A Narrow desks or bureau is a piece of furniture having a flat, table-like work surface that is used in a school, office, house, or other place for domestic or work-related tasks like reading, writing, or using technology like a computer. For storing objects like office supplies and papers, desks frequently contain one or more drawers, compartments, or pigeonholes. Typically, desks are composed of metal or wood, though occasionally, glass is used as well.

The mid-14th century Modern Latin term desca, meaning “table to write on,” is where the word “desk” first appeared. It is a variation of the Roman discus, which means “dish” or “disc,” and the Old Italian desco, “table.” Since 1797, the word “desk” has been used figuratively. The terms bureau, counter, davenport, escritoire, lectern, reading stand, rolltop desk, school desk, workstation, or writing desk are also used to describe desks.

Some Narrow desks resemble tables, but unlike most typical tables, just one side of a desk is typically acceptable for sitting at (there are notable exceptions, such as a partner’s desk). Some desks don’t take the shape of a table; for example, an armoire desk is a workstation that is housed inside of a big cabinet that resembles a wardrobe, and a portable desk is light enough to be held in one’s lap. A desk needs to be strong because so many people lean on them while using them. Most of the time, people sit at workstations on separate chairs or built-in chairs (e.g., in some school desks). Some people utilize standing desks so they can work while standing.

Following the Second World War, photocopying saw a significant expansion. The amount of paper produced led to an increase in the number of desk-based employees, whose work surfaces shrank in size as office rents climbed. Paper was also increasingly placed straight into file cabinets, sent to specialized records management facilities, converted into microfilm, or both. Several coworkers can sit at a single modular workstation, which became commonplace. As the number of persons supervising white collar workers increased, even executive or management desks started to be mass-produced and were made of inexpensive plywood or fiberboard and finished in wood.

Typically, the Narrow desks are mass-produced in steel or wood and offered for sale to consumers. For those who enjoy woodworking, there are numerous blueprints available to help them create their own models. With storage underneath the desktop or on a wire shelf beneath the seat, contemporary mass-produced school desks are sometimes constructed with laminate table tops and molded plastic seats as a single integrated piece. In order to make the most of the relatively small space in a child’s room, numerous creative kinds of student desks have been developed. The loft bed, commonly known as a bunk bed, is one of the most popular.

The number of office workers surged during the 1990s “tech boom,” and so did the rent for office space. In North America, the cubicle Narrow desks gained popularity as a practical solution to pack more desk workers into the same area without further constricting their already-congested work surfaces. Workers are now attaching documents and other items to the cubicle walls instead of leaving them on the horizontal desktop surface. Reminder cards and business cards were even attached to computer monitor bezels itself.