Some people are lucky enough to find a small space in their home they can permanently equip with a work from home (WFH) setup. Others have to make do with turning whatever corner of a room is available at any given time into a viable workspace. If you’re among the latter, getting a standard work or gaming desk just isn’t something that makes sense, as you’ll need to remove it any time the space is needed for something else. Chances are, a folding desk that you can deploy as needed is going to serve you better.
A folding desk that can collapse into a flat pile, then stash inside a closet or under furniture, allows you to keep your home clean of unnecessary clutter. When you need to get work done at home, simply take the desk out and set it up to get yourself a proper workspace. Some folding desks can collapse in a way that makes them look like regular furniture, too, so you can just push them against the wall, ready for the next time you’ve got work from home tasks at hand. Of course, that won’t free up some of the space that someone else in the house might need, so best consider every possible scenario before deciding on a folding desk to get.
At any rate, these are the best folding desks for setting up a home office on the fly.
Leopard Folding Computer Desk
The most affordable folding desk in the list, this desk has front legs that fold backwards and a top that folds down when collapsing (it’s hinged to the back frame). It also arrives preassembled, making it very convenient for folks who don’t appreciate assembling flat-packed furniture, all while measuring just 3.6 inches thick when folded, allowing you to hide it under (or behind) larger furniture pieces. The tabletop measures 31.5 x 17.8 inches, so you get just enough room for a basic work setup, which shouldn’t be an issue. While the folding design is convenient, it doesn’t feel as sturdy as more expensive folding desk options, but considering all it will need to support is a laptop, a couple of peripherals, and maybe your favorite drinking tumbler, it should hold up well enough for those times you need to set it up to get work done.
Frylr Folding Desk With Power
This pre-assembled folding desk comes with a power strip on one side, with two standard outlets and two 2.1A USB ports. That means, you don’t need to run cables to the wall outlet, as you can simply plug in the table and you get instant access to a quartet of places to charge your laptop, mobile gadgets, and peripherals. It is pretty small, though, with the tabletop measuring just 31.5 x 15.7 inches (width x depth), although they do offer a larger 43.3-inch wide version with the same feature set for those who need something bigger. We also appreciate the adjustable leg pads, which allows you to compensate for uneven floors by making micro adjustments to the height of each leg, which can really come in handy for folks who don’t have a permanent spot to work at in the house.
Need Folding Desk Small
This folding desk measures just 31.5 inches wide, giving you enough room for a laptop, a mousepad, and a couple small peripherals. Yes, that’s not much, but that’s a pretty standard loadout for a temporary work from home setup. Unlike many flat-packed desks, it ships preassembled, so you can use this straight out of the box, with the legs conveniently folding under the tabletop when the entire thing is collapsed. And yes, it folds conveniently flat, measuring just 4.5 inches thick with the legs tucked in. The whole thing weighs just 18 pounds, by the way, all while being able to support loads up to 220 pounds.
Inbox Zero 41.5” Desk
Need drawer storage for your work from home setup? Get this storage-equipped folding desk, which comes with a three-layer shelf that can hold everything from chargers and cables to books and peripherals of all sorts. Of course, the drawers aren’t part of the folding design, so you’ll need to have the room to accommodate a three-level drawer permanently. If you do, however, you can have a reasonably spacious workspace measuring 41.5 x 20 inches (width x depth), complete with handy storage on the side. When collapsed, by the way, the desk folds onto the top and sides of the drawers, so you get a freestanding storage furniture measuring 18.5 x 29 x 20 inches (width x height x depth).
Groveland Chloe Folding Desk
While this desk doesn’t quite fold as flat as other options in this list, we do appreciate its all-wood construction, rear shelving, and side rails, which aren’t quite as common in most folding desks we’ve seen. It’s quite small, with the top measuring just 30 x 18 inches (width x depth), but should be enough to fit a standard laptop setup, complete with some handy storage in the back. When folded, by the way, you can lean it against the wall and use the shelving as a magazine rack (or a general-purpose rack), where it can sit there actually looking like an upright piece of furniture instead of a collapsed desk. This is important since the rear shelf makes it difficult to slip this under couches and beds, so your best chance at stashing this away is to either slip it in a roomy closet or just hide it in plain sight.
Urban Outfitters Ryan Collapsible Desk
This no-frills utilitarian folding desk is made entirely from powder-coated iron, so it’s heavier than other desks of the same size, tipping the scales at 88 pounds. Don’t worry, you won’t have to move it around much, since the darn thing can fold flat by simply pushing the legs inward, allowing you to lean it neatly against the wall. And if you do have to move it, the legs come with casters that let you just push it along without having to expend much muscle power. The desk surface measures 36 x 20 inches (width x depth), so you get plenty of room for your work from home setup, while the table itself gets a very simple construction that allows you to easily disassemble it when needed. If you want a sturdy table and don’t mind the coldness of iron, this will get the job done.
Vermont Country Store Solid Wood Folding Office Desk
Not a fan of flimsy particle boards and heavy metal desks? This solid wood folding desk might be more your style, as every part of the frame, tabletop, and slide-out tray are all cut in solid hardwood with a natural finish. It offers decent space, too, with the tabletop measuring 40 x 20 inches, so you can fit a laptop and a USB monitor on the side for a productive dual-display setup. The collapsed size is pretty compact as well, although you’ll need a little more room to store it than the most compact desks in the list.
Urban Outfitters Mid-Century Fold Out Desk
When collapsed, this folding desk can serve as a freestanding console that you can use for various storage needs around the house. When you get that call and you need a proper workspace to connect to the office servers, though, the storage area opens into a functional desk with a worktop measuring 35.1 x 20 inches, enough room to hold your laptop and any peripherals you need to keep nearby. Features include solid mango wood construction (yep, this is real solid wood), hidden storage compartments under the desk top, and a desk height of 28.5 inches.
