What is going to be on it? Are you having a landline? Do you want to be able to have a computer there? Desktop or laptop? Are you going to want to be able to write on full sheets of paper as well? Open a ledger sized check book?

My own small message center is about 6" deep and 30" wide (exterior dimensions). It has a place to hang the phone, a phone jack, an electrical outlet, some hanging shelves for pads and pens, and an 8" deep drop down "desk" at about elbow height. The desk has a piano hinge and a magnet to hold it up. I would have put a magnetic perpetual calendar inside, on a door, but I found a really pretty one which was too big. I gave into temptation and decided to put it on the little piece of open wall I have over the light switches, by the door. The advantage is that one sees the messages immediately rather than having to look for them. I have post-its that kind of match to make it a little less cluttery looking. Sorry about the no pictures yet.

The granite countertop on my desk is 32 inches by 18.5 inches I wouldn't want it much smaller, but I'm not using a laptop and store my tower in the neighboring pantry.

Do you intend to sit or stand there? How comfortably?

I am in the planning stages of finishing up an 8 foot length of wall. I plan to put in a pantry and desk. Here's the plan so far. I think the desk's seating area is about 30 inches.

Hope this helps!

Our desk area is 24" deep by 58" wide. It's the perfect size for us. The ideal size really depends on what all you want to do there. We use ours a lot to sit at, but part of that is because we have a nice view out of the window. We keep the laptop, phone and tv remote charger there. I have a filing cabinet on the left to file kids papers and bills. I pay the bills on our laptop. I also keep a big catch all basket under the desk for clearing of the clutter until I have the time to sort it. Under the desk to the right I keep 3 pullout baskets to keep magazines in. We also use our desk chair as the seventh chair for eating at our 6 person table if needed.

I knew I couldn't cut down the clutter, but I worked at containing it in our renovation.

Desk area
{{!gwi}}

Under desk storage
{{!gwi}}

thanks for your replies. the pictures are really helpful, too. It will be used as a workspace for picking up messages, storing the landline/ans mach (though may try to store it in an adjacent cabinet or drawer), temporary spot for laptop computer for recipes, etc, writing grocery lists, landing for stuff going from grocery store to the pantry. I'm thinking of making it a sitting desk but still pondering whether it's necessary since we will have an office area. Doonie, great ideas for containing the clutter. Doraville, looks like a perfect "small" size. abananie, photo is helpful. pllog, use of space sounds intriguing, it's got my brain working in design mode.

I would say 18" x 30" is about as small as I would go for something like that given your list above.