Are you having challenges configuring your desk for a small home office space? I know I did. After a few layout iterations, I think I landed on something that works okay and wanted to share these home office ideas for small spaces. All of the items that I use on my desk are linked should you want to consider them for your own desk setup.
How should I setup my small home office?
Right before the pandemic I resigned from job. I thought I would take a few months off, take some classes, get a personal trainer – you know, live life a little. Little did I know it would be a year long break – literally to the day. The last day at my job was Friday, March 13, 2020. The first day at my new 100% remote job was Monday, March 15, 2021.
The rest of the world is already working from home, so many are accustomed to the quirks that happen when an entire family is living in the same four walls 24/7. And even after six months on the job, I am still gathering home office ideas for small spaces. My desk, equipment etc. was sent directly to me – two monitors, a computer, a mouse and keyboard. How do I configure my personal desk with personal computer into a combo desk now? My personal space just got overtaken by work. My desk is not that big and I ended up sending half of the equipment back.
My desk itself is a nice combination of modern, custom and personalized. The navy blue desk drawer units are from Ikea and they are awesome! Yes, you have to put them together yourself, but it wasn’t bad. I need storage and each of these desk drawer units contains five desk drawers. They are perfect and provide a ton of storage for a small compact space. They have a clean look that’s easy to mix with other styles, either supporting a desk or standing alone. The back is finished so you can place it in the middle of the room – all sides are just as beautiful. The wood portion of the desk on top is a beautiful slab of cherry that has been sanded and lacquered. But here’s a link to an affordable similar style desk top and also some desk drawer units – so you don’t have to make one yourself.
One monitor or two?
I try to keep the top of my desk minimal and clean – no clutter. A messy cluttered desk equals stressful mind. I have two monitors – one is my own personal LG monitor and the other is and Acer provided by my employer. These are 24″ screen monitors similar to this one by Samsung. I have found I function best with at least two monitors, plus the laptop screen. I can have many items open at the same time and be able to cut and past from one software program to another. This is very helpful if you are creating powerpoint or canva presentations.
As you can see, my desk is in a corner of the room with a low angled ceiling. And even though there is a window just to the right of my desk, it is recessed in a dormer so you really can’t see the window when you are sitting at the desk. The area is too dark and lighting becomes a challenge on the myriad of zoom calls, teams calls and skype calls!
More home office ideas for small spaces
Small Ring Light for Desktop or Laptop
I purchased this small ring light to provide some extra light and brighten up my face on calls. I compared it to the Lume Cube light that everyone seems to rave about. I really didn’t want to pay the price of the Lume light so for $20 I thought why not give this little webcam light a try. A former colleague recommended it and she thought it did the job pretty well. After using it for six months, I am so glad I bought this little light. It’s an easy set up – just hang over your monitor. When you need to travel it’s super compact and light. With a job that 100% remote, this light makes it easy to work from literally anywhere. Check it out here to get one for yourself.
Best small microphone
Samson Go Mic
In addition to the small ring light, I purchased a microphone. My work computer microphone kept breaking. After sending me three different computers it still isn’t fixed so I broke down and just bought a microphone. Many suggested I just get a headset with mic but with the amount of meetings I have each day, I really didn’t want to have plastic earmuffs on my head – ouch. So, I went the microphone route. This little Samson Go Mic Portable Clip on USB Condenser Microphone packs a punch. It clips right onto your laptop or monitor and folds up compact when you want to travel. It’s perfect! I initially purchased Blue Microphone’s Snowball mic but the darn thing is huge on my desk, and as I mentioned earlier I don’t have space for a mic that large. It marketed itself as a smaller one but it wasn’t small enough for me after seeing the Samson Go Mic.
The Samson Go Mic includes two microphone pickup patterns: cardioid and omnidirectional. Cardioid captures sound in front of the microphone and rejects sound from the sides and back. This is great for single person podcasts, streaming or those dread zoom and teams calls. When the Go Mic is set to Omni pattern, it picks up sound in a 360° pattern. This is used to capture a group of people around a table for a multi-subject interview. I bought my Samson Go Mic for $44. It really is a great home office idea for small spaces. Check the price here on Amazon.
Desk accessories (fun stuff)
My clear acrylic pen cup and pen holder is one of my favorites. I bought this years ago before they were popular and I paid too much. I think I originally bought this from CB2 but here’s a cheaper version on Amazon.
My cute yellow bouncy toy is from Hoptimist. He brings joy to my day. You can find him on Amazon here or you can check out the entire Hoptimist store for other versions. This cat is one of my new favorites.
My mousepad is an older design but I like some of these fun options here.
A better home office desk chair
Last but not least, here are the details on my desk chair. Originally I had this cute little desk chair from Ikea. It’s mint green and it has adjustable height. It was definitely on my home office ideas for small spaces list. Then I disovered that it’s, perfect for a desk where you don’t sit for 10 hours! I discovered that this chair was hurting my tailbone over time so I needed to upgrade to something better but that also meant I had to compromise on style. After having this chair for only a few days I can tell you it’s worth it. I purchased the Staple’s Union and Scale Kroy chair after an eternity of searching. I didn’t want a big chair – I needed something smaller scale and more like a task chair. This fit the bill and I am pleased with the comfort and adjustability. If you need a desk chair, definitely give this one a look.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated at work.
Oh and by the way, it’s important to stay hydrated at work and many days I just don’t drink enough water. I use this Nalgene bottle as my guide to know if I’m getting enough or not. With a 32 oz capacity, I just need to drink two of these a day to get the recommended amount. The bottle’s measurements make it easy to know if I’m on track or not. Plus, it’s made in America and I support all American businesses and mostly small business. Nalgene is the original (IMO) water bottle and they offer lots of color options and configurations. I like to decorate mine with stickers to give it a personalized look. You can check out more of their products here.
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