The Best Desk Accessories for Remote Workers in the UK (2026)
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By Emmanuel, Founder of Modomise
There is a particular kind of desk accessory that looks great in a YouTube setup tour and collects dust within a month. And then there are the things you reach for every single day, barely think about, and would immediately notice the absence of.
This list is the second kind. Everything here is something I use, have used, or have strong reason to recommend based on what remote workers actually complain about when their desk isn't working. No filler, no affiliate padding, no products included because they photograph nicely.
1. A desk mat, the thing most people buy last but should buy first
The single most underrated desk accessory for a home office is a quality desk mat, and almost nobody buys it first. They get the chair, the monitor, the keyboard, and then six months later when the desk surface is scratched and the mouse is sliding around on bare wood, they finally get the mat.
Buy it first.
A desk mat creates the visual foundation that makes everything else on the desk look intentional. It protects the surface. It gives your mouse accurate, consistent tracking without the scratchy noise of moving it across bare wood or a generic rubber pad. It keeps your wrists warm during long typing sessions in a way that a hard surface never does.
Layer, our felt and cork desk mat, is designed specifically for this purpose. Felt on top for warmth and comfort, cork underneath for grip and sound dampening. Available in black and grey to work with any desk aesthetic. At £25, it's one of the most cost-effective upgrades to a home setup.
2. A phone stand with charging capability
This is the most underrated desk accessory in the remote worker's toolkit, and most people don't have one.
Here's the problem a phone stand solves: without one, your phone either sits flat on the desk (taking up surface space and showing you every notification at full brightness) or it's in your pocket (which is worse). A vertical phone stand, ideally one with built-in wireless or cable charging, keeps the phone accessible, upright, and contained in one defined spot.
Look for one that holds your phone securely at a comfortable viewing angle and accommodates charging without needing to remove a case. The best ones do both without adding visual clutter to the desk.
3. A desk organiser, specifically a modular one
Pens, chargers, cables, post-it pads, a USB drive, a pair of headphones. These items exist on almost every remote worker's desk and end up scattered across the surface without a designated home.
A desk organiser solves this. But the specific type matters: modular is significantly better than fixed.
I had a non-modular organiser for a while and got rid of it because the fixed compartments didn't match how I actually work. A modular organiser lets you configure the layout around your own needs, which changes over time as your setup evolves. It also means you're not stuck with a product that doesn't quite fit.
The organiser should sit in a corner of the desk rather than the centre — the goal is to contain the everyday items so the main working surface stays clear.
4. A monitor arm or laptop riser
If you're working with a monitor or laptop screen at the wrong height, you're straining your neck every single day. The fix is simple: raise the screen so the top of the monitor is at or just below eye level.
A monitor arm does this and has the added benefit of freeing up the desk surface underneath the screen, which is typically dead space. A good laptop riser achieves the same for those working primarily from a laptop with an external keyboard and mouse.
This is one of the most impactful ergonomic changes to a home setup and one of the more overlooked ones. People spend money on chairs and desks but overlook the one thing their eyes are pointing at all day.
5. A quality desk lamp
Not decorative lighting. A task lamp positioned to illuminate your working surface without creating glare on your screen.
My own lamp has a concrete base and uses a vintage-style bulb. I kept it because it adds genuine warmth to the desk aesthetic while doing its actual job, providing a consistent, focused source of light that doesn't strain my eyes during evening work sessions.
The concrete base also adds weight, which means it doesn't shift around and is physically part of the earthy, warm aesthetic of the rest of the desk. If your lamp is doing its functional job and also looking good doing it, it earns its place on the surface.
What to avoid
Mini mouse mats. The small circular or square rubber pads that get sold as mouse mats are one of the most common wasteful desk purchases. They're too small and restrictive, they don't look balanced on a desk, and they solve nothing that a proper full-length desk mat doesn't solve better. A random small pad sitting in the middle of a desk surface actively makes the space look less considered, not more.
Accessories that do only one thing. Every item on a minimal desk should justify its presence by doing more than decorating. If it only looks nice, it probably has a better home on a shelf than on your working surface.
The honest starting point
If you're building or upgrading a home office setup and don't know where to start, here is the sequence: desk mat first, then a solution for your everyday items, then lighting, then ergonomics. In that order.
The desk mat shapes how the whole space looks and feels from day one. Everything else layers on top.
Layer is Modomise's felt and cork desk mat, designed for remote workers who want a setup they can be proud of. Shop Layer