14 Inspiring Minimalist Desk Setup Ideas for Studio Apartments

Living in a small studio apartment can be tough. The lack of space can end up feeling suffocating, especially for those of us that like to hold onto a lot of stuff. 

This goes double for those that have a profession that means they spend more time in the apartment than usual. People like students, writers, developers, freelancers, and other work from home types.

That’s why so many studio apartment dwellers end up leaning towards minimalist desk setups. Even if they aren’t particularly fond of the minimalist style, it can help make the room feel bigger, and therefore less cluttered and suffocating.

We’re going to run through 14 potential ideas that you can incorporate into your minimalist desk setup, and hopefully, inspire you to make your own office space.  

1. Get Rid of Unnecessary Decoration

Some of you are guilty of this; others are not. Random things littered around your workspace like a rubber band ball, a random stuffed toy, maybe an empty bottle of alcohol, all things that you think might make a good decoration, but ultimately just take up space. 

This isn’t to say get rid of all your decorations. Keep the ones that actually have meaning to you, rather than just looking cool.

2. Bring Some Life into the Room

There are two ways that you can liven up your minimalist office setup. The first is to get yourself a potted plant. 

The plant doesn’t even have to be real, just decent sized and green. Bonus points if there isn’t anything else in the office that’s green, so it contrasts. 

Alternatively, or as well, you should concentrate on the benefits of natural lighting. If you have a window near your desk that gets sunlight, great! If not, try to get your hands-on lightbulbs that mimic sunlight. 

These two combined are going to make your office a much more productive space, while not cluttering the place up. 

3. Choose One Consistent Style

An easy way to destroy a minimalist desk setup, and make a room feel much smaller than it is, is to mesh styles and colors together. 

If everything in the room is contrasting and fighting against one another, it makes the space feel chaotic and stuffy. Instead of that, pick one style, and more importantly, one or two main colors. 

Black and white are the most common and effective color choices for minimalist PC desk setups. You don’t need to go crazy, but make sure the important bits, like your desk and whatnot, fit with the color scheme.  

4. Keep Cables Out of Sight

You need to keep your cables and wires out of sight and out of mind. Needless to say, if you have cables running all over the place, it’s going to feel messy, which defeats the point of minimalism.

Thankfully, there is no shortage of methods available for you to use. You can invest in some cable ties or cable sleeves, or you could use some rubber bands to tie the wires to the back of furniture. 

Either way, just make sure you run the cables under and behind whatever you can. 

5. Make the Space Creatively Stimulating

Just because things need to be minimal doesn’t mean that you can’t spice the place up a bit. Specifically, try and decorate with things that spark your creativity. 

Sometimes all it takes is a framed poster with a quote, or something similar. Only you know what gets your brain juices flowing, so this one is up to you. 

6. Make a Little Do a Lot

The difficulty with using a minimalist desk set up in a studio apartment is that you need to balance out the style with making the most of the space you have. 

One possible way to do this is to use up your walls. This doesn’t mean loading it up with posters and pictures. Instead, put up some shelves and hooks. If you do it right, it shouldn’t clutter up the room and is going to give you a lot more space to work with 

7. Clean, Clean, Clean

One of the most important things you can do to maintain a minimalist office desk setup is to ensure that the area is clean. Wipe down your desk, dust off everything, and make sure there is no rubbish. 

How do I maintain a clean desk, though? It’s a problem that a lot of people have, but you should set yourself a weekly cleaning schedule so that you stay on top of things. This isn’t exactly the most inspirational of ideas, but it is extremely helpful. 

8. Multitask

Under normal circumstances, we’d recommend the opposite of this tip. However, it’s unique when it comes to studio apartments. 

If you can, try to set your desk up to multitask. In other words, if you need a gaming area and a working area in your apartment, make the one space do both. 

This can be difficult to do minimalist, but with proper cable management, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty.

9. Keep Distractions to a Minimum

In a studio apartment, everything is tied together. Like we said with the tip above, areas are going to have to serve more than one purpose. 

However, this means you need to battle with distractions. For example, if you’re working, don’t have the game system on in the background waiting, and put your phone on silent. 

If you struggle with this, you can try a productivity tip like the Pomodoro technique. 

10. Invest in a SmartDesk

The SmartDesk line is perfect for minimalist studio apartment offices. Not only do you get the choice of styles, but you get a heap of health and productivity benefits, too. 

The SmartDesk 2 is most people’s go-to choice standing desk, but if you want a corner desk, you could have a look at the L-Shaped SmartDesk . 

The desk fits our “do more than one thing” requirement well, so if you’re in need of a new desk for your minimalist PC desk setup, consider getting on of these. 

11. Get Yourself a Good Chair

Minimalist or not minimalist, a good office needs a good chair. You might think going down to IKEA and spending $40 dollars is good enough, but it isn’t. A bad chair is going to destroy your back and your productivity, which isn’t exactly what we want. 

The ErgoChair is a great option if you’re in the market for an ergonomic office chair. It’s ergonomic, meaning it comes with health and productivity benefits, provides you a proper sitting posture, its slick and clean style means it isn’t going to look out of place in a minimalist office. 

How much is that going to cost? Well, it’s a good chair, so the price reflects that. However, you have the choice of paying with monthly installments, which is much more manageable.

12. Get a Digital Clock

The right digital clock can actually do wonders to enhance your minimalist desk setup. It allows you to avoid checking your phone for the time, keeps you focused, and can look incredibly stylish. 

Try to find one that suits the look of your office and has multiple features like a timer for when you’re scheduling out your breaks. 

13. Theme Your Desk Setup

One of the best things you can do to make your desk feel more spacious is to theme it.  For example, you could go for a nature-themed minimalist desk setup, with more plant life and light decoration. Alternatively, you could go for an industrial theme with dark metals, pipes, and a steampunk vibe going on. 

Either way, it’s going to help your office feel more spacious and more personalized. 

14. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

The final tip we can give you to generate ideas for a minimalist desk setup is this. If you’re afraid to get experimental with your office, it’s never going to reach its full potential. What if I get things wrong? Remember, you’re allowed to make mistakes, to buy something then decide you don’t like it, to change paint colors, and more. 

Your workspace is a work in progress, so treat it as such. 

Pros and Cons of a Minimalist Desk Setup

• More space.
• Productive workspace.
• Clean and uncluttered.
• Personal.

• Lack of decoration.
• Hard to maintain.

Conclusion

We can never have enough ideas or tips. If you’re looking for some additional minimalist office setup reading material, have a look at our top quality content for your brain to enjoy. Besides that, if you’re looking for smart office furniture to update your home office, feel free to visit our site.