Reply With QuoteThank you - impressive! Makes my minimalist set up seem in need of more tech!Originally Posted by Skier
Correct. The window in the photograph faces east so in the mornings the blind is closed until the sun shifts and I can let more light in.
Thank you - impressive! Makes my minimalist set up seem in need of more tech!
Save me the work, what are the two in mind :)
I have a main PC driving two x 27" monitors via a KVM switch which also has a feed from my laptop docking station.
Lenovo wired keyboard - for the positive key action, and an ergonomic logitech mouse big enough to not give you carpal tunnel.
I think if I was starting out again - I would still go for twin monitors but the big change would be to go for a full electrically-height-adjustable desk to allow work standing up.
Alternating between sitting and standing when you are at the computer for long periods is so good for posture.
I think I agree with you on the desk, and would imagine that at some stage in the future I’ll end up going down that route. For now, I didn’t want to sink an additional grand into the changes I’m making, and it’s also possible that at some point going forward I’ll be able to accommodate a wider desk than I can at present.
I’m not changing my monitor right now, as I’ve mentioned above. However, my preference would be for an ultrawide screen as opposed to dual if I did make a change.
Still not ordered the Halo, not sure what’s stopping me. Maybe coming to spring & a south facing office window isn’t pushing me enough. Will revisit come autumn I think.
Town hall meeting this afternoon, so a long listening call for me, so in the lounge chair. I really need to find something for this large empty wall though.
Don’t want shelves as will store stuff I don’t want. Toyed with metal race track cut outs, or large Lego cars hung on the wall. Large tv is an obvious one, but will sit at a funny angle to it & it will reflect the window I’m sure.
3yrs on and still not found an answer.
Really interesting thread and now I’m looking for speakers that I didn’t know I needed!
Could do with a new chair so where’s a good source to look for used/refurbished office chairs like the Human Scale and Herman Miller?
Here you go. Close to half the new price.
Another vote for them, it’s where I got mine from too. They were great resolving a minor issue that I had with it also.
Got me looking to move my Sonos to another room to get some speakers now to replace my small soundbar.
This thread could start getting expensive.
Very good little speakers, I’d be tempted to go for red based on the photos shown, it would be the way I’d go in a similarly coloured set up.
I don’t tend to listen to music when I work, and I’m never in my office for pleasure, so for me I’m not sure I’d want to hear my colleagues voices in such hi-fidelity lol. But they would look good on the desk, I have to say.
I’ve only been to the office 3 times this year, perhaps my savings there can go towards the speakers and light upgrades. Always man maths angle.
Spoke to the place that did our textured quartz in the kitchen about getting a table top made up. Well, that lasted a few milliseconds given the price I’d need to pay for a full sheet of material.
I sort of want to thank you for inspiring me to rethink my rushed together set up a few weeks into lockdown, but you will cost me money!
That said I’m in the troubled place where nothing actually wrong with what I’ve got & it is far better than most, just could be tweaked the last 20% or so. An expensive 20%!
Look forward to the next update!
Thanks! They seem to have lots of choice and not too far away so might see if I can pop in and have a look at all.
A5s will be too big and boomy for your space. A2+ ftw, and get the little rubber wedges for under them. Absolutely perfection for a study.
Enjoying this thread.
Since Covid I now work 2-3 days a week from home and my office environment has become important to me. It can get a bit lonely at times so I like a few creature comforts
My main desk area
I have a few MacBooks but leave this one in position and use it with an 8 Bitdo mechanical retro keyboard in Famicom colours!
Which has matching programmable hot buttons if I’m doing any repetitive tasks!
You’ll see another keyboard sitting behind it to the left which is a Pi400 with some 35,000 retro games running via a RetroPi set up for those odd intervals of downtime! I use a wireless 8bitdo Pro controller for that.
I’ve got music set up behind me for mainly playing vinyl which the sideboard is full of and a chair for a little break occasionally.
And the sound of trickling water and 3 fish
To my right my book case which has a modded Vectrex sitting proudly (again for those odd moment of downtime!)
Makes the days more bearable and of course I get visited regularly by one or two of our 6 cats and 3 dogs to keep me sane
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Last edited by Bootsy; 19th March 2024 at 06:21.
A nice work area, for sure.Enjoying this thread.
Since Covid I now work 2-3 days a week from home and my office environment has become important to me. It can get a bit lonely at times so I like a few creature comforts
That’s a fantastic room!Enjoying this thread.
Since Covid I now work 2-3 days a week from home and my office environment has become important to me. It can get a bit lonely at times so I like a few creature comforts
My main desk area
I have a few MacBooks but leave this one in position and use it with an 8 Bitdo mechanical retro keyboard in Famicom colours!
Which has matching hot buttons if I’m doing any repetitive tasks!
Sitting behind it is a Pi400 with some 35,000 retro games running via a RetroPi set up for those odd intervals of downtime!
I’ve got a music set up behind me and a chair for a little break occasionally.
And the sound of trickling water and 3 fish
To my right my book case which has a modded Vectrex sitting proudly (again for those odd moment of downtime!)
Makes the days more bearable and of course I get visited regularly by one or two of our 6 cats and 3 dogs
I daren’t show you my room! Bits of it are ok, but as it’s long and thin I’ve always struggled with how to utilise it effectively. Also has a bunch of other people’s stuff in it which doesn’t help.
Might just have to start over…
Cheers for the comments
I’ve come to realise (just as you started the thread off Tony) that given I spend a lot of time now in my office that I need to enjoy the surroundings so it’s constantly been and getting tweaked
Agreed!
The desk area itself is ok, but I need to start again with how the rest of it is used and what goes where.
I might need to build some bookcase type thing around the door so I can put things like guitar amps on there and get them off the floor. Maybe put the hifi somewhere else, etc etc.
Maybe something to do over Easter.
Already contacted the chair people and am planning to pop in there next week if all goes to plan.
Another element arrived this evening - the Logitech MX Mechanical wireless keyboard for IOS. Love how it becomes backlit as soon as your hand approaches, but there are lots of other tricks I need to learn, as well as customising some keys to suit my workflow.
Everything I hoped it would be, and I really can't see the Apple keyboard getting a look in now.
Cracking space for sure.
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What an incredible space
Fantastic thread. Some lovely pictures.
I’d love a mechanical keyboard, but used to sit next to someone in an open plan office with one years back & just the sound reminds me of him! Was even worse as he was a 2 finger typist so you could hear how slow he was going. Loved the old school keyboards, but intrigued the higher action is more productive; engaging and enjoyable most certainly.Another element arrived this evening - the Logitech MX Mechanical wireless keyboard for IOS. Love how it becomes backlit as soo9n as your hand approaches, but there are lots of other tricks I need to learn, as well as customising some keys to suit my workflow.
Everything I hoped it would be, and I really can't see the Apple keyboard getting a look in now.
So from left to right you have vape, ASMR mic, Sky q, light controller, multi dock and then a stand for the Mac. What is the stand, as looks like it could be a nice space saver for me?
I find when my Mac is closed the True Tone & night shift doesn’t work properly, is that offset for you as you have a Mac display that has the sensors? I have mine open slightly, with a thin folded microfibre cloth to stop the cat treading on it & closing it.
Sonos now going on a stand behind the eames, hopefully hidden just to add some background noise as too loud even in level 1 next to me.
Toying with the large space being filled with large Silverstone circuit from here: https://www.trackscapes.com/collections/all
Likely to add a smaller thruxton / brands (where I’ve driven) or frankly a ring one as it’s just more interesting as a design even though #neverbeen.
Seems the Benq needs 6cm behind the monitor, so will have to measure that, my monitor mounts at the top for VESA so makes it wobbly af, it’s all pushed back on the arm for stability with cloths at every joint to remove any wobbles, so hoping after all the reading up it could actually work…if not it is new monitor time.
If we go halves, you only owe me £100 so far but this is pre monitor upgrades Tony!
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How do you find the Sonos in terms of integrating with your set-up? I did give a soundbar some serious thought but in the end decided against it.
Spot on in terms of my various items on the desktop - the microphone is a Blue Yeti Nano, btw (Blue is actually part of Logitech, and competes with the likes of Rode and Shure in terms of quality). The laptop stand is this one from Ugreen. No issues whatsoever with the laptop closed - in fact, I never open it. However, change is imminent in terms of how the desk is laid out as I have an important component still to arrive. That component will enable the speakers that I'm planning to be nicely positioned too.
Oh, and... LOLZ!
Sorry to hear the new normal wasn’t onside last night.
Sonos isn’t integrated at all, it’s a stand alone speaker integrated through the house vs anything to do with my office. Think it’s the Play 3 where they start with an Aux input and that’s way too large.
I’ve tried BT speakers before with the Mac, but found the speaker turns off through lack of input noise & it just annoyed me - perhaps my choice of trial speaker, who knows.
I found a VESA mount to centralise the monitor better, and allow a halo to fit, but then really need the desk & monitor central against the wall for artwork to work above it.
Have now realised why my desk was offset in the first place, bloody stabiliser bar at the exact height of the sockets. So if I shift the desk to the left I can’t use them & don’t want to run an extension across half the room to bring power from the opposite corner.
So until I change my desk, my office upgrade has hit a bit of a wall for now. Feck!
I’ve barely slept since I got back from hospital, Matt - it’s partly physical, partly psychological. I’m very, very tired at the moment though.Sorry to hear the new normal wasn’t onside last night.
Sonos isn’t integrated at all, it’s a stand alone speaker integrated through the house vs anything to do with my office. Think it’s the Play 3 where they start with an Aux input and that’s way too large.
I’ve tried BT speakers before with the Mac, but found the speaker turns off through lack of input noise & it just annoyed me - perhaps my choice of trial speaker, who knows.
I found a VESA mount to centralise the monitor better, and allow a halo to fit, but then really need the desk & monitor central against the wall for artwork to work above it.
Have now realised why my desk was offset in the first place, bloody stabiliser bar at the exact height of the sockets. So if I shift the desk to the left I can’t use them & don’t want to run an extension across half the room to bring power from the opposite corner.
So until I change my desk, my office upgrade has hit a bit of a wall for now. Feck!
Don’t give up on centralising the desk just yet. If you got a short extension for that socket, you’d only have to pull the desk out by about 2-3 inches to clear the single plug that would be in there. Could it work for you on every basis? Otherwise, it would take an electrician less than half an hour to shift the socket for you and you’d just have to make good the wall.
It was the speakers you were using, btw.
Hope you can get some rest soon mate, but yeah it’s probably a combination of factors and the newness of it all. Am sure you will get there, just be patient - wasn’t long ago you were in a very worse way.
The desk is somewhat fashion over form and unless pushed to the skirting board has a bit of movement, so would have to get the socket shifted. Only just decorated too, joy.
Monitor is not central on the desk either, and as it has a hole for cables to go through, can’t use the existing arm mount as nothing for the front to clamp onto if I removed the plastic vent for the cables.
Will have a think about approach and a new desk may have to be the start point. Nothing wrong with what I’ve got, just want to tweak.
Thanks on the speakers, was prob me being at the lower end of the price spectrum when I was initially spending.
Most large companies as part of their newstart training modules - have an interactive posture module.
What they recommend makes sense, but Bifocals/varifocals make some of the orientations impossible.
Last company I worked for, I completed the module and 2 days later the "Health and Welfare Advisor" (or whatever title she had) arrived at my desk on another matter and clocked me hunched over in the seat with my head tilted way back....................
I managed to stifle any involuntary groan when I got to my feet.........
I find myself getting obsessed with cable management - not sure it's a healthy trait!
Get yourself on to TEMU - for cable management 'solutions'. You get things like big bags of velcro ties (with sticky pads) for a couple of ££. Also - Cable ID labels (dead handy too)
The Trackscapes would look great in the space you have for them, they would fill the blank space nicely/subtly.
I have a few from Matthew (Believe I was his first ever customer on ebay) good value for money and excellent quality.
One thing I make good use of is my dumbbells….
Sitting to the left of my desk is a small low level coffee table. The chess set gets used rarely (when my daughter visits from Uni), pile of
Mags, a plant etc but you’ll see the weights on the floor
I make a habit of every hour or so taking a 5 minute break and doing a few light exercises to get the blood pumping and wake me up!
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Last edited by Bootsy; 19th March 2024 at 11:53.
There is a lot to be said for not sitting facing a wall at your desk/monitor (I know that ain't always possible).
I think some of it is for your eyes to focus on various distances during the session rather than only 3ft away?
At my last eye test the optician told me my eyes hadn’t gotten worse but I’m obviously sat at a screen all day without letting my eye muscles exercise to look near and far. Advice was to try and have a range of things to look at near and far and a desk by the window helps a lot with this.
The other thing he said everyone does post-covid is have a gigantic water bottle on the desk meaning they rarely leave the desk and give their eyes some exercise. His advice was to bring two cups of water max to the desk and keep going back to the kitchen to refill.
I see a lot of bland cream/white walls which looks very institutional.
Anybody thought of some nice colourful wallpaper or similar for a more comfortable ambience?
Cheers,
Neil.
All our bedrooms are the same neutral colour, just a shade off white, ivory lace I believe. Neutral walls are very calming for me.
Thinking about it, the whole house is that colour aside from the lounge which is a warmer shade of a similar neutral, and a hallway in a neutral light grey.
We use hue lighting colours to change the ambience across the house, can warm or cool a room depending on mood at that time.
I'd be a little bit careful if I were you - if you spend a fair amount of time on video calls and paint the office a lurid shade of bordello red you might need to adust the white balance on your webcam. I was curious about your purchase of a monitor-top lamp - the only time I've bought one of those was to illuminate me rather than the desk in front of me. I soon discovered that it was another rabbit hole and gave up.
It's a good point, I spend a fair bit of time on Zoom and have become too conscious of my lighting and background!
This BenQ Halo is absolutely superb, Alun. I thought long and hard about it, but it's ability to light the desk without shining on the screen, whilst also providing ambient light behind the screen is precisely what I was looking for.
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