Best Results Organizing

WHY USE A DESK PAD?

It’s funny how small, random things resonate with people. In early September, in Paper Doll Explores New & Nifty Office and School Supplies, I included a small section on how desk pads have come back into vogue, and shared some examples of brightly colored, inexpensive options. I’ve been surprised by how many people had follow-up questions about this rarely discussed office supply.

Desk pads are similar to but not quite the same as desk blotters, even though the two are often conflated. However, as we’re not writing with quills or fountain pens anymore, nobody is really blotting anything. Still desk pads have a variety of benefits for organizing your desk physically as well as psychologically. 

Desk pads have a variety of purposes. A desk pad will:

• Protect the desk from spilled beverages, sticky or crumbly foods, and scratches (either from your watch or jewelry, or from pens that dig into the desktop surface).
• Create a more comfortable workplace. This includes making the traditional writing surface smooth for when you’re actually using pen or pencil (like a caveman) or protecting your arms from the desktop’s surface. If your desk is metal or glass, the surface can be ice cold; an old wooden desk may feel scratchy or splintery. Desk pads vastly improves your comfort level because they’re generally made from softer or sleeker materials. This also provides a gentler surface to reduce friction against your wrists.
• Yield more slide-y space than a mousepad. Whether you’re using your desktop for working or gaming, a mousepad offers little space to slide your mouse around. A desk pad makes that smooth area much wider and eliminates your worry about making grander gestures.
• Reduce the sound and vibrations of a clickety mechanical keyboard.
• Designate zones for different tools. Some desk pads give you specific areas to help carve out the niche areas of purpose on your desk.
• Make a statement of style for the owner of the desk, to communicate personality with visitors and to delight you when you’re sitting at your workspace. Given that most of day’s post focuses on more mature styles of desk pads, in leather and and leather-like materials, I thought I’d share the kind of desk pad that the less grown-up version of me is often tempted to acquire. Because, as you may have wondered at some point, Surely Not Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting (from Society Six).

DESK PAD ATTRIBUTES TO CONSIDER

Most of the inquiries I received asked about what features they should consider in a desk pad. For those used to the traditional oversized calendar style of blotter, the number of modern desk pad possibilities come as a bit of an overwhelming surprise. Let’s look at several.

Size

One hesitates to say that “size matters,” but you need to consider a variety of size-related elements:

• How large is your work area? — If your desk is enormous and you’ve got an itty bitty desk pad not much bigger than a mousepad, the desk pad is going to be engulfed, both logicically and aesthetically. If it’s only the width of your keyboard, the friction of the edges against your arm may annoy you.

Conversely, if you’re working on a tiny desk, make sure your desk pad will actually fit. Read the actual measurements, but also keep your eyes out for keywords, like “extended,” that give you an idea of the size of a product. A standard goal is to pick a desk pad that covers 2/3 of the width of your desk, but your needs may vary, given other factors.

• How much of your stuff do you want on the desk pad? — Do you want the deskpad to cover just the area closest to you, or would you prefer your computer to sit atop it? If you want your desktop and keyboard located on top of your deskpad, you’ll need more space than if you just want to put it under your laptop (or just prefer it under the area where you rest your arms).

Some desk pads are designed to be large enough to have space for your phone, mouse (so a mousepad is unnecessary), office supplies, and any papers essential to your work.

• What kind of surface do you need for your work functionality? — If you’re using a mouse instead of a track pad and a desk pad in lieu of a mouse pad, the mouse needs to be able to move smoothly but not slip on too glossy a surface. The surface should also allow you an adequate, comfortable area upon which to rest your mousing wrist. 
• Do you need a desk pad to accommodate a special purpose? — Gamers often use oversized (overly wide) desk pads; engineers and computer specialists may need specialized pads for work on computers or with tools.
• Do you need options? There are varieties of desk pads with different surfaces on each side (like for gaming vs. standard computing or intricate work vs. writing). If your work and play tasks vary widely, consider looking at dual-dided pads to make sure you’re comfortable. A distracted worker is an unproductive worker.

Think about width as well as depth of your desk (and desk pad) as you look at your purchase options. 

Materials

The material from which your desk pad is constructed will impact how it looks, how long it will last, and how much it will cost. Common desk pad materials include:

• Leather looks sumptuous and sophisticated, is easy to keep clean, and tends to be durable over the long term. However, it is often one of the most expensive options.

Leatherology has a wide variety of classic and modern desk pad options, but they also have some spiffy extra-long desk pads and narrower “conference and laptop” pads. They’re all in gorgeous Italian leather and are (for real leather) fairly affordable, from $95 to $170. Even their colors sound luxurious, with Bordeaux (below), Oxblood, Mocha, and Dove mixing with Tan, Black, Midnight Blue.

Grovemade is a similarly delicious vendor of 3.5mm-thick premium leather desk pads with cork backing in six sizes: Small – 11” x 24.75”, Small Plus – 14″ x 31.5″, Medium – 11.5” x 38”, Medium Plus – 15.75″ x 38″, Large – 26” x 38.5”, and Extra Large – 26.5″ x 49″. Small, medium & medium plus provide room for an external keyboard and mouse, while Large is designed to work under the Grovemade Monitor Stand and Laptop Stand. Prices range from $110 to a whopping $400!

Of course, leather can get incredibly pricey. Smythson of Bond Street’s Large Desk Mat in Panama (available in Black or Sandstone) runs a hefty $1095!

• “Vegan” leather is what we used to call vinyl. It’s durable, though not so much as real leather, but it avoids the whole Bambi’s mother issue. You will sometimes see this described as “Eco” leather. If you’re not spending in the $100s, you’re almost assuredly not seeing a leather pad.
• Plastic or PVC vinyl is inexpensive, but may feel cold against your arms, can split or crack over time, and likely won’t last as long as some other varieties. That said, whether clear or opaque and colored, plastic surfaces are usually easier to clean and ideal for people who tend to stain their horizontal surfaces with coffee cup rings. 
• Wool/Felt provides a cozy, hygge look, but can feel itchy or scratchy to your arms. (If you’re buying a wood desk pad as gift, make sure your recipient doesn’t have wool allergies.) Of course, a mouse will not slide on wool so you’ll still need a mouse pad, and you’re not really going to be able to handwrite on it unless you’ve got a notebook or want to fuss with cardboard backing while drafting your thank you notes.

If you’re up for spending $94 on some wool that you can’t even wear on date night, Graf Lantz has a sophisticated Mosen Large Merino Wool Felt Desk Pad measuring 31” wide x 19 ½” high in seven colors (Espresso, Mahogany, Orange, Granite, Charcoal, Marine, and Sage.

• Microfiber or Polyester — These materials tend to be relatively thin, on to top of spongy backing, making it hard to write with pencil or ball point pens, and can be hard to keep clean over the long run. These range from lower-end options to more fancy-pants versions, like the Harber London Microfibre Minimalist Deskmat, available in three sizes, from about $60-$84, from the UK.
• Cork — For example, IKEA’S minimalist Susig, measuring 17 3/4″ by 25 1/2″ is made of cork, which repels dirt and water. It’s only $8.99. Bear in mind that cork can have a strong odor, as anyone who’s ever purchased a new bulletin board will know. Buyer beware.

• Linoleum is an atypical options, but Grovemade makes them from linseed oil, natural pine rosin, wood flour, and calcium carbonate, with a cork backing, in ten different colors. They resist fingerprints and are antistatic and durable. 
• Aluminum or Copper desk pads provide anti-static attributes. These metals have conductive properties, and will protect your computers and electronic equipment from static electricity. If you work around equipment that’s sensitive to static, like in a computer lab or server room, this is something to consider.
• Marble, glass, acrylic — These atypical desk pads are going to be cold, heavy, and slippery, but easy to clean.

I’d recommend against these icy materials unless you are far more into aesthetics than computing, but the Pottery Barn White Marble Desk Blotter may put you in “fancy society matron” mode. It comes in 24″ wide by 18″ high for $79 or 36″ wide by 18″ high (pictured below) for $99 and can be personalized.

As you examine your options, ask yourself, will this material deflect spills? Morning Starbucks? Afternoon Starbucks? Late night pizza grease?

Leather and vegan leather are sumptuous, but will they withstand ink stains and the pressure of a ball point pen? 

Do you need gutters (indentations) for pens or cord organizers or side panels on the edges to give you a sense of boundaries (and let you tuck in note cards)?

Whatever material you choose will reflect your personal style. Select something that uplifts and inspires you (or at least doesn’t frustrate you) when you approach your desk.

That said, consider that how you organize your desk reflects on your office mates or your employers. There’s some wiggle room, but if your desk pad quote Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Eat the Rich! but you work at a high-end accounting firm, you may encounter some conflict.

Grip/Traction

A super slick desk surface such as one made of metal or glass will improve your mousing capabilities but may make it hard for you to keep things from rolling away. A good desk pad has backing that provides traction for keeping your keyboard from jiggling, your pens from rolling, and your podcast microphones from sliding away.

Think about how the backing material will affect the grippiness of the pad on the desk’s surface. Look for a desk pad with backing that’s sufficiently rubbery to keep the desk pad from sliding around, but not something so inexpensive that it will get sticky or goopy near a heater or in direct sunlight as the years go by.

You also want a smooth top surface for writing, but not so smooth that your keyboard will slide around.

Organization

Psychologically, a desk pad has a calming, centering effect, much like a tablecloth or table runner in a home, dissuading you from piling junk or excess materials in your space. A desk pad also helps you create zones, both on the pad and around the perimeter. You might find yourself keeping resources on the back third of the desk, beyond the far edge of the depth of the pad, or papers to the left of the pad and your phone and gadgets to the right.

Let your desk pad support your organizational structure, and you might find that it supports your physical as well as cognitive sense of order. 

Design Aesthetic 

Design also has both a functional and psychological impact.

Functionally, the design and manufacture of your desk pad can affect your comfort while you work. Those with some extra padding may be more comfortable under your arms while you’re typing. Of course, you don’t want a pad so thick that it adds bulk or adversely impacts your ergonomics. And, as mentioned, size will matter if you’re trying to create a sleek, uniform look on your desk. 

Aesthetically, the combination of materials, colors, and styles determine whether your desk pad looks:

• Professional — Let’s define this to mean anything from serene to stuffy, but generally appropriate for an attorney’s office or anywhere you’re expected to dress conservatively for work.
• Sleek, modern, minimalist — If the bulk of your workspace is glass, metal, or full of spare IKEA-styled wooden furniture, you’ll want a desk pad that sets a similar tone. 
• Activist-oriented — Does everything in your office convey a written message? Is your tone political (in the wider use of the term)? You may want a bold look.
• Too Cool for School — If you’re working with younger people (by which I mean adults younger than you, as parents may bristle at middle school guidance counselors decorating with edgy messages), you may want a more youthful, expressive style to maintain integrity.  
• Personal — Whether you want Barbie pink or a Darth Vader Sith Lord desk pad from NovelKeys, in the end, you need to ask: does the desk pad fit your tastes? If not, you’ll never feel entirely at ease at your desk.

In the end, this is a desk pad, not a wedding dress. Pick a color, pattern, and material that reflects your style insofar as you’re allowed to express your true style at work. 

And if you find the perfect desk pad but expect it will be received poorly at work, use it in your desk area at home — and start looking for a job that won’t stifle your soul.

Portability

If you set up a desk once and never remove anything, this won’t be a concern. However, if you hot-desk at your office, or if you’re a student who relocates to different work areas and likes your desk pad to come with you, portability may be an issue.

Some desk pads easily roll up like small yoga mats and you can keep them rolled with a rubber band or yoga mat band. Conversely, some fancy-pants desk pads, the kind made to emulate old-fashioned leather pads, are not only stiff and unrollable, but are often weighted heavily on the left and right edges and not ideally portable.

Special Features

A desk pad is not always just a desk pad, especially in the 21st-century. Some, like the KeySmart Charging Taskpad have charging capabilities. Measuring 35.43″ x 16.54″, in comes only in black. What it lacks in panache, in makes up for in features. 

The KeySmart Charging Task Pad has built-in wireless charging capabilities. You can just set your phone, Airpods, or other doohickies on the mat and they will charge quickly, even when in their cases. It’s also water- and stain-resistant, and anti-scratch, with a no-slip-backing and PU Leather surface. There’s a “micro-textured mouse pad built in, with cushioning for wrists and forearms. It’s $120 from KeySmart and currently on sale at Amazon for $69.

Gaming keyboards like are built with colorful, lighted margins to help set the ambiance. For example, see the Razer Goliathus Chroma line, which runs $54 at Warmart and Amazon for the extended version. (You may want to turn down your volume if you’re over 30 years of age.)

Price

Do you want to make a long-term commitment to one desk pad or “date” around with different options depending on your mood of the week? The more committed, the higher a price point you can embrace. I’ve seen desk pads ranging from $10 to $200, so you should be able to augment your work space at a cost that works for you.

A FEW MORE DESK PAD EXAMPLES

Smead Desk Pads

Just as I was considering writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my favorite companies to recommend about the brand new Smead Desk Pads. The waterproof surface, described as being crafted from “premium vegan leather,” has a sturdy design to protect against keyboard scratches, water marks, and spills.

Smead notes that the faux-suede, non-slip backing will ensure stability, so it won’t wiggle while you work or write. They stated that it comes rolled for easy shipping but will lay flat without curling once it’s on your desk.

The Smead Desk Pads come in three sizes:

• Small (23.6″ x 13.7″) for $10.49
• Medium (31.5″ x 15.7″) for $12.99
• Large (36″ x 17″) for $14.99

and five colors: Blue, Dusty Rose, Saddle, Sandstone, and Charcoal.

If you’re seeking a serene, serious, vibe, like for the office of a therapist or ADHD coach, this might be ideal. 

OrbitKey Desk Mat

The OrbitKey Desk Mat comes in Black or Stone, in two sizes: Medium (27.01″ wide x 14.69″ high) and Large (35.28″ wide x 16.65″ high). It’s made of premium vegan leather and 100% recycled PET felt and comes with a two-year warranty.

The OrbitKey Desk Mat has some intriguing features, including:

• a quick-access indented toolbar across the top
• a magnetic cable organizer
• a document hideaway feature, suitable for keeping your cheat sheet formulas and codes, or sensitive papers you need at your fingertips

It’s also somewhat pricey (at just under $80 for Medium or $100 for Large) from OrbitKey and Amazon.

Adir Professional Reversible Self-Healing Cutting Mat

Adir’s dual-sided green and black desk pad is made of “self-healing” vinyl and comes in four sizes: 12′ x 18″ ($15), 18″ x 24″ ($25), 18″ x36″ ($45), and 36″ x 48″ ( $76) from Amazon. If you’ve got someone on your shopping list whose desk is equal parts computer desk and work bench, this option will “self-heal” if an art or mat knife or rotary cutter slices through it, keeping the surface smooth. It’s marked with 0.5 inch, as well as measurements in centimeters and millimeters, 45- and 60-degree angle guides, and diagonal cutting lines.

Excel Tips Deskpad (and Morning Brew)

This is actually two recommendations in one. Do you subscribe to the Morning Brew newsletter? It’s a stellar daily newsletter for catching up on all the (mostly non-stressful) national, international, business, and entertainment news delivered in a delightfully Dad-joke tone to make starting your day easier. 

If you spend too much time on Microsoft Excel, you might want to look at the Morning Brew Excel Tips desk pad. It measures 27.20″x11.75″ and provides more than 60 Excel functions, 100+ Excel shortcuts, and top dialog box definitions, all for $35. 

Paper Doll hasn’t had the opportunity to use and rank most desk pads, so you may wish to peruse recent coverage of the best of desk pads for 2023.

9 Best Desk Mats of 2023 for a More Organized Workspace (Good Housekeeping)

The 10 Best Desk Pads to Elevate Your Workspace (The Robb Report)

The 11 Best Desk Mats of 2023 (The Spruce)

The 12 Best Desk Pads to Make You More Productive and Organized at Work (Esquire)

The 15 Best Desk Pads For Your Home Office (GearMoose)

21 Stylish Deskpads and Blotters for Writers (Accessory to Success)

The Best Desk Pads & Mats for Your Office (Werd)

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Do you use a desk mat? What are the most important features for you to work comfortably?