I know what you mean about the pointy end of the board for general purpose ironing. I have a standard metal one that is okay but primarily hangs on the wall. My DH used that as a template for making me a 1/2 to 3/4 length board that he then mounted to a closet door in my laundry room with a 'piano hinge'. He mounted a cut-down broom handle with a rubber end on a hinge at the skinny end to stabilize/level the board when unfolded/in use. I used a regular ironing board cover and just bunched up the excess length at the door end of the board. He made it out of particle board. It really does need to be re-done and/or I need to add a second cover as I'm getting little bits of the wood poking through sometimes. Not enough to be damaging to clothing though.
If I have just flat stuff to iron, I usually use my cutting table w/towels folded over which is where I do my quilting ironing as well.