30 DIYs for a Back-to-School Study Space Kids Will Love

Create your student’s perfect study space with these DIY desks, storage ideas, wall organizers, and accessories.

Four image collage a wall-mounted book shelf, kids desk, desk organizer, and a folding desk

What Should I Build Next?

That's the question I help answer.
Every week, I send woodworking ideas to 17,000 DIYers who love building things.

You'd fit right in.

If your kitchen table disappears under a pile of homework every afternoon, it might be time to give the kids a study space of their own.

I rounded up 30 DIY ideas to help you build one, from simple desks and wall organizers to bookshelves and cubbies, so you can create the kind of space your kids will actually want to use.

Little Kids’ Desks

These kid-sized desks give little ones their own spot, with storage for books and supplies.

Small handmade desk for kids with two fabric bins on the left and storage on the right

By Brittany Goldwyn

DIY Modern Kids Desk with Storage

Brittany built this desk to handle her daughter’s books and the small stuff that never had a home. One leg is a stack of open cubbies with fabric bins for toys and art supplies to hide out of sight. The other leg, with a slanted ledge, holds coloring books face outward like a little library. A thick, chunky top ties the two legs together.

Abbotts at Home

DIY Kids School Desk with Drawers

Stephanie’s kids’ desk looks more like a small piece of heirloom furniture. Three drawers store school supplies, and the seat is built right into the frame. Raised panels and trimmed edges give it that furniture-store look. It’s sized for grade-schoolers, roughly kindergarten through fourth grade.

Kid-sized desk with storage on each side and craft supplies on the top

Ana White

DIY Kids Storage Desk with Bookshelf Legs

Instead of plain legs, Ana turned hers into storage. Two open bookshelves hold up each end, great for stashing books and coloring supplies. The desktop is the perfect size for drawing and homework, and it sits low enough to double as a play table once the schoolwork’s done.

The Crafting Nook

DIY Floating Kids Desk

Short on floor space? Cami built a desk for her daughter that mounts to the wall and tucks into a corner. A pegboard panel sits behind for the odds and ends that pile up on a desktop.

Bigger Kids & College Desks

Full-size desks for older kids and dorm rooms, with room for a laptop and textbooks.

Desk with black painted legs and a natural top in front of a door

Saws on Skates

DIY Library-Style Desk

I wanted a desk that wouldn’t look like a desk once the laptop closed. This one takes its cues from an old library table: an open base in a deep near-black with a wood top, and no drawers. There’s space for a laptop, a lamp, and a coffee with room to spare.

Person sitting at a wooden desk with a laptop

Woodshop Diaries

DIY Modular Desk with Shelf

Shara built these desks for a friend with four kids who wanted to work together some days and apart on others. Each has open shelves on one side for books and supplies, with the other side open for a chair. The real trick is that they line up: push two, three, or four together, and they become a shared pod. Set two at a right angle, and you’ve got an L-shaped desk instead.

Wood A-Frame style desk in a corner of a room

My Love 2 Create

DIY Two-Person A-Frame Desk

Mindi’s A-frame desk features angled legs that splay out like a capital A. It’s shallow front-to-back, so it fits against a wall without taking over the room. A pair of open shelves runs along one end for books and even a printer.

Desk with slanted legs and a laptop and a plant

Houseful of Handmade

DIY Fold-Flat Desk

No room for a permanent desk? Kati’s version folds down to almost nothing when you’re done working. The top lifts off and the angled legs fold flat, so the whole desk slides under a bed, behind the sofa, or back into a closet until next time.

Storage

Once you’ve picked a desk, you’ll need storage for everything else: books, supplies, and the printer.

Small light pink bookcase against a white shiplap wall

Saws on Skates

DIY Small Bookcase

Not every room has space for a towering bookcase. I kept this one small on purpose so it slips into a bedroom corner, a kid’s room, or the end of a hallway. Two open shelves hold a stack of books or a row of binders.

Hand removing a book from a small wood rack

Saws on Skates

DIY Desktop Book Rack

This little rack sits right on your desktop, keeping your books organized and within reach. I left the wood natural so the grain shows. Right now, we’re using it in the historical society’s library, where I volunteer.

Tall, narrow gray-painted chimney cabinet next to a door

Saws on Skates

DIY Chimney Cabinet

Got a spot that’s too skinny for a regular bookcase? This one’s tall and slim, with a closed cabinet below for the stuff you’d rather not look at, and adjustable shelves up top for books.

Wooden cabinet next to door with two printers

Saws on Skates

DIY Printer Cabinet

My printer didn’t have a permanent home, so I built one. This primitive-style cabinet organizes my printer, scanner, and a stack of extra paper behind the doors. Want more options? Check out these DIY printer stands.

White bookcase with books on the top shelf and stuffed animals on the lower one

The Handyman’s Daughter

DIY Bookshelf with Toy Storage

Vineta built this for her son, whose books kept getting dumped in bins on the floor. A deep bin at the bottom holds stuffed animals, and open shelves above keep his favorite books easy to spot. The sides slope back, so it looks more like furniture than a toy box.

Three wall-mounted shelves filled with books

Angela Marie Made

DIY Floating Wall Bookshelves

Angela made a set of three floating shelves for a reading nook, mounted right to the wall so the floor stays clear. Each one faces the books cover-out, the way a library displays picture books, with a slim rod running along the front to hold everything in place. The rods read as dark metal against the lighter shelves, which gives the set a modern edge.

Rolling cart with a black painted frame and three natural colored shelves

Woodshop Diaries

DIY Three-Tier Rolling Cart

Shara’s cart rolls three trays of supplies to wherever the work is. Each tier is a different depth, shallow at the top for pens, deep at the bottom for things that tip, and a pair of handles lets you move it around.

Craft cart with three tiers and two removable trays on the top tier

Jaime Costiglio

DIY Art Cart with Caddy

Jaime’s art cart keeps the crayons-everywhere problem in check. Open shelves hold the supplies, and a small caddy lifts off the top so a kid can carry it to the table and back.

Walls & Organization

The wall above a desk usually sits empty. Pegboards, a corkboard, and mail bins put it to work, keeping supplies in sight instead of buried in a drawer.

White pegboard framed with trim on the wall behind a desk

Craving Some Creativity

DIY Framed Pegboard Organizer

Rachel framed a plain pegboard with trim so it looks built-in. Baskets, cups, and a little shelf across the front hold pens, notebooks, and other supplies.

Oversized wooden pegboard with wood pegs and organizational accessories

Remodelaholic / Thalita Murray

DIY Jumbo Plywood Pegboard

Thalita’s pegboard is a single wood panel that turns the entire wall above a desk into storage. The pegs, racks, buckets, and clips hang wherever she needs them.

Tall corkboard leaning in the corner of a room behind a desk

Little House on the Corner

DIY Giant Corkboard

Christine’s corkboard doesn’t hang on the wall; it just leans against it. That means she can slide it around or take it to the next house, and there’s room to pin a whole mood board without running out of space.

White-painted mail sorter with three bins on a wall

Ana White

DIY Wall Mail and Magazine Bins

Ana’s wall bins catch the mail, magazines, and school handouts that pile up on a counter. The pockets tilt back at an angle, so everything slides in and stays upright.

Small Builds & Accessories

The little stuff that makes a desk work: a riser for the screen, a stand for the phone, a home for the headphones and cords.

Computer monitor on a DIY wood monitor riser

Saws on Skates

DIY Monitor Riser

My monitor sat too low, and I spent the day hunched over it, so I built this riser. It lifts the monitor to eye level, and the top holds sticky notes and the small stuff that tends to get lost on my desk.

Wood lap desk on a bed with a laptop and cup of coffee

Saws on Skates

DIY Lap Desk

Homework doesn’t always happen at a desk. This lap desk gives you a flat surface anywhere you land, and the bottom edge curves in so it sits against you instead of digging into your legs.

Wood phone amplifier on a table with a cell phone

Saws on Skates

DIY Phone Amplifier

I built this amplifier to aim your phone’s sound at you, no battery or cord needed. The phone sits in a slot, and a round opening on the front catches the sound and pushes it forward.

Saws on Skates

DIY Wooden Phone Stand

This one holds your phone upright while it charges. And it props the screen at an angle for viewing an instructional video.

Desk organizer with a drawer in the middle and books above and below

Woodshop Diaries

DIY Desk Organizer with Drawer

Shara’s organizer rounds up the papers and stray cords that pile up on a desk. An open cubby keeps the everyday stuff in reach, and a small drawer hides what you’d rather not see.

The Handyman’s Daughter

DIY Expandable Desk Shelf

Vineta’s desk shelf changes shape to fit your space. The two stepped pieces slide apart to stretch wide, push together to stay compact, or pivot into an L for a corner.

Desk organizer with a lower drawer and cubbies above

Ugly Duckling House

DIY Curved Desk Organizer

Sarah’s curved organizer has a store-bought look. It’s got a drawer, an area for pens, and even a corner for a small plant.

Organizers with multiple cubbies sitting on a desk

Jaime Costiglio

DIY Desk Hutch Shelf

Jaime’s shelf puts the space above your desk to work. Dividers sort pens and supplies into cubbies, and one section holds a standing mirror at eye level.

Wooden charging station for phones and headphones

Houseful of Handmade

DIY Family Charging Station

Kati’s station gives the whole family’s devices one place to charge. Angled ledges hold the phones and tablets, and a compartment at the bottom hides the power strip and cords.

Making Manzanita

DIY Wooden Headphone Stand

Chelsea’s stand gives your headphones somewhere to live besides the desk. An angled arm extends off a small base, keeping your headphones organized and ready to grab.

Recommended For You

4 image collage with DIY Wood Monitor Stand Ideas

DIY Monitor Stand Ideas

Photos of six DIY printer stands with text overlay: 10 brilliant DIY printer stands

10 DIY Printer Stand Ideas

19 DIY Shoe Storage Ideas

Pin This For Later

Four image collage a wall-mounted book shelf, kids desk, desk organizer, and a folding desk with a text overlay that says, "30 Back-to-school Study Space DIYs"

Hi there – I’m Scott, a woodworking enthusiast and creator of Saws on Skates, a site I started in 2015 to share easy-to-follow tutorials, space-saving shop tips, and project inspiration for DIYers at any skill level. Learn more about my woodworking journey here.

30 DIYs for a Back-to-School Study Space Kids Will Love

What Should I Build Next?

Little Kids’ Desks

Bigger Kids & College Desks

Storage

Walls & Organization

Small Builds & Accessories

Recommended For You

Pin This For Later

COMMENTSCancel reply

SKATES ON SOCIAL

SKATE OVER TO THE LEGAL STUFF

Copyright