When you have a living space with a small square footage, you have to get creative about how you get functional furniture that you do need into your home.
One of those ways is DIY hidden desks that people have fallen in love with, especially those with limited space in their home office. It could be a designated room or a corner in the central area, but all the same, hidden desks have changed the way we work and interact with our spaces.
In this article, we are going to look at two popular DIY ideas for hidden desks. The fantastic thing about each category we mention there are tons of ideas of what to go for.
You don’t have to settle for the basic stuff. Examples are available in a couple of places online, with Pinterest being an extensive resource for inspiration. Let’s dive in.
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Top hidden desk ideas
1. Wall-mounted foldable desks
The whole point of hidden desks is their ability to get tucked away.
There are a couple of ways you can go about this. You can have a foldable desk top mounted on the wall that you can pull down when you want to use it.
It could be a rectangle with the longer side folding to the wall, or the shorter side folding instead. How much wall space you have will determine what you do choose.
Equally, the base of the desktop doesn’t have to be bland. You make it so that it looks like part of the room’s design. It could serve as being something functional on the desktop, and a pleasing aesthetic piece at the bottom that shows when folded up.
The other idea is having a foldable desk that instead comes off a storage unit mounted on the wall. It pretty much the same concept as a bureau;the only thing is that it’s stuck to the wall.
This idea is fantastic if you need storage space for your work-related items.
When done, you simply fold up the desktop and voila, everything is hidden from sight. The desktop can be as small or as large as you prefer. Some prefer to have a section of the whole storage unit/shelf in view for décor purposes.
Here’s how to increase storage space in a small bedroom.
2. Closet desk
Why not turn that extra closet into a hidden workspace? If you don’t have a closet, you can have a portable one turned into a mini-office.
What makes these great is that once you’re done, you close the double doors, and it looks like another storage space in the room. It’s a creative way to keep a place looking less cluttered as you don’t have everything out in the open.
The other thing about closet desks is that you can have additional shelves added to make full use of it. Where it allows, you can throw in some drawers too.
Those with large closets can also consider turning part of it into an office, especially if you live in a noisy household. It is quite enough, away from the chaos, and allows you to get some work done peacefully.
With this idea, you’re not limited to closets only. Any hole in the wall where you have an existing shelf or similar piece of furniture that you have can do.
You may have to do some tweaking, such as adding a desktop but once done, you’ll have a small cozy place to work. Do you have space beneath your staircase?
Well, you can turn that into a hidden desk project too.
Tips for getting your DIY hidden desk right
Unless you have a background in woodwork, it would be helpful to get a short tutorial on how to go about building one. Once you’re confident with your understanding, then choose the design you want to go for.
Sites like Pinterest might overwhelm you initially because of all the options available. However, that should not deter you. After looking through many DIY ideas for a hidden shelf, you’ll pick up on themes that you love.
From there, narrowing it down to what you want will be easy. You’re also free to create something from scratch and bring it to life. After, consider the type of lumber that you want to get.
The rule of thumb for those converting closets into hidden desks is to work with the same kind of wood as the closet doors unless you want to change those.
It doesn’t have to be exact, but you want to keep the flow of the space going. Even so, don’t opt for cheap materials. There are sturdy plywood pieces available, even in your local home store.
If you’ve picked something online that has schematics and measurements that come along with it, then that’s a great thing. You’re likely to have an easier time with the wall-mount hidden desk option, especially if you have adequate space.
All you need to do is follow the cutting measurements to the tee, and you’re all set. However, there are cases you might have to tailor your measurements to meet the space you have.
That’s likely if you don’t have a standard-sized closet or shelf that you want to convert.
Overall, if you’re making a hidden desk in a common area such as your living room, then consider making something that matches the space. Look around the room and see what kind of theme you have going on.
Do you have warm or cool colors? Are there bright colors, or are darker tones more you thing? Keep these design aspects in mind so that you make something that suits the space.
Wrap up
DIY projects have changed the way we view our spaces. It has opened a world of possibilities and has given us the freedom to create solutions to the problems we have. It is no different from the hidden desk, which is a blessing for those with smaller homes.