Best Way to Incorporate a Desk Into Your Living Area

Remote work is on the rise. If you don’t have a spare room to transform, you might be considering other small home office solutions. One option is to incorporate a desk into your living room.

We spoke to three interior designers to find out when desks in living rooms can work and their tips for keeping things cohesive, clutter-free and conducive to concentration.

Pros and Cons of Putting a Desk in the Living Room

Pros

Interior designer Malak Bellajdel explains that desks in living rooms can create a functional workspace without sacrificing an entire room. “This setup works well for apartments and smaller homes,” she says.

Interior designer Angie Kreller says a desk in a living room rather than a bedroom office could enhance your productivity. You won’t be so tempted to lie down and take a break when you shouldn’t, and it means your bedroom remains a relaxing retreat. Plus, you don’t have to worry about your unmade bed showing on work video calls.

Cons

Bellajdel says there are times when a desk in a living room isn’t ideal. “If a client has small children or pets that could make it difficult to maintain a professional workspace, I’d suggest they reconsider,” she says. “You also have to think about aesthetics. If a client has a very specific design vision for their living space, a desk could disrupt that visual flow.”

Interior designer Leslie Dapper isn’t a fan of desks in living rooms. “I found that not only can it become filled with paperwork and files, it’s not always conducive to productivity,” she says. “There are many opportunities for distractions, and when it’s time to relax and use your living room for its purpose, it becomes hard to distinguish between the two spaces.”

Tips on How to Put a Desk in the Living Room

If you’ve decided to put a desk in your living room, consider these factors to successfully combine style and functionality.

Pick the perfect position

Bellajdel recommends thinking about the flow of the space. “The desk shouldn’t be in the way of any pathways or create awkward corners,” she says. Tucking a desk into a nook or using the space under your stairs is a creative way to incorporate a home office without it interfering with the rest of the room.

You also need adequate room to position your workspace ergonomically. A cramped desk and office chair can lead to problems with posture.

If you subscribe to the calming and harmonious energy principles of Feng Shu for your home, avoid sitting at a desk that faces the wall with your back to a doorway. The ideal commanding position would be somewhere you can see the door, but not directly in line with it. When facing a wall is the only choice, try expanding your view with a mirror.

Create a cohesive design

Keller recommends ensuring the desk style complements the rest of your living room design. “You want the aesthetic you’re going for to be cohesive and look like it belongs,” she says. “This will make the desk look less like a workstation and more like a deliberate ‘accessory’ to the space.”

Good lighting is key

“Try to position your desk near a window,” Balleajdel says. “Natural light is great for productivity, and it also helps the desk area feel like a natural part of the room.”

However, you don’t necessarily want to have your seat directly in front of the window. Sometimes, looking outside can be a distraction and cause issues with glare and privacy.

Use storage wisely

“If the living room is meant to be a true relaxation zone, some people have a hard time unwinding when work materials are visible,” Bellajdel says. Integrating smart home office organization solutions like a desk with drawers or discreet baskets on overhead bookshelves keeps the space clear of clutter.

You don’t need to opt for a full desk setup

If you’re struggling to envisage how to incorporate a large desk into a compact living room or you don’t want to be reminded of work at the end of a long day, don’t worry. “So much of what we do in terms of work now can be done on a laptop, so a full desk setup can sometimes feel unnecessary,” Dapper says.

A discreet, adjustable-height standing desk for small spaces is easy to tuck away in a closet at the end of the working day. A fold-down wall-mounted desk platform is another practical alternative.

About the Experts

• Malak Bellajdel holds a B.Arch in Architecture and is the in-house interior design expert at Interior Moderna; email interview, Sept. 23, 2024.
• Leslie Dapper is the lead designer at Rumor Designs. She has 30+ years of experience in interior design; email interview, Sept. 23, 2024.
• Angelique (Angie) Kreller has a bachelor of Interior Design and is the in-house interior designer for Yabby; email interview, Sept. 24, 2024.

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