Updated: Oct 22, 2024 by Kris Jarrett

Kitchen Desk Ideas

Having a built-in desk in your kitchen seems to be a “grass is always greener” kind of thing. The closet thing that I have to a desk is this spot at the far end of our kitchen with shallow cabinetry and a butcher block countertop. It’s the spot where we end up piling unread mail and keeping our family charging station and (when I finally get around to it..) it will eventually house a little coffee bar.

But it’s certainly not a spot to sit down to go through the mail and pay bills or do a quick look-up on the laptop and I’d love to have a kitchen desk for that.

So I would think that people with kitchen desks would love them and use them all of the time but most of my friends who have them don’t use their desk for anything other than a spot where mail and clutter collects. I recently got an email from a reader, Susan, who wrote asking for some advice on the common problem of what to do with that tricky kitchen desk area:

We live in a “Cape” that was built in 1985. Typical of that period, we have a desk in the kitchen that is located in the “breakfast nook” area-so not attached to the actual kitchen, rather off to the side. Much like everyone else I speak to that has this feature, it goes unused and with two small kids, becomes a collector of all things. Its a real eyesore and I’m stuck as to what to do with it. Is this something that you have dealt with before and if so, what would you suggest?

Here’s a pic of Susan’s desk nook area that she graciously allowed me to share:

So how can you turn your dust-collecting kitchen desk into a more functional, usable space? (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure available {here})

1. Get a desk chair. Because the truth is that you’ll never actually use the desk as a desk unless you have a chair. And don’t just buy any old chair – get one that you love and that adds style and personality to your kitchen. Unlike when you’re buying chairs for a dining table, you only need a single chair for a desk so now is the time to get that chair that you’ve always loved but couldn’t afford if you needed 4 or 6 of them. And pay attention to how the back of the chair looks since that’s the side that you’ll see the most.

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2. Add a large bulletin board to the wall above the desk. Bulletin boards are fairly easy and inexpensive to make in a customized size and can be left as plain cork like in {this gorgeous kitchen} or covered in fabric (and nailhead trim if you want to get fancy) like in {this pretty kitchen}. And if you want an even simpler DIY, find a frame you like that fits in your space, cut a piece of cork board to fit, cover it with fabric and adhere it to your frame (tutorial {here}). Once you have a bulletin board in your kitchen, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. It’s perfect for pinning up letters to mail, bills to pay, field trip permission slips, coupons, or anything else that tends to get lost in the paperwork piles we all have. Just make sure that if you choose a chair with arms, you measure your chair and desk to make sure the arms will fit underneath your desk so that the chair can be pushed all of the way in and not disrupt the flow of traffic in the kitchen. If there is an issue with very little space in front of the desk, you could also choose an x-bench or low stool that can be tucked completely underneath.

3. If you have open shelving above the desk area, add some accessories that you love along with some baskets or storage boxes to contain clutter for a look similar to these living room shelves:

Pottery Barn

Use some of those baskets to store your favorite cookbooks and most used spices if you don’t have other open shelving in your kitchen:

Polished Pebble

4. Add some stylish desk accessories that will make you smile when you sit down at your desk. See {this post} for some of my favorites.

5. A kitchen desk is the perfect place for a family charging station – you can add a power strip to one of the drawers to create a hidden charging station like in {this kitchen} or create a charging station to add to the desktop (tutorial {here}):

I’d love to hear your thoughts about having a desk in your kitchen – do you love it or hate it? Any other tips or advice you’d like to share with Susan or anyone else who has a kitchen desk that’s collecting dust?

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