The best desk accessories can really help make the creative juices flow. They can help organise your workspace, so you're more productive, and can make working at your desk more comfortable by making your peripherals easier to reach, or by improving your posture. By making your desk more pleasant to sit at, you'll find yourself less stressed and more focused - and that can work wonders if you're a creative.
To help us put this guide together, we've spent hours, days - and even years - using many of the coolest desk accessories you find on this page. With the accessories we've not had a chance to try ourselves, we've thoroughly researched them, so you can trust our recommendations.
Read on to find our top picks for the best desk accessories, including lamps, desk tidies and ergonomic tools to keep you comfortable and safe when working. Pair these accessories with the best office chair for back pain and best standing desks, and you'll transform your home, office or studio, and make working at your desk a joy.
The best desk accessories of 2023
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Wattage: 40 Watts
The Ikea Forsa lamp tops our best desk lamp in 2023 list, which makes it an essential accessory for your desk. With a simple, but elegant, design and a low price tag, this is a brilliant addition to almost any desk. You can adjust the arm and shade to illuminate what you're looking at, and it comes in a number of colors that will compliment your workspace. However, it does not come with a bulb - you'll need to buy those separately.
Supported laptop size: Up to 15-inch
If you use a laptop, then investing in a stand for your desk is essential. The Twelve South HiRise for MacBook is a practical choice for creatives thanks to its spring-loaded piston design. This feature lets you raise your laptop up to six inches, so you can position it level with a desktop monitor with a flick of a switch.
Weight supported: 80lbs (36.28kg)
This monitor stand features adjustable snap-in risers that provide three height options between three and six inches, and the 11.5-inch (29.2cm) area underneath enables you to store accessories or papers. So, you can raise your monitor to a more comfortable height on your desk, while also keeping it tidy. It can handle large, heavy monitors, making it a great choice for digital creatives.
Material: Memory foam
If you spend a lot of time at your desk typing, then you'll want to make sure your wrists are properly supported. You might not notice it at first, but when typing you may hold your wrists off the desk, and that can cause discomfort after a while. The Razer Ergonomic Wrist Rest protects you from this by offering a comfortable memory foam surface to rest your wrists on.
Material: Gel
As well as when typing, you may find your wrists feel strained when using a mouse as well, so the Amazon Basics Mouse Pad with Wrist Rest is a great desk accessory, as it combines a mouse pad, which can make using a mouse easier and more responsive, with a gel-filled wrist rest, giving your wrists support to avoid injury.
Maximum wattage: 5W
Adding a wireless charger like the Belkin BoostUp Wireless Charging Pad to your desk gives you a quick and easy way to charge your compatible phone. There’s an LED light on top so you’ll be certain that your phone is charging. This can be particularly useful if your device has run out of charge entirely and doesn’t have enough power to display the charging logo. It comes with an AC adapter in the box too.
Ports: 1x USB-C data, 1x USB-C charging, 2x USB 3.2 ports, 1 4K HDMI port, a micro SD card slot, and an SD card slot
Having a USB hub on your desk can make your life a lot easier, especially if you use a laptop, such as the MacBook Air, which doesn't have many ports. Plug the Anker 555 8-in-1 USB-C hub into a spare USB-C port and you'll instantly be able to plug in extra peripherals, memory cards (great for photographers) and with an HDMI port, you can hook your laptop up to a monitor or TV as well.
Audio Inputs: 3.5mm stereo mini-jack, USB-C, Bluetooth
These compact speakers look great, so they can sit unobtrusively in any office or home, and they are a great choice for people with not a lot of space. Despite their small size and low price, the sound quality is very good, and are a massive step up from the tinny built-in speakers you find in laptops and monitors. Great for music, video calls and watching movies at your desk.
Compartments: 2
This affordable desk organizer from Ikea lets you keep your accessories and peripherals stored away. Not only will your desk look neat and tidy, but it'll look stylish as well. You can easily see what it holds, so you can quickly find the tool you're looking for without having to scrabble around. The wood and white metal design allows it to fit naturally into most people's setups.
What are the coolest desk accessories?
'Cool' is subjective, but if you want a bit of eye candy for your desk, picking something with RGB lighting is a good call. Smart lights from the likes of Philips Hue and Nanoleaf can bring the cool factor to your desk. If by 'cool' you mean temperature-wise, then a desk fan is a great choice!
What's the most common desk accessories?
For creatives, the most common desk accessories are ones that make your workspace comfortable and inspiring. Desk lamps, monitor stands and ergonomic wrist rests are some of the most popular desk accessories, allowing you to work at your desk in comfort.
