We Tested (and Rated!) All the Desks at West Elm — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space

One silver lining of work life over the past few years has been the increased opportunity to work remotely. Less commuting, fewer expenses, and more downtime — the benefits are pretty sweet! Of course, if you WFH and live in a small space, we’re pretty certain your 9-to-5 isn’t without its problems. You probably either had to convert a bedroom into a home office or squeeze a makeshift workspace into a tight corner. Or, if you work from your bed or sofa, you’ve likely found that it’s not exactly the ideal setup (for your productivity or your back pain).

No matter what your WFH situation looks like, investing in a quality desk is never a bad idea. There are plenty of compact, low-budget options out there, but if you’re working from home for the long haul, perhaps you’re in the market for something that’ll hold up and look great for a long time and are willing to splurge a little in return. Well, you’re in the right place. You don’t want to blindly spend hundreds of dollars on a pricey desk, which is likely why you’re reading our Personal Shopper series. Here, we dive deep into a shopping mission, visiting the brick-and-mortar stores of your favorite home retailers, including Pottery Barn, Design Within Reach, and Ashley, to test their furniture and decor. Afterward, we provide a detailed breakdown of which sofa, rug, dresser, or coffee table is best for your space.

If you’ve been keeping up with our previous installments, you’ll know we’ve been at West Elm looking at new furniture categories. This time, we’re sharing the desks we saw and our honest thoughts about each, along with info on the lifestyle it suits best. Whether you’re looking to convert your guest bedroom into a real office or you need something with a small footprint for the corner of your living room, you’ll find something stylish and long-lasting here.

West Elm is an editor- and reader-favorite for all things home, including desks. Its impressive selection not only looks good, but you can also trust that its products are made of premium materials that’ll hold up to daily use. West Elm also offers free furniture customization and design guidance, as well as complimentary swatches to help you find your ideal materials and colors. Below are the exact desks we tested, including ones from customer-favorite collections and smaller models that are bound to make apartment dwellers happy.

• Most Versatile: Mid-Century Mini Desk
• Best Statement-Maker: Mid-Century Art Display Mini Desk
• Best for Small Spaces: Industrial Storage Mini Desk
• Best with Built-in Storage: Industrial Modular Wall Desk
• Best Minimalist Style: Hargrove Mini Desk
• Best for Dedicated Home Offices: Mid-Century 52” Desk

We judged every West Elm desk we found in-store based on the following five criteria, giving each category an average rating between 1 and 5. These scores helped us determine whom the desk suits best, from the fully remote worker to the part-time journaling hobbyist.

Appearance: What style of decor does the desk suit best? Does its design lean warm and traditional or sleek and modern? Is it classic with a wooden finish or contemporary with clean lines and a mixed-material design?

Storage Capacity: Does the desk have drawers? If so, how many, and how big are they? Does it have shelves or extra storage?

Space Requirements: How much space does the desk take up? Does it require a lot of horizontal floor space, or is it relatively compact? Is its surface wide or narrow?

Surface Area: How big is the desktop? Does it offer enough space to work, store supplies, and even display some decor? Or just enough for your laptop and coffee? 

Durability: Does it stain or scuff easily? Is it made from fragile materials? Do you have to use coasters? Would it age well with regular use?

What impressed us: The vintage charm and slim drawer.

Even if you work from home five days a week, you could get away with using the mid-century mini desk as long as you don’t require two monitors or other sizable desktop gear. It would also make a great station for crafting hobbies if you wanted to sidle it up next to your bed or somewhere in your living space. These aren’t the only reasons we deemed it the most versatile, though. This desk is part of West Elm’s popular and timeless mid-century collection, meaning it’ll fit in with a variety of interior decor styles. The fact that it’s available in four finishes is also helpful. As far as storage goes, you get one slim but wide drawer, which is nice for pens and stationery. You could even use the desk as a vanity if you wanted to! We did notice some minor scratches on the surface in-store, but natural wear and tear is normal with time. Just be careful not to place anything too abrasive on the wooden desktop.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Kiln-dried solid eucalyptus wood and engineered wood
• Available in four wooden finishes
• Also available in other desk styles 

What impressed us: The gold-toned legs and sleek glass top.

We fell in love with West Elm’s mid-century art display coffee table during one of our initial visits, so you can imagine how excited we were to see a complementary desk design. This showpiece stuns with its sleek glass top and gold metal legs. Although it doesn’t have any drawers, you get a roomy undershelf for both office supplies and decorative objects. The desk might look fragile at first, but when we pulled a swivel chair up to it, we found it to be perfectly sturdy and stable. Again, we would recommend this style if you mainly just use a laptop for work. It would also make a very aesthetically pleasing journaling spot — just add a sophisticated desk lamp, perhaps also in gold. Another bonus? No matter what you need during office hours — whether it’s a Post-it note, a snack, or a hair tie — you’ll always be able to easily find and grab it without having to rummage.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Tempered glass top, engineered wood shelf, and steel frame
• Available in two finishes

What impressed us: The compact size and color contrast.

West Elm has an abundance of mini desks for small spaces, which was such a pleasant surprise. The industrial storage mini desk was the smallest one we viewed based on dimensions, though the other mini desks on the list weren’t too far off. You don’t get much space for anything besides a computer and planner on top, but there are two decently sized drawers below. They don’t have pulls and proved slightly difficult to open, but there’s enough space inside for notepads, a stapler, and other small office items. Whereas the top part of the desk is made from slightly textured mango wood, the frame itself is smooth black metal, which contrasts nicely against the light-colored wood. We also like the two horizontal metal bars that run along the bottom of the frame, which serve as convenient footrests. Though we wouldn’t exactly classify this as a “grownup” desk, it would suit most entry-level corporate employees just fine.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Solid mango wood and blackened steel frame
• Available in four wooden finishes
• Also available in other desk styles

What impressed us: The built-in cabinet and freestanding design.

Located next to the industrial storage mini desk was a wall desk from the same collection, which boasts more built-in storage compartments than any other model we saw. We also appreciate that even though it’s a wall desk, the design is entirely freestanding, meaning you don’t have to do any drilling to get it to stay upright (good news for renters!). At just over 4 feet wide, this modular wall desk doesn’t take up a ton of floor space but rather makes smart use of vertical space. You essentially get two high shelves above the cabinet for books and other items. The cabinet itself is concealed behind doors, so you can hide clutter without necessarily having to organize it. The desk was also designed with the idea of adding modular shelving from the same collection, so if you ever decide to expand your home workspace, you can effortlessly do so while building upon the same industrial look. If you don’t go into the office and the majority of your day revolves around your desk, make it nice and comfortable with this spacious pick.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Solid mango wood and blackened steel frame
• Available in five wooden finishes
• Also available in other desk styles

What impressed us: The rustic design and pared-back silhouette.

The Hargrove desk is pretty unassuming, which is ideal if you want to squeeze it in between other furniture without detracting from a room’s carefully thought-out styling. Of course, it lends itself best to a coastal or farmhouse aesthetic, thanks to gently rounded legs and a slightly distressed wooden finish. You also get a footrest bar with this piece, not to mention a smooth-gliding drawer that’s customary with West Elm’s mini desks. A single black metal drawer pull acts as a subtle but elegant detail, and you’ll also be happy to learn that the desk has built-in levelers to prevent wobbling. In essence, this desk is tiny, cute, and easy; just pop it into an unused corner or next to a window, and work away.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Solid mahogany frame and engineered wood top 
• Available in one wooden finish
• Also available as a regular desk and executive desk

What impressed us: The substantial side drawers and bronze hardware.

When you hear the word “desk,” you likely picture something pretty close to the regular-sized mid-century desk. It’s spacious without being bulky and just shy of looking ordinary. Despite its classic design, it manages to stand out thanks to its slightly tapered legs, warm acorn finish, and bronze drawer pulls. Like the mini version, this desk boasts one narrow drawer in the middle that’s a perfect hiding spot for your phone if you want to work without distractions. But you also get two large side drawers for everything else; they could even function as makeshift filing cabinets if you don’t want to invest in a separate storage piece for important documents. The drawers glide out smoothly and click back into the surrounding beveled edges when closed, confirming this piece as a high-quality, well-built desk that can be in your life for decades should you choose to keep it that long — and we have a sneaking suspicion that you will.

How We Rated It:

Specifications:

• Kiln-dried solid eucalyptus wood and engineered wood
• Available in four wooden finishes

Also available in other desk styles