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The best folding desks for realising your hybrid working dreams
Because your home doesn't *always* have to be your office
Now that it's the norm for many of us to be working from home a few days a week, being in the office Monday to Friday feels like a lifetime ago. Seriously, can you even remember that life? But with working from home comes a need for a certain number of hybrid working essentials, such as a folding desk.
Gone are the days of bulky, heavy and ugly office gear. You can now get your hands on a slim-line, functional desk that folds up when you need it, and folds down to slip behind the sofa at the end of the day.
Folding desks are a great option for people who don't have enough room for an office at home, but are equally suffering back pain from working on the sofa for days on end. If this sounds familiar, here are the best fold up desks you can get your hands on - some of which have super speedy delivery.
And if a folding desk doesn't feel appealing but you still need to improve your working from home set up, there are other options, too. Maybe you could consider a desk for small spaces, or maybe a new office chair (they're not all ugly, promise) that could drastically improve your day.
While lots of folding desks come at a bit of a premium this Amazon model is one of those rare pieces of furniture that looks more expensive than it is. With an oak-style table top and a black metal frame, all easily folding down in one manoeuvre, it's both stylish and convenient.
This simply, sturdy and relatively small folding desk with easy assembly is an option for a folding desk, and the sleek black design means it would happily slot into any interiors.
With an added shelf, this folding desk is perfect for those who need a lot of office supplies to hand during the work day. The desk and shelf fold forward like a folding chair, to be put away flat. It comes in black or black and walnut.
La Redoute's mini wall desk is perfect for the new world of part-office, part home-working. Along with the fold out desk, it includes a document holder and laptop support, so all your work stays nicely organised inside the desk when you finish for the day.
Who says folding desks can't be as spacious as you need? The Mare desk could fit two computers and chairs, and is height adjustable as well as foldable!
If you still don't think you have enough space for a desk, at least invest in a bed/sofa table to make things feel a little bit more professional.
If you're short on room but you're looking for workspace and storage space, a bureau cabinet might be the solution. When open, it doubles as a folding desk, but when closed, you can easily store miscellaneous items that you'd rather not have on display. Plus, on the top, you'll be able to add decorative items to give it more of a personal touch in your home. We love a multifunctional but equally gorgeous piece of furniture!
17 Stories Sighwaldi 90cm Rectangular Folding Table
17 Stories Sighwaldi 90cm Rectangular Folding Table
This one gets top marks for storage, meaning you don't have to compromise on the stationary obsession. With eight adjustable shelves you can customise the compartments to be the size and shape you want.
ZINUS Lindy 160 cm White Metal Folding Desk
ZINUS Lindy 160 cm White Metal Folding Desk
This multipurpose folding desk, comes with zero assembly and a water-resistant finish. There's really no excuse for sitting like a shrimp on work from home days now.
This folding table is very streamlined, so is a good choice for the super space conscious among us. Pop a little stool under it and you're good to go.
Blue Elephant Height Adjustable Standing Desk
This is the ultimate portable folding desk. For all those digital nomads out there, it's the perfect little set-up for working from well, anywhere. Just imagine pulling up by a gorgeous lake and getting on with your daily tasks. Or lounging on the beach with an iced coffee taking your morning meeting. Ideal, right?
Compact Folding Office Desk, White
Available in white, black or two-tone this folding desk is spacious and convenient and easily tacked away at the end of the day.
Habitat Compact Folding Office Desk - Black & Oak
Habitat Compact Folding Office Desk - Black & Oak
If white isn't your thing, how about a black and oak version of Habitat's folding desk? Compact and convenient, you can pop this behind the sofa when you're done with it.
Not only is this foldable lap desk compact and easy to store, it's also small enough to be portable, so you can work in a new part of the house everyday if you fancy it.
Drew Folding Bamboo 2 Seater Table - White
Drew Folding Bamboo 2 Seater Table - White
Small and simple, this folding desk is perfect for people who don't want to commit too much money to their working from home set up.
House of Home Multifunction Folding Desk
Did someone say stylish? This industrial-style desk pairs folding legs with a wooden top, to offer a practical and timeless piece that you'll love.
Subtle, stylish and practical - sometimes it's the simple things in life that make the most sense. This wall-mounted floating desk is available in a variety of colours and finishes, including this westminster oak, slate grey, dark oak or washed white. You can also pick your own dimensions to have it as small/large as necessary for your individual needs.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
Daniella Scott is Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. As part of her role, Danny covers all things entertainment, from true crime to scandalous drama (if there’s a con involved, she’s probably already binged it) and celebrity interviews, including Nicola Coughlan. Danny’s also across lifestyle, travel, interiors and food and drink, in both digital and print. So when she’s not trawling Instagram for the next best Ikea hack, she’s trying out cocktail recipes or pretending she has a driving license researching the UK’s best road trips.
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from TV and film, to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating quizzes, covering exciting new food releases and sharing the latest interior must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of The Kardashians. After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into fashion journalism, writing for the Daily Express, before working as Features Editor at The Tab, where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on LinkedIn.
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