When I was younger the kitchen table and a piece of cardboard was my soldering station for years. In fact truth be told many times I just bring my equipment out and use it there even now that I have my own place. My workspace is generally crowded where as my table is kept clean.

Very similar to the fact that most people don't have a dedicate place to do a puzzle, a card table or kitchen table will suffice.

True if you only do DIP, wouldn't recommend it for SMD. Eventually you will need to debug your PCB and solder some fixes, which will be frustrating for SMD parts without the proper equipment.