Cubicle Decor Ideas: Desk Accessories for a Small Workspace
Cubicle decor has rules an office with a door does not. The desk is small, the walls are shared, and the people on the other side of the partition see, hear and smell whatever you bring in. Good ideas for a cubicle work inside those limits. The most effective one is also the simplest: choose one color for the things on your desk and let everything else stay quiet.
Three limits to design around
- Space. A cubicle desk is shallow, and a monitor, keyboard and phone already take most of it. Whatever you add has to do a job as well as look good.
- Neighbors. Nothing with a scent, a sound or a flashing light. What you see as cozy, the next desk experiences all day without having chosen it.
- Rules. Many employers have guidelines on what can be pinned, plugged in or displayed. Read them before you buy anything; facilities teams remove what breaks them.
Start with the desk surface
Cubicles are built in neutral colors: gray fabric, beige laminate, a black chair. Against that background, the things on the desk are the easiest place to add color, because they are yours and they can go home with you.
One color, several pieces
A desk pad, a pen cup and a coaster in the same color change how a cubicle looks more than a dozen unrelated objects. Matching pieces read as one decision. The sets of four to nine pieces in compact desk sets all use the smaller desk pad, 13.4 × 18.9 in (34 × 48 cm); measure the free depth in front of your monitor stand to check that it fits.
- The Luna 4-Piece Desk Set in pink ($120) has a desk pad, a pen cup, a memo holder and a coaster.
- The Luna 5-Piece Desk Set adds a business card holder, and the Vega 4-Piece Desk Set has a phone stand where the Luna 4 has a coaster.
Choosing the color
The Luna sets come in a wide range, from black, brown, gray and white to blue, green, orange, pink, red and turquoise. Two ways to choose:
- Bright against the gray. A strong color is the quickest way to make a standard cubicle look like someone's. See pink desk sets or turquoise desk sets for how each looks.
- Calm and tonal. Black, gray or white on a gray cubicle looks composed and suits client-facing or conservative offices.
Finishes can differ from one color to another, so read the description of the color you want. For a desk surface that is not gray or beige, see how to choose a desk set color.
Use the walls, with a plan
Fabric partitions are the one generous surface in a cubicle. They are also where clutter collects fastest.
- Divide the wall into two zones. One for work, such as a calendar, a phone list and the week's priorities, and one for personal things. Keep them apart.
- Frame the personal zone. Three or four photographs or cards in a tidy grid look deliberate. Twenty at angles look like a bulletin board.
- Repeat your desk color once. One item on the wall in the same color as the desk set ties the space together. More than one starts to look themed.
- Leave the top edge clear. Things that stand above the partition are in your neighbors' view, not yours.
A nameplate in a row of identical desks
In a large open floor, cubicles look alike, and visitors and new colleagues count desks to find the right one. A nameplate solves that and is one of the few decor pieces that is purely useful to other people. A personalized desk name plate can be ordered on its own, with a name of up to 32 characters and an optional title of up to 36 printed on a metal plate. Place it on the corner of the desk nearest the opening, facing the aisle.
If you want the plate as part of a matching set, the Luna 8-Piece Desk Set with Nameplate is a compact one: desk pad, pen cup, memo holder, business card holder, nameplate base with two pens and a coaster.
A lamp, a plant and three personal things
- Light. Overhead lighting in open offices is flat. A small desk lamp with a warm bulb changes how a cubicle feels. Ask before you plug one in; some offices do not allow personal lamps.
- One plant. Choose a kind that tolerates low light and missed watering, and keep the pot in a saucer, off the desk pad, and water it away from the desk.
- Three personal items at most. A photograph, an object, a mug. Past three, each new item makes the others less visible.
Three example cubicles
| Style | On the desk | On the wall |
|---|---|---|
| Bright | A four- or five-piece set in pink, turquoise or orange | One calendar, three photographs, one card in the set's color |
| Calm | A black or gray compact set with a nameplate | A calendar and a single framed print |
| Minimal | A desk pad and a pen cup, nothing else | Only what you need for work |
For the minimal version, single pieces are sold through Build Your Desk Set: pick a model, add only the pieces you want and choose a color. There is no minimum.
What to skip
- Scented things: candles, diffusers, strongly scented plants.
- Anything that makes noise or blinks: novelty clocks, string lights that flash, desk toys that click.
- Extra furniture: shelves and organizers that take floor or desk space the cubicle does not have.
- Humor that needs explaining. Signs and posters are read by everyone who walks past, clients and executives among them.
If you do not have a fixed desk
With hot desks, decor has to fit in a bag or a locker. Two or three small pieces in one color, a pen cup, a coaster and a nameplate, set up in a minute and make any desk yours for the day.
Cubicle decor questions
How do I make a cubicle look professional and still personal?
Keep the desk to one color and one family of pieces, and keep personal items to a small, framed area of the wall. More ideas for a working desk are in office desk decor.
Will a desk pad fit a cubicle desk?
The smaller pad is 13.4 × 18.9 in (34 × 48 cm). Measure the free depth in front of your monitor stand before you order.
Is it worth decorating a desk I may lose in a reorganization?
Yes, if what you add can move with you. A desk set packs into a box; a painted wall does not.
