Home office setup

[config t]

Looking for some input and ideas on a home office setup. Any pitfalls you guys have run into, what works, what doesn't, etc. would be helpful. I've got a couple months before I need to start making moves but I like to plan ahead.

I'm almost starting from scratch moving back to the US from Bahrain and will have to rent a home for a year or two since housing prices are through the roof in Phoenix (and everywhere). One of the rooms will be dedicated office space - I want to keep it separated from my living space, man cave, and whatnot. That way when it's time to work I don't have a lot of distraction.

I figure I need a blazing internet connection, a desk or two, some shelving, comfy chair, a box powerful enough to run VMs, and a small 8-port switch. I'd like to do a dual-monitor setup on my work machine and have a second low powered machine connected to a large flat screen for when I need to watch youtube videos or do any kind of research.

[deanwebb]

TECH: Company sent me laptop, I purchased docking station for it, got reimbursed. I started with a 28" monitor, cast to my TV for a second. Now the TV is in a different room, and I have 2x32" monitors, side by side in a corner arrangement. Got a black and white only printer, uses a ribbon. Durable as hell, get more ink when I bang on the cartridge, like in the good old days before toner was a racket.

Server is a Dell something or other that is now 14 years old. Wow, just realizing that... Filled it up with 10TB of hard drives or something ludicrous like that. Got Windows Server 2016 for free because my kid was a student at the time, so I run virtual servers in Hyper-V and have a nice AD setup for my local LAN. Server uses the old 28" monitor now. It came with 64 GB of RAM and 16 cores, so it's good for a bunch of small servers. It also runs Minecraft for my daughter when she and her friends are in a mood to stay up late and craft stuff.

Network is ISP modem connected to the home switch. I use Google Wifi for its mesh coverage, any mesh wifi is better than extender wifi. My home switch used to be a Cisco 3750. That thing is loud, never did get used to it in 3.5 years of operation. The server, I will note, is whisper-quiet most of the time, but will sound like a jet engine when it's rebooting. Home switch is now a Cisco SG350, capable of L3 stuff and is supposed to be compatible with my $VENDOR gear. However, my home lab appliances got borked when an upgrade went sideways, so I'll test compatibility when I rebuild my home lab. The SG350 makes zero heat or noise, I love it and will use it even if I can't make my $VENDOR gear work with it.

Got the top-end APC battery backup with the most Joules, works like a champ. More Joules = survives more lightning strikes over its lifetime. You want Joules with your power supply. I have 1680 or something like that. Maybe 1580. I dunno, it's a LOT and way more than the intro model that's a glorified surge protector. Server, switch, main wifi AP, and ISP gear is on the power supply, other stuff is on the unpowered surge protector outlets. With power down, I still have Internet, and that's a good thing.

FURNTITURE: Ah, this is the part we gotta consider carefully!

I have 3 tables in my office: 1 from Home Depot, 2 from Ikea. Home Depot table has metal crossbars where my legs want to go, so it is the table that holds up stuff that I don't access often, like a stack of papers, ISP modem, server KVM. The subwoofer for the soundbar is under that table.

First IKEA table is to my right, fits nicely along the same wall as the Home Depot table, between the doorway and the room corner on that wall. Tables are 2.5' deep, about 5' wide and about 3' high. Not exactly, but close enough. I'll explain my height choice in a bit. On the first IKEA table is my secondary monitor, the printer, main Wifi AP, a box of junk - stuff I like to play with while I'm on calls (I like spinners and fidget stuff like that), my drink in a reusable to-go cup, and a spot to place my phone. It's on some paper napkins so when it's on vibrate, it doesn't rattle against the tabletop.

Main IKEA table is in front of me - main monitor, laptop in docking station, soundbar, keyboard, and a spot big enough for either a lunch plate or my personal laptop. For a keyboard, I *insist* on the Microsoft ergonomic. I prop it up in the front and enjoy many days of pain-free typing. My mouse of choice is a trackball. Again, much less stress on the hand than a standard mouse, and I don't have to move it around on the limited table space. Trackballs are my go-to for mice.

My chair is from Office Depot and I went in to try it out. It is a top-end model with LOTS of padding and cushioning. People remark that it's like a Klingon space captain chair. I agree. It's VERY comfortable and can tilt, support my lumbars, adjust height, has padded armrests, everything. It is a limo ride, all day, every day. I sat in every chair at OD and found the one that was right for my size and requirements.

Now for why my tables are as high as they are... I can fit an ottoman under the table. During the colder months, I like having an ottoman and a blanket to make my office extra cozy. It's very nice and I need the tables high enough to allow for proper leg clearance. In warmer months, I usually switch to an adjustable footrest I picked up at IKEA that allows my feet to rest at an angle, which is very nice when I'm tilted all the way back in my comfy chair.

Camera is propped up on top of main monitor, angled downward, so I have sympathetic lighting on me in teleconferences. I do not use a headset or earbuds, as those aggravate my ears. I have a nice $25 microphone that does an excellent job of capturing the sweet tones of my voice with radio-quality sound. For Teams and Zoom meetings, it's all good. For WebEx, there's terrible feedback, so I use my speaker phone for WebEx and deal with it that way.

I've got a snack drawer in the cabinet behind me (Scandia shelving from The Container Store) and have a wax melter in my office because candles are too smoky.

[Otanx]

Tech: laptop, dock, dual monitors, keyboard, mouse, cables, etc all supplied by the office. I leave the lid of the laptop open to act as a third monitor to leave up our chat programs, and monitoring dashboard. I had issues with the VPN on wireless so I hardwired the dock, and the problem went away. I setup a VLAN, and dropped an ACL to prevent my stuff from reaching the work systems. I wouldn't want to be the one that gets the office popped because something on my personal network. Home network is over engineered. 3750X with a PA3020. Internet connection is near the top end of what is offered here. Somewhere around 600Mb/s. The switch and PA are kind of loud, but they are in a closet. I was worried about heat, but it hasn't been a problem.

I don't have a lab at home. I can spin up anything I need in one of our DCs. My personal projects are all raspberry pis, they get connected to the switch in the closet. I have a Pi400 and a monitor next to the recliner in the living room. I can then SSH into them, and play while watching hockey or football.

Room: Like you are planning I turned a spare bedroom into the office. Only thing in here is work stuff. We cleared the room, and painted before moving in the furniture. I wish we had changed out the carpet to hardwood when we started. I also got an "On Air" sign for when I am on calls so my wife knows. I think this is the one we got - https://www.amazon.com/Live-Studio-Recording-Display-Light/dp/B01IY19048/

Furniture: I had the same problem Dean had with the Costco tables. They are also just a little tall for me. My brother helped, and we custom built a desk out of 1-1/8" plywood, and some 4x4s. Cost about $200 at the start of COVID. With wood prices these days it is probably twice that now. It is a corner desk with each side 8 feet long. All braced from the back, and the only front legs are at the end of the sides. I hate banging my knees into supports. We also covered the desk with a white laminate that I can use as a whiteboard for taking notes, or drawing diagrams.

Chairs are Aeron. I picked up two of them a few years ago. Even used they are expensive. I think we paid $600 each, but I can sit in them all day without a problem. We swapped out the casters with "roller blade" ones a few months ago. They roll much better on the carpet.

Things I love:
The custom desk. I hate my desk in my office now.
Having a office with a window. I don't have an awesome view, but it is nice to watch all the healthy people out running in the morning. My wife really enjoys seeing all the dogs.

Things I want to change:
The carpet. I hate the plastic floor mats for the chairs, and even with the new wheels the carpet is getting torn up.
Lighting. We left the generic ceiling fan and light combo. Need to get more lights.

I will see if I can get a photo or two, and post them.

-Otanx

[deanwebb]

^ Oh yeah, I got tile floors. Great for rolling.

[config t]

Some really good inspiration here.

I love the captain's chair and ottoman/ foot rest combo under the raised desk. And I love the custom desk idea. My pops and I could do that in a weekend. I'm still going to cruise IKEA and Office Depot anyway. As a side note a friend of mine did a custom cable management solution under his man cave desk and I'm totally stealing and improving upon that idea.

Key takeaways:

Furniture may be the most important part of the home office. Chair > desk(s) > lighting (natural light especially) > strategic airflow

Otanx, I'd love to see how you put that desk together.

I have a nice $25 microphone that does an excellent job of capturing the sweet tones of my voice with radio-quality sound.

You reminded me of this South Park scene and I had to find it 

[Otanx]

Here are a photo of my desk. I realized after I took it that the chair is kind of in the way. On the right side of the chair you can see the seam between the two pieces of plywood. We used 1-1/8" with the tongue and groove. That helps give support to the seam. The 4x4 leg in the back is right below the seam as well to help support. The entire back side has a 4x4 running along it that the plywood is screwed into. Same along the sides which you can see. Then the whiteboard laminate on the top. That was a mess to put on, but it is really nice to be able to write on the desk.

Also added a photo of my "Live on Air" sign with a bonus forum sticker from the pre "s" days.

-Otanx

[deanwebb]

Makes me wonder if we should whip up a mess of stickers for the forums.

[config t]

I dig the desk. Right next to a window too. I see what you are saying about the carpet, It's gotta be tile for sure.

Makes me wonder if we should whip up a mess of stickers for the forums.

Yes!

[deanwebb]

How big a mess?

[Otanx]

First office I have ever had with a window. I keep the blinds open all the time. Had to close them for the photo because of the glare. Didn't realize until I uploaded the photo that I really need to dust those. I am thinking wood for the floor. We got it priced out about a month ago, but everything is really expensive right now. We decided to wait another year or two. See if prices come back down to normal. We have a few other projects around the house we want done, and we are thinking of just having it all done at once in 2022.

-Otanx

[config t]

First office I have ever had with a window. I keep the blinds open all the time. Had to close them for the photo because of the glare. Didn't realize until I uploaded the photo that I really need to dust those. I am thinking wood for the floor. We got it priced out about a month ago, but everything is really expensive right now. We decided to wait another year or two. See if prices come back down to normal. We have a few other projects around the house we want done, and we are thinking of just having it all done at once in 2022.

-Otanx

The benefit of waiting is you can budget and slowly save for it now and pay for it all in one go when the time comes.

I'm hoping to buy a home within the next year or two but I think it's best right now to wait until things cool down. I don't expect a bubble burst or even for prices to go down or level off, but I want the crazy bidding and over bidding to chill out before I enter the market.

How big a mess?

Big enough for me to have a handful