How to Style a Secretary Desk

Recently, I acquired a new addition to my living room décor: a classic secretary desk. This gorgeous piece was passed down to me by my mom, who was no longer using it. I love the tone of the wood, the vintage hardware, and the gorgeous wooden relief at the top of the piece. After acquiring this piece, I was excited to experiment and figure out how to style a secretary desk.

Before the Secretary Desk

Previously, this corner of my living room was home to a black and gold half circle cabinet. Although I liked my little half circle table, it presented me with a few problems. First, the gold rim was at my daughter’s eye level, so more than once I caught her chewing on the gold paint. Also, I caught her climbing up onto the shelf a few times as shown below. As comical as this was, I was concerned that she was going to injure herself at some point. When my mom offered the desk, I took her up on it because it’s a bit safer. But beyond safety, I adore the classic vintage appeal that the secretary lends to this corner of my living room. I think it really adds more character to the space!

If you’re interested in the full view of how this corner was previously styled, check out my recent living room tour.

Once I got my new furniture in place, the next step was figuring out how to style a secretary desk. The first thing we needed to do once we put the desk in place was get a new mirror. We opted for a gorgeous round mirror that we got on clearance at Lowes for $68. For me, this is a splurge, but it’s truly not a bad price for a new mirror. The mirror was actually sold out, but fortunately they let us buy the display mirror.

I love how this mirror looks with the desk! One thing I do think this corner needs is more color. I had been planning on painting the black table hot pink – because I love bright colors and I felt this corner was a little dark. I don’t want to paint this desk because I love the wood finish, but I do think I may replace that curtain with a hot pink velvet one to give that “pop” I’m looking for.

This classic desk style can be found in thrift stores, antique stores, and on Facebook Marketplace. In fact, you may have one yourself! Once I got the mirror and desk in place, the next phase was styling the top shelf. If you are looking for inspiration on how to style a secretary desk, look no further! I played around with mine and styled it in twelve different ways to provide you with some ideas.

How to Style Your Secretary Desk: Five Options

Option #1: Minimalist Statement Piece

The first way that you could style your secretary is by using a single statement piece for a more minimalist effect. Here are two photos with more minimal styling. In the first, I used a bust filled with faux florals. In the second, I used a bright blue vase filled with wildflowers.

Option #2: Style with Pairs

Another slightly minimal approach is to style with pairs. In the first photo I placed a pair of picture frames. In the second I used a pair of thrifted French figurines.

You could also scoot your French figurines off to the side, rather than centered. This also helps show off the pretty pattern of the desk!

Option #3: Style with Threes

Three is a magic number in design. It has been said that when it comes to shelf styling, things look better in groups of three! I consider the stack of books to be one object, and I also added a pretty pink doily for a pop of color.

The butterfly is actually a napkin ring that I thrifted, but you can get a similar piece from Ballard Designs. The pocket watch in the second photo is a precious family heirloom. I love displaying such a special piece on a desk that I also inherited from family!

Option #4: Symmetrical Maximalist Styling

You can choose to fill the shelves completely with décor. In the next few photos, I opted to do this in a very symmetrical way.

Option #5: Asymmetrical Maximalist Styling

This is my personal favorite option, and this is how I actually styled the shelf. I’m a more is more person all the way through. Even though this is asymmetrical, I still wanted to achieve a sense of balance.

The very last photo above was the styling option I ended up choosing. I hope this post gave you some inspiration for how to style a secretary desk of your own. Which way would you have styled this desk? Let me know in the comments!