How to Choose The Best Desk Size for Your Workspace

Whether you’re at your standing desk four hours a week or forty, your workspace is like a window into how you work, your personal style, your productivity level and your occupation. It can be a simple setup in a small office, confined to a cubicle, or the design centerpiece of a home office. While the specifications and functionality of your desk frame are important, we often overlook the most prominent and aesthetically important element of our workspaces - the desktop.

Options for standing desk top surfaces range from inexpensive particle board to custom refurbished wood designs and everything in between. Finding a desktop that suits your needs and style can be tricky, so here are some tips on choosing the right surface for your individual needs.

Standing desk: size & shape

Your desktop’s size can really help or hinder your comfort and productivity. Take the daily tools and equipment you use while at your desk into consideration when choosing a desktop. A graphic designer working with dual monitors and a Wacom tablet is better suited for a larger surface space, so your work area doesn’t feel restricted. Alternatively, someone using a single thirteen inch laptop may feel that smaller is better, as having too much room can actually encourage clutter and distractions. It’s best to get a rough measurement of how much space your desk items will occupy and give yourself at least a few extra inches on each side.

Of course, even if you work with multiple monitors and other devices, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have the physical space for an expansive desktop. If you’re confined to a small space or cubicle, organizational tools like cable management, a filing cabinet, and monitor arms can help maximize your space.

StandDesk offers desktops in six different standard sizes:

• 45 x 24 – This standing desk is perfect for small spaces, where your office doubles as your bedroom or in apartments.
• 48 x 30 – A standard commercial office size small standing desk. The 30" depth offers enough room for monitors to be used behind your laptop.
• 50 x 26 –A great size of standing desk for when you need a little bit more width, without taking on more depth.
• 60 x 26 – Even more width with this standing desk, allowing space for multiple laptops, notebooks or other work mini-stations so you can multitask without rearranging. 
• 60 x 30 –Our other standard commercial office sized standing desk in large. If you're looking for an office-like size or buying for your company's office, this is the standard.
• 72 x 30 – When you need all the space! Six full feet of width and the full 30" depth is a perfect standing desk for those of us can't have enough desktop real estate to stay productive and organized.

Sit-stand desk: color & material

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the plethora of color options out there and it may seem like the material doesn’t really matter - after all, an inexpensive laminate desktop will technically work just as well as a beautiful, thick wood surface, right? Not necessarily.

For some, natural wood desktops may offer the calming, organic aesthetic that your office lacks. For those who don’t want to be limited to different shades of brown, laminate desktops (usually pressed board with a laminate covering) can be an inexpensive alternative.

StandDesk provides a variety of standing desk options in both laminate and solid wood. Black laminates and white laminates offer clean, sleek and inexpensive style. We're especially proud of our solid wood desktops, which are available in more sizes and materials than any of our competition, and at lower prices.

Our reclaimed wood standing desk is our most popular seller and taps into the industrial chic trend perfectly. Our white oak and South American walnut sit-stand desk provide exceptional quality in a timeless aesthetic. And our natural bamboo stand desk not only looks terrific, but also offers a dry erase whiteboard coating.

Style & functionality

Desktops of old were simply flat surfaces that you worked on. While simple tops are still functionally sound, it’s 2021 - if your desktop doesn’t have a few extra flourishes, you’re missing out.

For us, cable management and connectivity are must haves for a desktop surface. Nobody wants cords hanging off of the edges of the standing desk, and something as simple as grommet holes in the top corners of your desktop can easily solve this issue. You can feed cords from your devices through the holes and out of sight. Even better, StandDesk grommet plugs are available that offer AC and USB outlets, as well as cable management. No more bending down to find space on your power strip.

If you have questions about what standing desk size and material is right for you, just contact us and we'll help you find the perfect fit. For B2B customers, we encourage to use our free space planning service, where we custom render our products in your office space to give you a preview of what to expect.