An Armoire desk is a desk built within a large cabinet usually having the height of a tall man or a small woman, or anything in between. The cabinet is closed by two to four full height doors, to keep out dust or give a tidy appearance to a room by hiding the cluttered working surface of the desk. This form of desk is usually placed against a wall, like its antique uncle, the Secretary desk.
Small or home offices (also known as "SOHO") are the usual habitat of the modern armoire desk. Corporations and government bureaucracies typically shun the armoire desk, preferring pedestal desks and cubicles in most instances. The closest ancestor, in form, of the armoire desk, is the massive Cupboard desk which was, more often than not, constructed and used in rural communities.
The armoire desk is often called a "computer armoire desk", since it is used in our times to house a computer and its peripherals. Holes are provided to connect the peripherals located in several nooks above or below the main work surface. Often, the work surface or surfaces, such as a writing area or a computer keyboard tray are adjustable to provide an ergonomically sound working environment.
Some armoire desks have a fixed work surface, which stays in place when the doors are closed, and moves only for ergonomic adjustments. This kind of armoire desk is a direct descendant of the antique rolltop desks which were common in corporate or government offices three or four generations ago, since it provides a fast an efficient way to store or hide current work.
Other armoire desks have an easily movable, often hinged, work surface which must be cleared of documents and other items in order to close the doors. This kind of armoire desk is a morphological descendant of the famous Wooton desk and the lesser known Moore desk, by its size and by the necessity to constantly store papers to shut it. There is also the alternative of always leaving it open, given the trouble involved. The Fall front desk or "secrétaire à abattant", and the Slant top desk are also related.
Unlike all of these earlier relations though, the modern armoire desk usually does not have a lock. Armoire desks are normally very practical pieces of furniture, despite the use of rich veneers and complex exterior styling in some of the costlier models.
The sketch of an armoire desk which comes with this article shows a fairly large version with four folding doors, a writing surface which slides out, and a keyboard and mouse pad tray which, in turn, slides out from under the sliding writing surface. In the version shown here it is possible to leave a few thin piles of paper on the writing surface before sliding it back in. In other versions this is not possible. Since most armoire desk are modern forms, the writing surface here is placed at 30 inches (76 cm) from the floor. In antique desk forms it would have been 29 inches (73.7 cm) from the floor.
See also the list of desk forms and types.
