With a thing for simple elegance, flair for woodwork and appreciation of innovation, furniture designers from the mid century era profoundly shaped the contemporary view of furniture. From the practical demands to our very understanding of stylish furniture, the legacy of this era is very much alive today. And so is the unwavering popularity of the mid century modern style furniture. With its impeccable style that looks just as fresh today as it did decades ago, and the practical aspects of the furniture from the era still meeting the demands of the modern home, this continuing fascination with MCM style won’t be wavering any time soon.

Mid century modern desks also embody the qualities that made MCM style so popular. Most commonly made out of premium-quality wood, sleek in their appearance and elegant in their appeal, these designs continue to find their place in countless homes and offices. With a number of different models, you can easily find those that will fit your décor preferences flawlessly, but also those which are sure to meet the demands of your work.

Defining the mid century modern desk

Mid century style desks are desks that come with a unique aesthetic that will, when matched with a mid century desk chair, instantly turn your home office into a scene straight out of Mad Men. Elegant and classy, they rely on clear simple lines and clever composition for their unique appeal. Wood as the preferred material as well as simple tapered legs have become trademarks for the desks from the era. The former is related to overall appreciation of natural colors, textures and shapes, while the latter is tied to the idea of reducing the visual footprint of the piece, allowing the light to flow underneath it and prevent the room from looking too cluttered.

Despite these widely shared features, mid century modern desks come in a variety of shapes and models which correspond to different practical functions, considerations regarding space usage, but also the stylistic impact. Below, we will explore some of the most common types of mid century style desks as well as their specifics.

Mid century writing desk

Arguably the most common type of working table from the era, mid century writing desk is exemplary of the spirit of MCM style. These wooden desks come with simple yet elegant shape and form, tapered legs and a number of drawers or open storage spaces. Their almost minimalist and streamlined design, combined with the raw beauty of wood ensure a truly one of a kind aesthetic that is sure to bring a touch of mid century nostalgic elegance to your home or office. With a large working surface, mid century writing desks can easily be used as computer desks while still leaving you with enough space for some décor elements.

Mid century corner desk

You interested in strategies for clever utilization of limited space? Mid century corner desk can be an ideal solution for you. Corners are traditionally the nightmare of interior designers – to limited for any major furniture piece, they have usually been reserved for lamps, house plants and other accessories of the type. But, corner desks can easily change this by opening up the space, providing you with a significant working surface and creating a working nook in your room that won’t interfere with the overall appearance of the room.

Mid century corner desks come in several different subtypes, with the most common being the L-shaped corner desks (back in the 1950s, they were especially popular in the western Europe and the United States) and small corner desks (most popular in the Scandinavia during the mid century era). The former come with a large work surface that will not only provide you with enough space to place your laptop, papers and any other necessities, but also with some to spare for décor details and accessories. Due to their L-shape, they have the appearance of two desks merged into one with 90 degrees angle between them. They are the ideal option if you want to make the most out of limited space and have significant demands for work surfaces.

Small mid century corner desk (often available as end tables) usually have triangular or other non-rectangular shape. This ensures a fresh and unconventional aesthetic that will add a noticeable layer of visual interest to your room, but at the same time, small mid century corner desks have a relatively smaller work surface. So while they might do the trick for laptop, if you use them for PC, they will fairly quickly become cluttered.

Mid century modern office desks

Mid century desks are an ideal solution for any modern office, not only because of their practical value, but also because of the exquisite style and the elegance of carefully processed wood that will profoundly change the overall aesthetic of the office as a whole. Usually much more massive and imposing than their home office counterparts, mid century modern office desks are sure to catch attention and create the ambience of seriousness and elegance that will turn your office into a masterpiece of interior design.

Mid century modern executive desks are the most impactful subtype. They come with a very large working surface, numerous drawers and relatively subtle legs which ensures that they look significantly more massive and imposing than the majority of other furniture pieces from the same era. The wood used in their production is, in most cases, walnut, which ensures a darker shade and an elegant and sophisticated shine that will only further emphasize the classy aesthetic that is so characteristic of mid century executive desks.

Another type of mid century modern office desks that used to be popular in the era are so-called secretary desks. They come with a number of drawers and book shelves between which there is a small working surface, sometimes tilted at certain angle. Despite being a kind of a classic back in the 1950s, this type of mid century office desks was based on designs from the previous eras and is considered to be relatively outdated and impractical for the modern user, which led to the decline in their production.

Mid century wall desks

Mid century wall desk is a type of working table that is either integrated with wall shelves or is available as a floating desk that is suspended directly onto the wall. As another piece of furniture that excels at making the most out of limited space it is especially popular solution for home offices and living rooms in need of a working surface. On top of that, they can be very elegant and are also an ideal option for the room rich in wooden elements like shelves and cabinets.