12 Inspiring Reception Desk Designs

First impressions matter. As such, a meticulous, smart and welcoming reception desk is paramount in any good business where one is required. Desks and counters that are inspiring and inviting will always make a perfect design statement, ensuring you say “hello” to your customer, client or visitor with aplomb.

Arctic Summer Reception Desk

This contemporary reception desk was designed for MDD Office Furniture by Charles Kalpakian (a Lebanese designer and street artist). Its facade and grooves draw inspiration from street lines and graffiti.

Images © MDD.

Inspiring Idea: Quaint

This reception at Airbnb’s Dublin office was designed to resemble a traditional and rather quaint Irish pub.

Airbnb pub-like reception area in Dublin Office

Photos by Ed Reeve for Airbnb via designboom.

CRAFTWAND® Reception Desk

CRAFTWAND® takes inspiration from centuries-old woodworking and craft traditions. Wood, a natural, decorative and enduring material, is one that craftsman Johannes Wolf (of CRAFTWAND®) wholly respects.

Image © CRAFTWAND®.

Inspiring Idea: Upcycled

This reception desk at Brooklyn Desks, a co-working and shared office space in Brooklyn, was made using remnants of OSB boards that were then cut and dyed.

Winea ID Reception Counter

The Winea ID by WINI Büromöbel offers a handsome, practical and flexible modular system approach to building a reception counter. Available in various finishes, the Winea ID can be installed as a linear counter and an L- or U-shaped counter with angles.

Images © WINI.

Inspiring Idea: Art

This impressive and imposing reception desk at the new Ampersand building in London’s Soho is itself an art installation. Imagined by graphic designer Tom Hingston and the building’s architects, Darling Associates, this beautifully crafted desk, made of wood and brass fins, measures seven meters.

Ampersand art installation reception desk

Photo by Peter Landers Photography via ArchDaily.

Ampersand reception is made of wood & brass fins

Photo via e-architect.

USM Haller Reception

At Swiss furniture company USM, form naturally follows function and design is timeless, aesthetic, honest. The USM Haller offers a practical reception solution, with minimal styling providing a solid and reliable finish.

Images © USM.

Inspiring Idea: Bijou

This reception desk at the NGRS Recruiting Company in Moscow, though rather conventional and bijou, is brightened up using a bold color. It works especially well when set against a white backdrop.

Reception desk at NGRS Recruiting Company

Reception desk at NGRS - artistic rendering

Photos by Evgeny Evgrafov via Crosby Studios.

CH110 desk

The reception desk will at times assume the form of an actual desk. In this instance, the CH110 by Hans J. Wegner makes the perfect design statement. Streamlined, symmetrical and minimal, it is a truly modern welcome.

Inspiring Idea: Quirky

Playful, quirky and exceedingly Dutch, the carrier cycle reception desk at Google’s Amsterdam office is altogether fitting.

Carrier cycle reception desk at Google Amsterdam

Informa Reception Counter

Informa from ACTIU offers modules that are both ergonomic and easy to adapt. They are available in a combination of metal, glass, aluminium and acrylic finishes.