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Welcome to my humble home studio! This is the place where I record most of my YouTube videos,
do all sorts of creative work and have tons of fun with the family. This is more than an
office - it’s a recording studio, a home theatre, and a lounge area all into one. In fact, that’s
the theme of the entire place - versatility! A big portion of the furniture is designed by me with
the sole aim of serving multiple purposes. In this video, I’ll walk you through it,
I’ll tell you how I built it and I’ll show you the various corners and how they work.
So the place is a hair less than 260 square feet which to many standards might be tiny,
but to me is all I could ask for. I built it from the ground up totally separated from the house.
Some interesting facts about this place are the number of power outlets for example,
where I have anywhere between 24 to 30 outlets which was a shock to the electrical guy
(get it) but since I knew I would be using the place for video recording I
insisted on having easy access to power whenever is needed. For example, I have 6 power outlets
on the ceiling alone and 4 on the floor. Another interesting fact is that the main concrete wall
of the studio is actually a continuous wall that follows the outside patio. This was a tricky thing
to pull off because there had to be some serious insulation on the other side but I am very happy
with how it turned out. Also, I am very proud of how I painted the interior concrete myself,
keeping all the imperfections, and making it unique. I was preparing to invest in
soundproofing to fight my reverb fears but as soon as the walls were finished and I placed the
massive curtains and carpet, it became ideal. Whatever was possible to live on wheels,
exists on wheels. When I am in the middle of a shoot, things get messy, and having
items on wheels, including my desk, saves hours. Going through the different corners of the studio,
you’ll notice that I wanted to keep things muted in terms of colors yet I wanted to offer a variety
of surfaces and textures since I shoot products. This brings me to Desktopia - my giant
3-in-1 storage unit. This unit serves 3 main purposes - the all-I-could-ask-for storage place,
a desk setup, and a top-down set - a place where I can record some beautiful and interesting product
shots. Desktopia is a very clever piece of furniture that is purely my idea. It spans
and takes up the entire side wall making it the biggest piece of furniture I have ever
owned. In the middle, the top-down sticks out to serve as a full-size desk as well, which I use on
many occasions BTW, despite having a separate desk. It is also handy when I have guests or
someone to have a place to work from. On one of the top-down walls, I have a little charging
corner which I am not very fond of in terms of aesthetics but I’ll find some time to organize it
and make it look good. All my camera gear and charging accessories live there. If you want to
know more about Desktopia, like the hidden routing wholes on the inside and the built-in lights and
outlets, check out my dedicated video which I’ll link below and at the end of this video.
Stepping left from Desktopia I have the entertainment unit. This is again a custom-ordered
furniture that has some storage potential but that’s not the main reason for its existence.
It houses a giant 120” retractable ALR screen that displays the beamed picture from the hidden 4K
short throw laser projector by BenQ model V7050i. This is a 2500 lumens 4K beast of
a projector that aside from entertainment I can use for backdrops in shots. It is crazy bright
to the point where I don’t have to worry about having ambient lights turned on or off and the
DLP laser is rated to last 20,000 hours. I know some will be interested, in terms of colors, it
offers DCI-P3 color accuracy and 96% of Rec.709. The retractable Ambient Light Rejection screen
solved my initial problems of dealing with a screen in front of giant windows. The screen is
actually very thin and it’s grey in color. The ALR tech allows light to travel only from the bottom
while reducing the rest of the angles to a minimum. Powering on the entire setup
is a matter of pressing one button to pull out the screen and another to power the projector
and the Apple TV. The combination of this screen with the BenQ V7050i
is a dream come true. I’ll put links to both the projector and the screen in the description below
as well as my full tour of this built. To enjoy all the movies, TV shows, and gaming,
opposite the entertainment unit I have my favorite recliner 3-seater couch. From its looks,
the couch might not seem like something special, but it is one of the most comfortable couches I’ve
ever owned. It’s deep and soft, making it very comfortable even when retracted. On the sides,
it has buttons for the motorized mechanism which once expanded leans back turning it almost to a
horizontal position. It even has USB-A charging ports next to the buttons. One feature that
solidified my decision when purchasing it was that it doesn’t require rear space when stretching out.
Very important for smaller spaces like this one. Unlike many couches, there’s no need to
keep it away from the wall in order to lean back. Keeping the multi-purpose theme, the couch is good
enough for sleeping as well - I’ve tested it 🙂 Flaking the couch, I have two solid oak round
tables that I use for occasional drinks or snacks and a pair of 1st generation home pods. These were
very hard to find, but since I hate cables and I knew the potential of the larger HomePods I knew
they were the ideal solution for the entertainment unit as well as some casual music listening.
Through the HomePods, I control all my lights as well, thanks to HomeKit and Siri. BTW, all
my non-video lights except for the desk strip are from IKEA and work with Homekit. Can’t complain.
On the right of the couch area, I have the IKEA ROG shelf and peg board which I use to store
some memorabilia and props for videos. I plan on expanding and turning the peg board into another
charging station or perhaps a digital art board. Moving again to the right, I have an IKEA unit
that holds my dream Apple desk setup from 10 years ago - the old thunderbolt display
and a MacBook Pro from 2013 tucked in the back. I use this setup to run some music or
refer to work materials when working on a shoot. Shoutout to my YouTube t-shirt my beautiful wife
gave me when I first told her that I want to start creating YouTube videos - I keep it framed.
In the IKEA unit, I have some IKEA lamps and smart bulbs as well as some of my watches and
some other nicks and nicks that I might use in a video and maybe some props. The wall
behind the unit is the only one I’ve treated only because I had the panels at my disposal.
As I mentioned earlier, almost everything in the studio is serving multiple purposes,
including little things like my inconspicuous iPad snap case by MOFT. MOFT has created an
entire snap system around this clever case. This being a case, one can expect iPad edge protection.
The case connects with all Apple keyboards thanks to its built-in magnets and Smart Connector. At
the same time, the Apple Pencil Cradle keeps the pencil in place, allowing it to charge
as usual preventing it from going haywire when carrying it around or placing it in backpacks.
The Snap case features scratch-resistant vegan leather ideal when using the iPad on its own and
placing it on surfaces for creative purposes, like drawing for example. The Snap case connects to
MOFT’s Magnetic System of Accessories part of the Snap System Like the Float Stand. This pocketable
stand is designed for all iPads and is the ideal iPad raiser as it can lift the tablet above 3”.
The slim double-hinge design is plenty sturdy, even for the largest 12.9” iPad Pro. You can use
it in tandem with the Apple Keyboard depending on your needs. Be sure to check out MOFT in the first
link in the description below as they offer a 15% back-to-school discount using my coupon code E15.
Next up is my desk. It is an all-white desk which I am very proud of. The inspiration for it was
the 32” 4K Samsung M8 in white which lead to me changing the wood tabletop to white and switching
to the white speakers. It is a sit-stand desk that I normally raise up for shooting purposes and not
so much for working on my feet. The only office chair that I have here is the Herman Miller Embody
but I also have a small stool from IKEA which is the workhorse around here. First of all,
it works as my leg raiser when working on the desk, but the rest of the time it just does
so much! It helps me reach objects in high places, it serves as a chair for when someone is working
on Desktopia and most of all it is the quietest chair that I use for all my talking heads. It
is literally 100 times less expensive than the Herman Miller and more versatile 🙂 BTW,
I have a dedicated desk setup video so feel free to check it out here or in the description below.
Completing the circle and moving to the giant window area, on the ceiling, you might’ve noticed
the paper backdrops. These are giant motorized paper rolls that I pull down if I want to shoot
an object on a clear white or black background or simply sit in front of a clear screen.
Moving outside to the patio, I have a little expandable wooden IKEA table with foldable
chairs which I enjoy sitting on during the late hours in July and August. Come September, I’ll be
spending more time out here since it won’t be as hot since this is my favorite writing place to be.
Check out my Desktopia video here and also the full 4K laser projector setup tour here. Subscribe
to the channel and click on the bell icon and as always, it’s been an absolute pleasure,
This is E Over and out