Updated 6 November 2026 · By the 10Grains team
Above: five ways of working from home, five desks, and one paper-cutout friend who has tried all five.
Came here from our "Which home office person are you?" video? All five desks are below. You can also search DESK328 on 10grains.co.uk to see them side by side.
The short answer: the best desk for working from home is the one that fits how, and where, you actually work. Match it to your habit:
- 1Never sits down (72–116 cm, 4 memory presets): electric standing desk.
- 2Works from the living room (folds shut, 20 cm deep): white wall desk.
- 3Games after work (cup holder and headphone hook): 142 cm gaming desk.
- 4Drowning in paperwork (file cabinet, 2 drawers, 2 shelves): white L-shaped desk.
- 5Follows the sun (4 wheels, 2 lock): little desk on wheels.
Every home office has one of these people. The one who hasn't sat down since lunch. The one who works from the corner of the living room. The one on spreadsheets by day and games by night. The one with two screens, one printer and a lot of paperwork. And the one who follows the sun round the house.
Most of us are at least two of them, which is why the kitchen table keeps ending up as the office.
We've matched five desks to five ways of working, with sizes, weight limits, honest catches and a real product photo next to each scene. Or take the quiz and we'll match one to the way you work.
Desk Finder: which desk suits the way you work?
Three taps and we'll point you at the right one.
Everything we recommend
1 On their feetStanding desk
2 Living roomWall desk
3 Games at nightGaming desk
4 PaperworkL-shaped desk
5 Follows the sunDesk on wheels
How we matched them
We're the retailer, so we're not pretending to be neutral. What we did was read every listing: top sizes, heights, weight limits, storage and fixing notes. Then we matched each desk to a way of working you'll recognise. Every figure below comes from the supplier's published specifications, and every pick gets a "worth knowing" section.
1Hasn't sat down since lunch: an electric standing desk with four memory presets
Calls on their feet, emails on their feet, lunch on their feet. This person needs a desk that goes up when they do, and back down again at four.
Electric Standing Desk with LED Display & Memory Presets, 140 cm – Black
An electric sit-stand desk with a 140 × 70 cm top, a height display and four memory presets.
See it at 10GrainsWhy it suits them
Up and down at the press of a button. It runs from 72 cm for sitting to 116 cm for standing.
Four memory presets. Save your sitting and standing heights and go straight back to them.
Quiet. The listing says the motor runs below 45 dB, with anti-collision and overheat protection.
Worth knowing
It needs a socket. Mains powered, with a 2 m cord.
Load limit. Up to 70 kg on the top.
Assembly required. It arrives in one box of about 29.3 kg.
Key specs
Top: 140 × 70 cm, with a cable hole · Height: 72–116 cm
Controls: LED height display, 4 memory presets · Max load: 70 kg
2Works from the corner of the living room: a white wall desk that folds shut
No spare room, no box room, just a corner between the sofa and the window. This person needs a desk that disappears at six o'clock.
Wall-Mounted Drop-Leaf Desk with Storage Compartments, 77 cm – White
A white wall-mounted desk: drop the front panel to work, close it again and the laptop, pens and paperwork are hidden.
See it at 10GrainsWhy it suits them
Folds shut. Closed, it is just 77 cm wide, 20 cm deep and 51 cm high.
Hidden storage. Compartments and an adjustable shelf sit behind the panel.
Nothing on the floor. It fixes to the wall, so the corner still feels like part of the living room.
Worth knowing
It must go on a wall. It has to be securely fixed to a suitable wall.
Laptop, not a desktop. Up to 20 kg on the work surface, 5 kg on the shelf, 40 kg overall.
Assembly required. It arrives in one box of about 14.3 kg.
Key specs
Closed: 77 W × 20 D × 51 H cm · Closure: magnetic
Max load: 20 kg on the work surface, 40 kg overall · Finish: white
3Spreadsheets by day, games by night: a 142 cm gaming desk with a cup holder and headphone hook
The laptop closes at half five and the controller comes out at six. This person needs one desk that can do both shifts.
142 cm Carbon Fibre Effect Gaming Desk with Cup Holder & Headphone Hook – Black & Red
A wide black carbon-fibre-effect desk on a red Z-shaped steel frame, with a cup holder, a headphone hook and a controller rack.
See it at 10GrainsWhy it suits them
Room for both jobs. The 142 × 66 cm top fits more than one monitor and is rated to 100 kg.
Drinks off the desk. The cup holder is 11 cm across and 6 cm deep, for most mugs and cans.
Somewhere for the headphones. A headphone hook and a gamepad rack are built in.
Worth knowing
Accessory limits. Cup holder 2 kg, headphone hook 2 kg, gamepad holder 3 kg.
Leg room. 126 cm between the legs, so a wide gaming chair fits.
Assembly required. It arrives in one box of about 26.8 kg.
Key specs
Top: 142 × 66 cm, 76 cm high (96 cm overall) · Max load: 100 kg
Extras: cup holder, headphone hook, gamepad rack, cable hole · Frame: Z-shaped steel
4Two screens, one printer and a lot of paperwork: a white L-shaped desk with a file cabinet
Two monitors, a printer that only works on Tuesdays, invoices, receipts and a stack of things to file. This person needs a desk with somewhere to put it all.
Reversible L-Shaped Computer Desk with Drawers, File Cabinet & Shelves – White
A white desk that sets up as an L-shape or a long straight run, with a file cabinet, two drawers and two open shelves built in.
See it at 10GrainsWhy it suits them
Two layouts. Use it as an L (117 × 83.5 cm) or as a straight 162 cm desk by moving the connectors.
Storage built in. A file cabinet, two drawers and two open shelves.
Either side. The return is reversible, so it fits a left-hand or right-hand corner.
Worth knowing
Load limits. 30 kg on the main desk and 20 kg on the return.
Changing the shape takes tools. You swap the connector screws to switch between L and straight.
Two-person assembly. It arrives in two boxes, about 45.5 kg in total.
Key specs
As an L: 117 × 83.5 cm · Straight: 162 × 50 cm · Height: 76 cm
Storage: file cabinet, 2 drawers, 2 open shelves · Finish: white
5Follows the sun round the house: a little black desk on wheels
Kitchen in the morning, by the patio doors after lunch, spare room when it rains. This person needs a desk that moves when the sun does.
Mobile Computer Desk with Keyboard Tray, Bottom Shelf & Wheels – Black
A compact black desk on four castor wheels, with a slide-out keyboard tray and a bottom shelf.
See it at 10GrainsWhy it suits them
Rolls where you need it. Four wheels, and two of them lock so it stays put while you work.
Small footprint. The top is 60 × 48 cm and it stands 73 cm high.
Keyboard tray and shelf. A 51 × 26 cm slide-out tray, plus a bottom shelf for books or a laptop bag.
Worth knowing
Light loads. 15 kg on the top, 15 kg on the bottom shelf, 5 kg on the keyboard tray.
Laptop size. The top suits a laptop or a compact monitor.
Assembly required. It arrives in one box of about 11 kg.
Key specs
Size: 60 W × 48 D × 73 H cm · Wheels: 4, two locking
Keyboard tray: 51 × 26 cm · Max load: 35 kg overall
The five side by side
| Pick | Best for | Top size | Height | What you get | Max load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Standing desk | Working on your feet | 140 × 70 cm | 72–116 cm | Electric, LED display, 4 presets | 70 kg |
| 2 Wall desk | A corner of the living room | 77 cm wide; 20 cm deep closed | Fixed where you mount it | Fold-down front, compartments, shelf | 20 kg on the work surface |
| 3 Gaming desk | Work and gaming | 142 × 66 cm | 76 cm | Cup holder, headphone hook, gamepad rack | 100 kg |
| 4 L-shaped desk | Screens, printer and paper | 117 × 83.5 cm (L) or 162 × 50 cm | 76 cm | File cabinet, 2 drawers, 2 shelves | 30 kg main, 20 kg return |
| 5 Desk on wheels | Moving round the house | 60 × 48 cm | 73 cm | 4 wheels (2 lock), keyboard tray, shelf | 15 kg on top |
Figures are the supplier's published specifications. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
Standing desk, L-shaped or wall desk: which do you actually need?
Most people choose a desk by its look, then find out it is the wrong shape for the room. Start with these three questions instead.
- Do you sit all day? A height-adjustable standing desk like number 1 lets you switch between sitting (72 cm) and standing (116 cm) without changing desks.
- Do you need storage, or just a surface? If paperwork lives on your desk, an L-shaped desk with a file cabinet like number 4 keeps it in one place. If it's just a laptop, a smaller desk does the job.
- Does the desk have to disappear? In a shared room, a wall desk that folds shut (number 2) or a small desk on wheels you can roll away (number 5) gives the room back at the end of the day.
A standard fixed desk height is about 76 cm, and three of these five sit within a few centimetres of that. The standing desk is the one that changes.
Three things to measure before you buy a desk
Width and depth of the space
From a 60 × 48 cm desk on wheels up to 162 cm long for the L-shaped desk set up straight. Leave room to pull a chair out.
Ceiling-to-desk room for standing
Check nothing sits above the standing desk (a shelf or a window sill) that would stop it rising to 116 cm.
A wall and a socket
The wall desk must be fixed to a suitable wall, and the standing desk has a 2 m mains cord. Check both before you order.
Other good options
A wall desk with more shelves. The 3-in-1 fold-out wall desk with a bookshelf and writing board, if you want shelving as well.
The desk on wheels in white. The small white mobile computer desk with lockable wheels.
An L-shape that turns. The white L-shaped corner desk with a 360° rotating bookshelf.
What we left out, and why
Big executive desks. Lovely, but too wide and too heavy for most spare rooms and box rooms.
Office chairs. A different job, and worth choosing separately once you know your desk height.
Want to browse more? See all our office and computer desks and office furniture.
Home office desks: frequently asked questions
How high does the electric standing desk go?
Number 1 adjusts from 72 cm to 116 cm, with an LED height display and four memory presets. The top is 140 × 70 cm and it holds up to 70 kg.
How much space does the wall desk take up when it is closed?
Number 2 is 77 cm wide, 20 cm deep and 51 cm high when closed. It has to be fixed to a suitable wall, and the work surface takes up to 20 kg.
Will a big mug fit the gaming desk cup holder?
The cup holder on number 3 is 11 cm across and 6 cm deep, which suits most mugs and cans. The desk top is 142 × 66 cm.
Can the L-shaped desk be used as a straight desk?
Yes. Number 4 works as an L-shape (117 × 83.5 cm) or a straight 162 × 50 cm desk by changing the connector screws, and the return can go on either side.
Do the wheels on the mobile desk lock?
Two of the four wheels on number 5 lock. The desk is 60 × 48 cm and 73 cm high, with a 51 × 26 cm slide-out keyboard tray.
Which desk is best for a small room?
The wall desk (number 2) folds shut to 20 cm deep, and the desk on wheels (number 5) has a 60 × 48 cm top and can be rolled out of the way.
Do they need assembling?
Yes, all five need assembly. The L-shaped desk arrives in two boxes and two-person assembly is recommended, and the wall desk also needs fixing to the wall.
We're a small UK team who read spec sheets so you don't have to. Which home office person are you, or got a question about one of these desks? Leave a comment below and one of us will reply.
