For the past two years, I’ve been working at home as a UX designer, and at the beginning of 2020, I
built my first desk setup. Whilst that desk set-up was great, and it definitely certainly served its
purpose, the natural oak became a nightmare to maintain and it was time for a change.
The goal for my new desk setup was to first, keep it minimal so that it would allow me to
focus on my tasks throughout the day and maintain productivity. Secondly,
the desk setup needed to be affordable, I didn’t really want to spend any more than I already had
on my previous desk setup. Finally, I wanted the desk set up to feature an all-black aesthetic.
Whether you’re building a desk set up for work, a desk set up for gaming or anything in between,
hopefully, this video will give you some inspiration for your own desk setup.
My last desk setup consisted of an oak kitchen countertop that I bought
from a local DIY store, which I cut to size and treated with Danish wood oil.
While it was amazing having a natural element to the setup, it became a nightmare to maintain.
For the new desktop, I decided to go for an all-black desktop from Flexispot.
Overall, personally, I really do prefer this desktop. It’s a lot
cleaner. I think it suits my aesthetic, giving the desk setup a more minimal look,
which is what I was looking to achieve. The only negative I would say about this particular desktop
is that it picks up fingerprints marks very easily, so I ensure that I have a microfiber
cloth on hand to give it a wipe down, which I find myself having to do at the end of each day.
For the desk frame, I am still using the same frame from my previous desk setup.
The frame suits desktop widths of anywhere between 93cm to 141cm, and in terms of height,
anywhere between 72cm in a seated position and up to 181cm at a standing position,
the frame also has the capacity to carry up to 100kg in weight.
The touchpad that comes with the frame gives you the ability to set three different preset options.
You can also use the arrows to adjust each setting manually if you wish. I have got to
say a year later this frame has been great. Not one issue with it at all,
and the motors work as good as they did on day one.
Powering my setup I have two different laptops depending if I am creating content for YouTube or
doing work for my day job. My personal laptop is a Mid-2015 15” MacBook Pro, with a 2.2 GHz quad-core
i7 processor, 16GB ram and a 256GB SSD. I did actually upgrade this laptop mid last year to one
of the latest M1 MacBook Air’s. However, I found that it didn’t offer me that much of a realised
performance increase compared to this MacBook. Sure, rendering speeds were faster, but for me
and my particular workflow, it didn’t justify the price tag. So I ended up sending it back and
settled with this MacBook which has been handling everything I throw at it ever since. As the old
adage goes, If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. For work, I use a 2018 15” MacBook Pro, with a 2.9 GHz
6 core i9 processor, 32Gb RAM, a Radeon Pro 560X 4Gb graphics card and then finally 256Gb SSD.
During the time of having my original desk setup, I’ve been through three different variations
of keyboards and mice. I first started with a budget-friendly keyboard and mouse from Logitech
which was great to start with, and one I would recommend if you’re on a very tight budget. I
then upgraded my keyboard to the Logitech MX Keys and my mouse to the Logitech MX Master 3,
which was a huge step up. They are both an amazing mouse and keyboard combination,
and even more so if you work across both Mac and Windows. However, due to a job change
late last year I stopped working on Windows so I didn’t require this feature as much.
I also found that with prolonged use the MX Keys and the MX Master 3 would randomly fail to connect
to my Mac, so after careful consideration, I decided to sell the Logitech MX Keys and the
MX Master 3 and purchase the Apple Magic Mouse and the Apple Magic Keyboard in Space Grey. The Apple
Magic Mouse makes it extremely easy to pan around the canvas on Figma because of its touchpad style
top. Finally, this combo looks absolutely amazing, they really suit the aesthetic of my desk setup
and I love the all-black theme. Unfortunately, Apple stopped manufacturing this particular
colourway, so I’m really lucky that I managed to get hold of both of these. For my desk mat,
I am using the Amazon leather desk mat, which I purchased last year it’s served me really
well with no significant wear and tear, and it also helps keep fingerprints off of the desk.
I’ve had a few messages recently over on Instagram asking which monitor I use in my setup. I’m still
using the Dell 27” S2721H from my last video. This monitor has served me really well over the past
year and whilst it isn’t 4K it’s definitely one I would recommend as an entry-level budget monitor.
One of my next upgrades for my setup will be the monitor, where I will look at 4K
and colour accuracy options. The monitor is mounted to the desk using Amazon's
own brand monitor mount, which isn’t the best build quality-wise. However,
I haven’t had any issues, once I got it set up and in position, it does the job.
For lighting, I’ve opted for an LED strip by Govee which I
have stuck to the back of my monitor. This saves me having to have a lamp on
the desk when I am working later in the evening and reduces eye strain.
Taking a look at audio, I’ve repurposed the Google Home Mini that was featured in my last setup
to another room in the house and rely solely on my Apple AirPod Pros. Now don’t get me wrong this was
a costly investment. However, my justification was that I was rarely using the Google Home
Mini to listen to music, and instead was using a wired pair of headphones connected to my mac,
I also needed a pair of headphones for running. So after much consideration,
I decided to buy the Apple AirPod Pros. I am definitely getting my money's worth out
of them and find that I rarely take them off whilst sitting at my desk.
In terms of desk accessories, I don’t have a great deal, I wanted to keep it minimal. I
removed the phone charger I originally had on the desk, and again repurposed this to another room,
so I am currently on the lookout for something that will charge my phone,
Apple Watch and AirPods in one solution. I’ve seen a few options that I like the look of,
however, I am still deciding which one to go with.
For Christmas, a family member bought me this Diptyque candle,
and I love how it matches the aesthetic of the desk setup perfectly. The scent on these candles
are also really strong so I can get away with experiencing the scent without having to light it.
Cable management is one area where I have really looked to optimise
with this new desk setup. Previously, I had one of the Ikea under desk trays,
Which is great to start with, however, it becomes a nightmare when you want to
start adding additional plugs and power bricks and you start to run out of space.
So instead I’ve opted for heavy-duty velcro tape. I have stuck the main adapter, and power bricks to
the desk using the velcro tape, and then any cables I have tied using these clips. I have
run the main adapter cable down the right-hand leg of the frame and secured it with black electrical
tape, so the cable isn’t affected when I adjust the height of the desk. It’s an extremely simple
solution but works really well. I bought a full kit from Amazon for relatively cheap that includes
everything you need except the velcro tape. Overall I’m really happy with how this turned out.
For my chair, I am still using this one from Amazon. It’s held up relatively well and for
a budget chair, it remains fairly comfortable. This chair doesn’t provide any proper lumbar
support and I think this piece here is actually for show, however, it’s served me well for the
last year. Unfortunately, my cat went to town on the arms so they’ve seen better days, however,
in regards to the chair itself I cannot complain. One of the next upgrades after
the monitor will definitely be to look at getting a new chair with some legitimate back support.
I’ve left all of the items within this setup in the description down
below in case you would like to check them out for yourself.
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