Debate: Is the 'floating shelf under desk' trick actually good or just a dust trap?

So I tried that trick where you mount a cheap IKEA shelf under your desk to hold power strips and cables, hiding everything from view. It took me about 45 minutes and $20 for a 30 inch shelf and brackets. On one hand, my cords are totally hidden now and my view looks super clean. But I'm already noticing dust bunnies forming on the bricks and it's a pain to unplug anything when I need to. Did this trick actually work long term for anyone here or did you end up ripping it out after a month? I'm torn between loving the clean look and hating the maintenance hassle.

2 comments

2 Comments

riverowens9d agoMost Upvoted

...and now you've basically created a high-tech dust museum under your desk, congrats. I did the exact same thing last year, and let me tell you, I spent more time trying to fish out a power adapter from behind a 6-foot tangle of cables than I did actually using the shelf for its intended purpose. It's like the shelf was designed to collect every bit of dust in a 10-foot radius and hoard it like a little greedy goblin. Sure, the clean look is nice for about three days, but then you realize you've turned your desk into an archaeological dig site every time you need to swap out a charger. Honestly, I ripped mine out after two months and just zip-tied everything to the desk legs instead.

perry.jessica8d ago

See I gotta push back on calling it a dust goblin, lol. My under desk shelf has been a lifesaver for almost a year now and I've literally never had to dig for a cable or adapter because I just used velcro straps from the start. The trick is to not just shove everything up there and hope for the best, you gotta route your cables before you even install the shelf. And yeah it does collect some dust but so does the floor under my desk, so I just hit it with a swiffer duster once a month. I think people just don't plan their setup right and then blame the shelf.