I can't imagine most home studios having a meter deep desk.
I can't imagine that either. But that need not be a limitation. It's easy enough to put the speakers on stands behind the desk. I speak form experience.
I've never seen the actual reasoning for putting them behind desk on stand to avoid desk/console reflections...if that's what's being discussed here...?
If you have them on the meter bridge, and the desk surface is in front/below them...moving them up behind the desk to remove the desk surface doesn't really help. If anything, you end up with an even larger surface out in front of the speakers.
However...that's something you could do to decouple them from the desk surface, though there are other ways to decouple.
There's also another reason for putting them behind the desk.
I think the bigger issue with most home monitor setups is their L/R distance and toe-in.
I see most people have them way to close...and it's because they don't have a mixing console. Instead, they position them relative to their computer monitor(s)...which is probably only in the 3-4' range.
For good stereo imaging, you need about 5-6' spread with a 30 degree toe-in...and then adjust your seated position to that....which then gives a better reason to place the monitors on stands so you can push them back....because at 5-6' spread means your seated positions is also 5-6' feet from each monitor, diagonally. For most home setups...that's a lot to be seated back that far...so by moving the monitors behind...you can achieve that spread and seated position.
My mixing console is not reel deep...the current one is actually smaller in depth than my previous, but it's longer in it's width.
I have a couple of racks on each side, and then a piece that connects the racks and goes over the console's meter bridge.
The monitors are kinda straddling the are where the rack and the over-bridge connecting piece are joined...so in respect to the actual console surface they are at the outer corners and beyond a bit.
I have them sitting on a custom "sandwich" of thick 1/4" neoprene rubber/1" marble stone/1/4" neoprene rubber....which completely decouples the monitors.
Having just gotten new monitors which are going to probably sit in their horizontal position, where the previous ones were vertical...I will most likely need to elevate them about an inch or two for optimum position...so I'll just add another 1" piece of marble stone/1/4" rubber to the existing "sandwich"...rubber/stone/rubber/stone/rubber.
Also, the wide console makes it easy to achieve the 5-6' spread, and the console depth puts me just inside the apex of that 30 degree triangle.
That said...for the recording newbs, it's enough for them to just get some decent monitors and toss up some room treatment as a good start...and then evolve from there as needed.