I have a table in the office that I can leave things on but my favorite places to work are down in the sunny living-room or at the diningroom table among my family and domestic animals. Trick is to be able to deploy quickly and pick it up and put it away even quicker. I'm now using a translucent hobby tackle box to carry my main tools, glues, tape and brushes, and a selection of paints. Until this year I used a 6 qt plastic shoe-box with an Academy airplane box holding the small stuff on top of the layer of paint jars below. I've flown cross country with it, all the paints are water based, mostly Polly Scale, and the TSA doesn't complain if its in checked baggage. Having the 'stuff' you need for a given stage of the project in an easy-to-carry form is a big plus.
The second trick I use is spreading parts, partially completed models and part trees out on "banker's box" lid. I fiip them over to work like a tray, and any lap-sized tray would do.They're lightwieght, you can put one in your lap and sand, carve, clip, paint, etc, without making a mess. They're big enough to hold a few standard size sheets of paper for references or instructions. Between the kit box and one of these trays, you can transport airplanes up to 1/48 single engine and 1/72 multi-engine, 1/24 or smaller cars, etc. And They Stack. :^)
As much as possible I like to keep the parts with the kit box but some kit boxes are hopeless and some kits just need a lot of space when building, so they live in the tray once started. With about 1" (25mm) rims, part trees in the trays don't touch the or kit box stacked on top of them.
Its also easy to mix parts from several projects on one tray if they all need the same thing- common interior colors, rubber tires, gunmetal, rusty steel or iron, thin or sludge washes, decals, dry-brushing, lights and beacons, etc. When you're done, deal 'em back out to where they came from. For those of us who find it too easy to start projects, being able to make progress on a number at once sure helps!
Bill