Just have a cabinet drawer dedicated to the desk supplies.

You can get in-drawer outlets for all the items you need to charge, also.

Happy Birthday Margo :-) A little bird tweeted it was the 28th;-)

I had a desk in my old kitchen and, like you, my desk surface was a junk collector. We did not put a desk in our new kitchen, but we do have drawers dedicated to desk supplies near where our old desk was. We put a charging station in one of the drawers. This works for us. We didn't need a full desk because we already have a full office. Maybe this could work for you?

Charging station in a drawer, what a great idea! When we redid our kitchen 10 yrs ago we weren't thinking chargers so much. We recently redid built in bookshelf with a desk in our family room, and I wish I had thought of the drawer charging station idea! We just have chargers on top of the desk part as there is an outlet there. Not awful, but in a drawer would have been cool. Though not sure how that gets wired.

We wired ours by installing an outlet in the back wall of the cabinet underneath the drawer, then fishing the charger cable behind the drawer and held inside it with a little "Quirky" gizmo from Target that basically just holds cables in place so they don't fall out. If you have a drawer and want to do this, I would think it's a pretty easy retrofit. All you need is an electrician to install the outlet and the rest is simple DIY.

Definitely will consider it. Although the location of the desk/charging station in our house is now in a place that is more out of the way, and it isn't our primary charging area (we usually charge our phones in our bedrooms at night), so it may not be worth it. (Plus hubby might kill me. He spent so much time obsessing over different options for outlet placement before the unit was installed, to the point where I just said make a decision and go with it, I didn't care that much!)

In today's world, I think we all really need a space for a laptop and some basic office type things near the center of the home (the kitchen), BUT you're exactly right, it still needs to be pretty in it's function. I think a small space somewhere right by the kitchen is ideal with a drawer to hide everything and some counter space for a laptop.

FYI, charging station in a drawer rarely meets electrical codes.

I think the real issue is that you need a desk supply/charging area, but not usually a desk to sit at - most of those old desk-in-kitchen areas seem to never be used with an actual chair to sit at. So I'd go with creating usable cabinetry and shelving to house supplies unless you are really in need of an actual work area to sit at. (I've never had a desk area, but often when I work from home, I sit in the kitchen at the dinette table, which I think is more comfortable than a built-in kitchen desk.

Brickwood, I did wonder about that.

Brickwood, we had no problem passing inspection and I have no idea why it would be a problem the way we did it. It's just a normal outlet in the wall and the same charging cables we use for any charging application. There's no questionable electrical design whatsoever.

We had a desk and storage in our last kitchen and it did become a storage/dumping ground and never used, as everyone had their favorite spot to work (kitchen table, bedroom, den, etc). Store you office supplies anywhere that makes sense and convenient to where you will be working/filing and design your kitchen for practical/more needed daily usage - ie: large pantry for example. Just have a small basket in a cupboard for pens/note paper/calendar, etc.

If a power supply cord or outlet is attached to the back of an operable/moving drawer and that power supply cord is plugged into an outlet in the wall behind the drawer, then it would be an electrical code violation. There is one company that advertises that they have come up with a product that will work and meet code, but I have never seen one nor have we had any local inspectors say they would approve anything in a movable drawer. While one may get by with it in a jurisdiction, just want people to know that generally it would not be approved so they don't get surprised.

I also wonder how far away we are from charging stations being obsolete, with new technology (which may or may not already exist, I'm not that tech-savvy) allowing significantly shorter charging times, alternate charging options (solar, ways to charge without physically plugging in, etc), and so on. The tech world moves so fast that designing around today's technology is almost certainly a recipe for being obsolete in a few years. Which doesn't mean it's not worth doing, but it is something to think about. (Think about all of us who have large cubbies in entertainment centers or built into walls to hold TVs, which are all now super thin and larger in width/height than the cubbies were ever designed for ... I am sure I am not the only one making do with a beautiful piece of furniture with the TV pulled forward to hide the empty space behind, and the VCR space above now decorated with objects rather than filled with electronics ...)

You can get night tables with charging station inside and to me it makes sense to charge all th gizmos while sleeping and FYI where i live it is against code to have a plug inside a drawer

In Canada, it is against code to put a receptacle in any permanently installed cabinet, drawer or no drawer, except for some very specific purposes like connecting a garbage disposal. Canada makes it against code so that people don't do something hazardous (stūpid) like jury rigging a drawer outlet, or leaving the curling iron on in a cabinet that may be storing flammables like nail polish remover.

The US doesn't allow flexible cord for permanent installations or in permanently installed cabinets because the bending of the wire will eventually cause arcing, sparks, and fires. (Among other reasons) Some companies try to claim that they have found wire that will last a long time, but from personal experience, wire is not that consistently made. I often find hard drawn and soft drawn wire on the same pallet direct from the factory. Sometimes, within the same 250' roll. Those that claim to be approved by a testing laboratory have shopped around for one that will approve anything. The laboratory that is approving these things is not certified by OSHA to test for the standard that these devices are regulated under. Meaning, that you would be fined by OSHA for using them anywhere but a private residence (since OSHA has no jurisdiction in a private residence).

The only thing these drawer outlets are good at is skirting around laws and safety regulations. They use the loosest possible interpretations of codes and standards.

https://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/EES-HTML/HTML/LabeledListedNECOSHA~20030107.htm

Wire gets BRITTLE when it gets bent, also known as work hardening.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_hardening

Seriously Fred, lol, every time I go to my local office to pull a permit they tell me that my house should have not been built, then the patio structure I built is not to code but yet it was signed off on. A code is only as good as it's enforcer. I am about code blue on all the codes. It is all bull for $$. half the time!

I remodel many kitchens each year and most kitchens with desks have stacks of water, soda, dog food and such under the desk area and are almost never used. I would suggest you get a file drawer so you have access to the files quick and easy if you have the space in the kitchen. With laptops, tablets and such we are much more mobile than ever and we kinda hate sitting looking at the wall. Most prefer to be at an island, peninsula or table with their back to the wall instead.

Good luck!

Margo, Perhaps a 3rd grade science experiment will be more to your liking ;D

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/experiments/exp/stiffening-paper-clips-metallurgy-in-the-kitchen/

Remember that both bending and heat can adversely effect electrical wire.

YES, I like things dumbed down;P

Thank you all! I think we are going to do away with the desk and just make sure we have a cabinet or 2 dedicated to office supplies and files. Thank you again!