Title: Office Setup Date: 2014-06-09 Tags: organization, efficiency, workspace
The second major overhaul of my home office
Two years ago, I moved my office from a guest bedroom into the master (and vice versa).
Even prior to that, my 10’ x 12’ home office is far superior to many of the sad excuses that employers like to provide.
But, it was cramped and resulted in me staring into a wall, just like the cube farms. So, I took over the somewhat dinky master bedroom at 13’ x 15’ and it made a great office.
I have space all around my desk, up-lighting and a great view of the outdoors if I open my windows.
When I first set up the office, I used a 3-tier wire shelf based off of a setup I saw on
I’ve now replaced that (because it’s great for desktops but sucks for laptops) with a wall-mount magazine rack to hold the laptops, organize my HDMI KVM, etc; the blinds are shut and it’s nighttime, so you don’t see the great outdoors, but here’s the desk setup:
Side note: Samsung’s S5 camera sucks compared to HTC’s, based on a 3 y.o. phone. Please enjoy the pixels, but don’t steal any because these pics look bad enough as it is.
This rack would better match my setup, but I prefer the open wire style for airflow. A bit of hackery could make this work though.
I’m using the single monitor swingarm stand because I’m old-school and have reverted back from multiple monitors and now much prefer a decent sized monitor with multiple desktops.
My desk protector is also somewhat roots; I have the Rhinolin I protector which is now out of stock, but offers a much less reflective surface than the Rhinolin II. I also have a smaller one in the keyboard drawer. They have an open-cell foam backing, which sucks compared to the newer version, but the look and feel of the surface make it worth it. If I were to go any other direction, it would be a leather protector.
The keyboard is the Kinesis Freesytle 2 with the VIP 3 accessory kit. Don’t even consider buying this keyboard without the accessory kit because it will be almost useless; the only reason they don’t include it is to try to hit some artificial price-point. I don’t use the gel pads but the palm rest and stands are a must. The Kinesis allows me to position to any vertical pitch from 0 to 15 degrees, as much separation as you would probably want, and really any angle you can dream of. I go with a 10 degree vertical pitch and unlocked horizontal positioning and spread.
It replaces the Kensington SlimType keyboards that I used for several years. I switched because while these feature scissor switch technology making them mostly feel like a laptop keyboard, the keys are just too stiff for me and I needed the ergonomic split.
And finally, the Piney River glass from Piney River Brewing Company. You should have one.
The desk itself is a $130 job from Target’s avington collection. For a department store desk, it’s actually pretty good and I love the look and functionality of it. The keyboard drawer is the right height. Plus, I’m a masher and the drawer doesn’t flex while I’m clickity clacking.
All told, not counting the monitor or keyboard because the monitor is old and your keyboard preference will likely differ, I have under $300 in this setup (although Tux is priceless) and I’m extremely pleased with it.
Approximate prices as of 2014-06-09, excluding tax/shipping/travel(Piney River):