Details

Welcome to my office setup! This is about what I shoot for when doing some general tidying up. This workspace is generally accompanied by a cup of coffee, water bottle, and keys.

Originally this desk housed both a gaming desktop and a work issued laptop with a KVM, but my desktop has been moved to a different desk to alleviate the headaches caused by KVM gremlins. This, along with the fact that my ethernet currently enters the room through a hole in the floor, has led to messier cable management than desired. Admittedly, I can’t be bothered at the moment to make it much better though. I started the process of doing ethernet runs in my house but other projects have taken priority lately. When I get back to doing those runs and finishing sanding/painting the trim in this room I’ll need to move the whole setup anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Desk and Chair

My desk was a woodworking project completed by my dad. It was made from a walnut tree that grew on some family property. Dimensions are roughly 72"x30" with one end a few inches deeper thanks to the live edge of the board. To support the desk I’m using a generic standing desk frame purchased off Amazon. Unfortunately due to the weight and size of the desk it’s gotten less and less stable over the past few years. I’m due for a replacement, but as long as I’m not bumping into the desk I don’t encounter too much grief for it. There are some health concerns that are worth taking into consideration when using a standing desk; in order to avoid plantar fasciitis I stand on a Topo Comfort Mat. I regularly change my stance which leads to me remaining standing while comfortable for much longer.

The chair I’m using is a Herman Miller Aeron; I picked it up off Facebook Marketplace for cheap during the pandemic after getting used to one in my pre-pandemic office. Parts are readily available on ebay if things break or the mesh tears which is something that I have been grateful for.

Computer

This setup is powered by a 16GB RAM M1 Macbook Pro issued to me by my employer mounted on the underside of the desk using these brackets. The laptop occasionally has a hiccup and won’t wake from sleep so it finds itself on top of my desk once a week or so, but sooner or later it ends up plugged into the dock and in the cradle underneath the desk. When I first got the computer around 2 1/2 years ago there were numerous library and compatibility issues that I ran into. I can happily report that this has gotten substantially better, and on more than one occasion I’ve considered purchasing a Mac for personal projects.

My employer also issues a Plugable USB-C And Thunderbolt Dock. It’s worth noting that I’m on my second one in 2 1/2 years. The dock itself is used to power two high resolution ultrawides without breaking a sweat, while also both charging the computer and serving as a USB hub. Prior to this I had always used cheaper dongles and direct USB-C to DisplayPort/HDMI. After having used these I definitely think they have their place, even with their high price tag.

Displays

My current workspace monitor setup has been an evolving journey, but I don’t see a compelling enough reason to swap from my current setup for my workflows. Besides some minor gripes, I’m all aboard the ultrawide train. If I changed to any other setup it would either be a 27" on top just for aesthetics, or to a vertical 27" on the side. That change likely won’t happen since I care about my speaker placement a touch too much.

A few years ago I used a 27" display with a laptop stand and found that perfectly adequate. My prior employer had dual 32" displays in office which I quickly got used to and during the pandemic I quickly grabbed a pair for myself. When I moved in with my now fiancé I had an extra 43" TV and decided to give 4k a try. This worked for a while, but created a multitude of issues when trying to screen share with other developers. Bitrate issues made it difficult for other developers to read what was on my screen, and mismatched screen ratios made it difficult to read text on ultrawide screens shared by other developers without it taking up my entire display.

My current employer provides 34" 1440p Ultrawide Dell displays; effectively a 27" 1440p panel with enough real estate to open 3 code files side by side. The bottom display is also a 34" 1440p ultrawide that I used to game on due to supporting higher refresh rates (165hz). I can’t recommend this specific display as the ghosting is very noticeable. It also has not stood up well when compared to any other OLED/QLED offering.

An honorable mention here goes to my iPad which serves a good part of its life as a display for Slack and Spotify.

Audio Equipment

Audio has been a hobby of mine over the past 15 or so years and I’ve been fortunate enough to own headphones and IEMs ranging from the Moondrop Chu to the ZMF Caldera (A proper shoutout to /r/AVExchange since this is where nearly all were purchased). I find that after prolonged use though that my head and ears get sore from using headphones or IEMs exclusively.

I’ve looked just far enough into speakers to recognize that diminishing returns kick in around the price point of the KEF Q150 if placed in a suboptimal environment. I like these speakers and can recommend them to anyone who finds them used, or new around the $300 price point. I currently have them sitting on undersized speaker stands from Audioengine, but that is only due to losing a part of my IsoAcoustics Iso-155 stands. I would suggest pairing the KEF Q150 with a subwoofer. I’m using a well-worn Dayton SUB-1000 10" subwoofer that I found used on Facebook Marketplace.

I control volume for the speakers, and perform basic bass/mid/treble adjustments with the amp. Considering the acoustics of my office I no longer worry about trying to do full parametric eq from my work computer. I’m using an older version of the Fosi Audio 2.1 Channel Amp and a 3.5mm to RCA adapter plugged directly into the Mac. I used to use the bluetooth functionality but it has unfortunately stopped working.

When my environment is a bit noisier, or I need a bit more focus I either use my WH1000-XM4s headphones or my WF1000-XM5’s earbuds due to their excellent noise cancelling.

For my microphone I’m using a Sure SM57 attached to an Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP and plugged into a 2nd generation Focusrite Scarlett Solo. The Scarlett Solo has stopped working on me twice in the decade that I’ve had it, but I keep bringing it back with a soldering iron. Knowing what I know now, I’d likely opt for a Razer Seiren Mini, the same microphone my desktop is using.

Other Peripherals

Earlier this year when the new iPads were announced I hopped on ebay and snatched up an iPad Air to use for note taking. It’s been used lightly for note taking since then, but has found regular use as a whiteboard for working through problems. During the day it’s convenient for monitoring Slack and controlling Spotify, while in the evenings it’s more convenient than lying in bed with a laptop for media consumption.

For a camera/webcam setup I’m using a Sony a6400 with a kit lens plugged into an Elgato Cam Link 4k. I found that the signal is messed up when run through the docking station, so it’s plugged into a random USB-C to USB & HDMI adapter.

The mouse I’m currently using is a worn out wired ELECOM HUGE. I’ve tried a few trackballs over the years and found that I like this one significantly more than the Kensington SlimBlade I had briefly used prior. The ELECOM HUGE has the left click on the thumb along with a scroll wheel which especially helps with pain in my pointer finger and wrist. My main problem with the SlimBlade is that to scroll you have to spin the entire trackball in place. Besides the awful noise produced, it’s tiring and tends to make my wrist sore due to the twisting motion. Note that my Glove80 uses the mouse keys firmware, so the trackball does not get as much usage anymore.

Like my monitor setup, my keyboard choice has evolved over the past 15 years and honestly deserve their own post (stay tuned 🙂). For around a year now I’ve found significant pain relief from mounting my keyboard using a microphone/camera arm clamped to my desk. In my case I’m using 2 of the 9.8" SMALLRIG Clamps, but in reality should have gone with the 5.8" version. My keyboard flavor of the month is the Ferris Sweep Bling LP with Sunset Choc Switches mounted to my desk via some mounting adapters from Etsy. I often swap the Ferris Sweep for my Glove80 sporting Pro Red Choc Switches and mount it using their Quick Release Tripod Mounting Plate kit. I regularly promote the Glove80 to other developers experiencing arm/wrist/finger pain. I have gone as far as buying ’ergonomic’ keyboards, buying split keyboard kits, and even writing firmware for handwired keyboards that I 3D printed myself. At the end of the day, I still reach for the Glove80 during most work days, and use it every evening after work.

Office

More photos to be shared in the future, but the wall slats were made by ripping plywood sheets on a table saw and applying stain. Looking back, I should have kept the gap between each slat smaller, but I’m content with the quality of them considering the cost difference compared to using walnut or buying prefabricated slats.

The room is painted with Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore (SW 7069) and Pittsburg Paints Cool Concrete (MEN7146-2).

The room has an Echo Pop in it that essentially works as a glorified timer/alarm, and a basic WiFi 6 router dedicated to VR.

Other Thoughts

After having typed this up I would love to write about keyboards and workflow enhancements that I’ve found valuable. I’m not sure I have the patience for it, but I may try to document some of my home improvement projects. Who knows?

I look forward to following up in a year with a bit cleaner of a setup in an office that doesn’t have ethernet routed through a hole in the floor, with trim covered in wood filler still needing to be sanded down 😅.