room to make it easier for them.

Trust me, you do not want to raise the need for a power point after the carpenter has installed all of the cabinetry. This is a costly mistake you really want to avoid.

The Joinery Should Match the Rest of Your Home

We’ve covered off so many custom built in desk ideas from a functional perspective, now let’s talk about style. This is really important too, so don’t scroll past this part.

There will come a time where your cabinet maker will ask you what you want the overall look of your office to be. You know, what different colour options and materials are you wanting? You do not want to ask if you can phone a friend at this point. You want to be able to guide them on the vibe you’re after.

The golden rule is that the cabinetry – whether it’s in a dedicated room or in a nook somewhere – should match in with the rest of the home. Don’t have a light bohemian theme with oak furniture, and then have an office with black joinery that looks totally out of place against the rest of the home.

Pull colour cues from furniture like your TV unit, sideboards and buffets, shelving, or even your kitchen cabinets. The office should feel like it was always there; built at the same time as the home. You do not want it to feel like a random afterthought.

Completing the Space (It Doesn’t End with Cabinetry)

If your home office is an entire room dedicated to your work environment, there’s so much to explore than mere office desks. In fact, you should really take a step back before you consider the cabinetry to map out the vibe you want to create.

Take a look at the office above, for example. It’s stunning because a lot of thought has been put into the overall design. The cabinetry is great, but the wallpaper, the lighting, the sheers, the carpet; all elements have been carefully thought-out before joinery came into the mix.

I strongly suggest you sit down and map out a rough mood board for your room. It’s the perfect place to start. This is the program we use to mood board rooms. It has the basic tools you’ll need to visualise your dedicated office space with all of the office furniture and decor in it. It’s honestly an essential part of the process and a great idea.

Custom Home Office Ideas: Some Extra Help…

Your home office should look great and be a place you want to sit down at every day. Here are some additional posts to help make it the perfect space:

• Create an entire wall of on-point art to complete the room
• Here are our tips on the best way to decorate a stylish desk
• These standard and L-shaped desks are the perfect option for a kids room or teen space
• ​Want a library in your home office? This post is packed with library styling inspiration

I hope these custom built in desk ideas and home office design tips have helped you sort out what you need for your own home. Drop me a comment below if you have any questions or need more help. Good luck!

Unless otherwise credited, the images in this post are via Metricon Homes.