8 ms·

My two-part desk setup (2025)

358 points by _jsmi 4mo ago

lorecore 4mo ago
It's not mentioned in the article but one thing I constantly struggle with when laying out my office is facing the desk toward the wall (like he originally had it) vs. facing toward the room (the "digital" side of his desk now). I don't like facing the wall but I find when I face the room the monitor totally blocks my view and it kind of looks like ass from the other side. This guy did way better cable management than I have done but still, you're looking at the back side of a monitor like a huge 2001 style monolith, especially if your monitor is black. I still don't have a good solution for this, and curious what others are doing.
- IanCal 4mo ago
  A few scattered thoughts but a board with decoration or art of a similar size could be a nice cover, the other (more building required) would be to look if there’s a way you can fold down/away the monitor when not in use.
- spectra72 4mo ago
  Walking into my office, you definitely see the backside of my dual monitor + audio interfaces + studio monitor speakers (I dabble in music production as well as tech) from the doorway. I just live with it. I'm on the good side. The few times a day my wife needs to talk to me she just comes around to my side of the desk anyways.
- arjie 4mo ago
  I place mine against the wall. It is most convenient this way because the Ethernet and power outlets are against the wall. In addition it means that the remainder of the space is large enough to be used for other things. My wife and I sit in the same room with a table with the 3D printer, home servers, and our various shared workbench tasks in between us. I sit by the window because I like sunlight and looking over the city, and while my wife does too my mood is more mercurially related to it than is hers. Overall, power and data management dominate this entire arrangement. I have far too many devices each of which draw very little power but demand their own massive power connections. In the end, I will likely just rack most of them to make room for the second child we plan to have.
- globular-toast 4mo ago
  If you do good cable management it looks good imo. I have a desk arm with monitors attached on their VESA mounts. All the monitor cabling is attached to the mounts and goes into the cable management tray under the desk with everything else.
- normie3000 4mo ago
  You just need a home cubicle.
- jedberg 4mo ago
  It's not an issue if your office is so small that no one is hanging out in front of it. :) My wife only comes in to get printouts and supplies if I'm working, and if she's working (we share the "battle station" by switching out whose laptop is connected to the dock) I basically only go in there to quickly chat and walk around to the other side.
- bombcar 4mo ago
  The "standard" answer is to do basically what he did - cluster the monitors on a corner (either angled or straight). The "classic" answer is an L-shaped desk, or a desk with credenza. E.g., https://www.borofkasfurniture.com/desk-2/bbgavioffice2-p207/iteminformation.aspx https://www.borofkasfurniture.com/desk-2/bbgavioffice2-p207/... or https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-9731/Office-Desks/Industrial-Office-L-Desk-66-x-78-Gray-Top-Black-Base?model=H-9731&RootChecked=yes https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-9731/Office-Desks/Ind...
- layer8 4mo ago
  Place your desk roughly in the middle of the room, in a direction where the room is not too wide/long, so your back is still fairly near a wall or shelves, with only a meter or so of space both behind your chair and behind your desk. That way your setup will mostly only be visible from the side.
baliex 4mo ago
Having just moved house, this is fantastic inspiration. To be fair, the huge window by the desk in the article makes it a naturally more appealing space than my own. But it’s enough to make me rethink the layout we have here so far. Especially since we want space for non digital projects too.
- Upas 4mo ago
  I also just moved to a new house, and am very happy this showed up. I'm trying to do a complete furniture refresh for my office, declutter, and reorganize. I'm lucky enough that there is a large window in the room, and I also only use one monitor. While I think my room is not as large as his, I can still make it work. The one thing that was stopping me was cable management - but with clever furniture placement, I think the cables can mostly be hidden. The non digital side makes total sense and I would love to mimic this
- necovek 4mo ago
  As someone with full-height windows at home — depending on your climate (continental Europe here, so similar to NYC or Boston, with below freezing in the winter and 40C/104F in the summer) — might not work too well. You lose space for shelves and such, opening a window can let the rain in, floor will get very cold, and depending on the glass type, you either get it to be like a greenhouse/too hot in the summer, or not leveraging the same effect in the autumn/winter. In general, on sunny days air can get stuffy even in the winter. It can also be too bright for some types of work during sunny days — especially if facing East or West and the sun is low. All of this depends on the orientation too, and facing north it is probably perfect. They are otherwise beautiful and have many pros: but I wanted to warn of some practical drawbacks too.
  - abyssin 4mo ago
    There's something visually appealing about full-height windows, but they're not worth it in the long run. You get used to them fast, they're less energy efficient, they're more expensive. If they aren't fixed, the lower part being closer to the ground is more prone to water ingress. I woudn't say they don't make sense at all, but large continuous windows that aren't full height provide almost all the benefits in daily use, with many advantages.
erelong 4mo ago
Initially thought one desk was facing the room, the other desk would be behind facing the wall (where there is bookshelf space instead I guess) I have considered that as a dual setup (a desk towards room and a desk behind you up against wall)
rickdg 4mo ago
You have one monitor yes, but what about second monitor?
- dnmc 4mo ago
  When you have two monitors, is your head always turned to one side? That always hurts my neck, so I wind up with the second monitor relegated to the side, where I never actually look at it.
  - benoau 4mo ago
    This is why ultrawides are very comfortable, you can focus on the center region where 2x monitors likely have their edges meeting.
    - doubled112 4mo ago
      I repurposed a 43” 4K TV as a monitor. The thing I’m working on goes roughly in the middle, everything else is sprawled out wherever.
      - grvdrm 4mo ago
        Which? I like this idea.
        doubled112 4mo ago
        It is an older $299 Toshiba Fire TV that isn’t powerful enough to stream 4K content smoothly. Displays 4K@60Hz fine over HDMI fine. Wouldn’t recommend it, but I already had it.
        grvdrm 4mo ago
        Ah. Got it. Thanks!
  - skydhash 4mo ago
weego 4mo ago
Adding another desk isn't "rethinking the desk". It's adding another desk with a slightly different purpose to the first desk. It's maximalism under the guise of insight.
- mvdtnz 4mo ago
  He didn't add another desk. Did you read the linked article?
- gblargg 4mo ago
  He has an old picture of the desk against the wall. The new setup is the cluttered desk in center of the room. "Two-part desk" actually means a one-part desk, the source of your confusion probably.
Tomte 4mo ago
What is the lamp, the one that‘s like a paper globe? That was everywhere in my childhood.
- righthand 4mo ago
  Japanese lantern
- Munksgaard 4mo ago
  Not necessarily that specific lamp, but GULLSUDARE from IKEA is the same kind.
- dredmorbius 4mo ago
  "Paper lantern" generally. Many inexpensive import shops carried them in the Before Times. Widely available now. They offer a soft ambient glow. Not ideal as a reading lamp (a bit too diffuse), but quite good for general room lighting. <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=round+paper+lamp&iar=images&t=ftsa https://duckduckgo.com/?q=round+paper+lamp&iar=images&t=ftsa>
- allenu 4mo ago
  The one on the shelf is probably a Akari paper lantern. I have an orange one that I quite like. You used to be able to buy them from Design Within Reach or the MoMA Design Store, but I can't find them on their sites now but they're on the Noguchi site. [1] The hanging sphere one might be similar. For those not aware of them, Design Within Reach has a lot of nice famous designed furniture and shelving, but pricey. They often have 15% off season sales though. Good place to shop if you're into the stuff seen in this blog post. [1] https://shop.noguchi.org/collections/akari-light-sculptures https://shop.noguchi.org/collections/akari-light-sculptures
mold_aid 4mo ago
I mean I love this kind of stuff but honestly the answer here is "have a huge honking office." I have a digital/reading split and there's actually a technical term for it: a mess. What I like to do is think of the office less as a discrete space and more like a colonial, expansionist government - if I have sat in a chair for any amount of time, anything in a five-foot radius starts accruing stacks of books, paper pads, that kind of thing. My wife loves this! Sometimes it gets cold in a room and I leave it for a while and when I return months later it's like discovering an office from the past
tianqi 4mo ago
A basic principle of ancient Chinese Feng Shui is that you should not sit with your back to a space. In other words, you need to have your back against a wall, not your face facing a wall. I believe there is a reason for this. When there is a space behind you, human instinct forces you to pay a subconscious attention on that space (we are very alert to danger from behind), making it harder to concentrate on what is in front of you.
- poplarsol 4mo ago
  It's to stop the eunuchs from murdering you.
  - novaleaf 4mo ago
    I like to joke that if you look at every Feng Shui rule through the lens of "to reduce the risk of assassination" it all really makes sense. Maybe it's not so much of a joke....
- nozzlegear 4mo ago
  What about having a window on the wall you're facing, so you can look out it?
  - tianqi 4mo ago
    This principle emphasizes that there should be no space behind you. It has nothing to do with the wall or window in front of you. Those are just examples I used to explain according to the original post. If you're concerned about the window's position, ancient Feng Shui advised the window should be located to your side, specifically on the side of the hand you don't use for writing. I think their reasoning was: this way, your head and the hand you use for writing won't cast shadows on the area where you're writing.
    - hahajk 4mo ago
      Shouldn't the window be opposite your writing hand? If the light comes from the same side as your writing hand it casts a shadow toward your eyes rather than away from your eyes
porknubbins 4mo ago
I do the same thing but with two physical desks, not just partitioning one desk into two logical desks. Aside from the obvious advantage of more space it really helps put your mind in a different context when you are at a different location. In his example just moving over slightly would do nothing for me with the computer just arms length away and still in full view.
- Tempest1981 4mo ago
  Yep, even more-so with a corner desk (L-shaped). Although there are times my work involves both papers and computer, and the quick swivel of a corner desk is great.
  - alexfoo 4mo ago
    I think most people constantly try to adapt their setups based on every changing work/life requirements, plus also phases/trends of "lots of monitors" <-> "single big monitor", etc. There are random attempts to declutter or go minimalist. Less is more. But then more stuff comes (and maybe goes). Seasons bring extra lighting, a desk fan, a heater, etc. I've worked in a variety of setups in both offices and at home. Working for a startup I spent 18 months with 3 of us crammed into 2 normal desk widths. I think I had not much more than 60cm of desk for the whole of this time. The front portion of my desk was the keyboard and mouse and the back part of the desk was the desktop PC with monitor on top of it and a desk phone (2-4 hours a day spent on the phone to customers) to the right of that. Just enough space for a water bottle and/or coffee mug between the mouse and desk phone. I was disproportionately happy for the times when one or both of my colleagues either side of me went on PTO. At some points I had a 90 minute commute (each way) by train and used that time to bash away at things on a Linux laptop. No chance of network connectivity on the move, this was the late 90s, the huge laptop (Toshiba Satellite things that were 50mm thick) could barely last the 90 minutes anyway. You made sure it was fully charged and that you'd downloaded everything you needed for the journey before you left home or the office. And you still took a book (or pen/paper) for the inevitable times you hadn't. Other than this necessity it takes a lot for me to get into any kind of a flow if I'm not sat at a desk. I can't take my laptop and just sit on the sofa and do things, it just doesn't feel like "work". I'm hoping to get better at this though as I do envy people who are happy doing this. For 18 months I worked in a classic cube farm in a corporate HQ in the US. Reasonably big cube with 6' high walls and U-shaped desk, so there was an easy way to have different zones for "laptop work", "paper work", and "other" (usually lunch _al desko_). It was nice having a little locker for hanging coats/etc, and a place for the internal/external mail to be delivered. The nearest window was probably 30 yards away from me and even then you really couldn't tell whether it was night or day. Sometimes I wasn't sure whether I was alone on our part of the floor or whether the other ~150 people were there. My favourite office setup was back in the UK with a big L-shaped desk in an area with lots of glass partitions and windows. There were about 5 of us in the space that would usually be occupied by about 40 if they were trying to pack them in, but we were left to get on with things. It was deathly quiet too, which I loved. I had a view across South London and could see plenty of sky, buildings, trees and people. My home offices have been OK but far from perfect. Too warm in the summer months given no aircon (I've got the sun beating down on my back right now), never too cold though. But never enough space. They've also always been a work in progress and never "right, that's all sorted" but I hope to get a bit closer to that with the next move. I reckon I'll get it right just before I retire.
dleeftink 4mo ago
I saved my desk from curb side collection. My chair idem. My laptop battery died two years ago so my desk cannot be too far away from a wall socket. Maybe one day I could face my desk away from a wall.
- dredmorbius 4mo ago
  Extension cords exist.
  - dleeftink 4mo ago
    They'll only get you so far
    - PhilipRoman 4mo ago
      Yes, only... 25m? You must have a bigger room than I do :)
      - dredmorbius 4mo ago
        Clearly it's the Big Room.
866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago
Will there be a follow-up when that Ikea tissue-paper lamp catches fire and burns his flat down? I don't know how those things are legal, like building a computer case out of recycled newspaper clippings.
- rogerrogerr 4mo ago
  Betcha there’s an LED in there creating less waste heat than the sunlight hitting it during the day. Would you like to buy a fire insurance policy against the specific casualty of that lamp igniting from its light source and burning OP’s flat down? I’ll sell you one for a great price.
  - 866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago
    I don't know when's the last time you handled an Edison base LED bulb but they get really goddamn hot at the base where they cram all the improperly-cooled electronics into an area the size of a thumbnail. You're literally arguing that rice paper is an acceptable material for electrical safety. Frayed cord, damaged/defective socket, the list of potential ignition sources goes on but hey let's wrap it all in dry grass and kindling.
    - rogerrogerr 4mo ago
      Looks like this is the product: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gullsudare-pendant-lamp-shade-white-handmade-80583616 https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gullsudare-pendant-lamp-shade-w... They pair it with a 2.8W bulb: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/solhetta-led-bulb-e26-450-lumen-globe-opal-70591476/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/solhetta-led-bulb-e26-450-lumen... Less than an ancient phone charger. OP’s flat will be fine.
      - 866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago
        No one is lighting a room with a 2.8W LED (equivalent to a 25W incandescent). That is barely enough light for a focused desk lamp.
satvikpendem 4mo ago
Very aesthetic, the author must be a photographer, these photos could fit very well on r/malelivingspace.
- lifty 4mo ago
  He’s a software engineer with taste. I know taste is subjective but I happen to like he’s taste.
  - 3eb7988a1663 4mo ago
    Ehh, I find it difficult to distinguish between "taste" and "money". The shelving alone is a "contact us for pricing" situation. Premium items coupled with a too-clean-to-be-used work environment and natural light can do a significant lift in the "taste" department.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 4mo ago
      On the contrary, there's lots of expensive stuff that's horrifyingly terrible taste. There might be some connection, but they're separate
    - Symbiote 4mo ago
      Prices are on the linked page, or in a full price list PDF it links to. (Though the fetishisation of this shelving seems weird. Maybe as I grew up in the UK, but I associate it with every single public and office building. Every library, every office, every school. It's not what I'd choose for home.) https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606/components https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606/components
      - globular-toast 4mo ago
        It's great when you actually do want the flexibility. Not that you need anything ridiculously expensive, though. In a garage or workshop it's great because you can just put the brackets where you want and store long stuff like wood or pipes etc. But if you're just putting up shelves that you're never going to move it's less appealing. That said, I have used it in my study because I don't care how it looks and it's very strong.
porphyra 4mo ago
Wow this guy has the 606 Vitsoe Universal shelving [1] and USM Haller desk [2] A dream setup. [1] https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606 https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606 [2] https://us.usm.com/collections/tables-desks https://us.usm.com/collections/tables-desks
- mrweasel 4mo ago
  The Vitsoe shelving is the goal for my office, but the initial cost is just so high. I know it will last me the rest of my life, and I should just have bought it when I first wanted it 15 years ago. The chairs in front of the desk might be a pair of Vitsoe 620 Chair Programme.
  - PunchyHamster 4mo ago
    I mean if you like look of some raw profiles on the wall with plain white shelving, not sure why you want to pay extra for it
- normie3000 4mo ago
  Are there compatible alternatives to this shelving without the price tag?
  - braincat31415 4mo ago
    Home Depot vertical rails and shelves serve me just as well.
    - sonar_un 4mo ago
      That's exactly what I did. It really doesn't look bad and is super cheap. https://ibb.co/Kj6vYL0v https://ibb.co/Kj6vYL0v
  - Symbiote 4mo ago
    Perhaps buying it second hand
nntwozz 4mo ago
Tolomeo detected. Michele De Lucchi & Giancarlo Fassina (1987)
mvdtnz 4mo ago
This does not look like the work space of someone who does serious work.
- BrissyCoder 4mo ago
  I completely agree and I think the fact that he's not being roasted by HN commenters for posting this is a good sign that it is over for this website/forum.
- bschwindHN 4mo ago
  What would the workspace look like for someone who does "serious" work?
platinumrad 4mo ago
It's cheating, somewhat, to replace your desk with once that is as wide as two desks. I'm trying to figure out a way to do something similar with only one desk's worth of space.
- nickjj 4mo ago
  My desk is only 48" wide (4 feet / 1.2 meters) and 30" deep (76 cm). This is enough space to have a massive mouse pad with a full sized keyboard and mouse on it with enough space to the right of it to comfortably sit and work with physical items. The desk also has a 32" 4k monitor and a 27" 1440p monitor, a rack sized audio processing unit, a USB audio interface and easy access to a drawing stylus. I don't even have monitor arms either to save space, they rest on stands. It's also deep enough where if I wanted more horizontal space I could move my keyboard and mouse forward and have plenty of room to sprawl out a few physical items. Long story short, what kind of desk are you working with? I would consider my desk fairly small but it has lots of room for common things.
  - platinumrad 4mo ago
    My desk is a tiny bit wider, my displays are smaller, and my keyboard and deskmat are smaller too. My monitor arms do take up a ton of space though and make it hard to temporarily increase my working area by pushing my keyboard back. If I had the space I'd love to have a writing area as wide as OP's, which looks wider than either of our entire desks.
a1o 4mo ago
I can’t sit with my legs down like this, I always need them on top of something, and my legs are like super long. :/
zkmon 4mo ago
It "looks" amazing. But you know, the real hard work is always done by the rag-looking, worn-out dirty, dented, scratched, faded-out, weak tools and work-benches. Not the shiny or rugged ones. Just like some notebooks that were used a 1000 times, with corners rounded by usage, not by design. I would love a table that has uneven solid wood surface, with cracks and scratchers, burn marks, broken corners, worn-out edges, ink-marks everywhere, shaped out by the usage, not by design.
- normie3000 4mo ago
  > I would love a table that has uneven solid wood surface, with cracks and scratchers, burn marks, broken corners, worn-out edges, ink-marks everywhere, shaped out by the usage, not by design. So buy a table and start using it.
- globular-toast 4mo ago
  It is possible to take care of your tools. My workbench looks used, but why would it have burn marks etc? I take care when I work. My office desk looks pristine because it's not a workbench.
biddit 4mo ago
I have a similar setup, but separate desks: - A sitting desk for coding - A standing desk for thinking and working on paper There is something magical about standing while working on paper. I’ve also found that this separation became more important to follow since the arrival of LLMs.
globular-toast 4mo ago
I put my desk facing the middle of the room in a previous place a few years ago. I really liked it. Unfortunately it does require more space, though, which I don't currently have. If I ever have more space again I'll definitely be doing it again. It feels so much cosier. I don't like having my back to the door.
neuroelectron 4mo ago
I'm not really convinced that this is a good solution. I have my own home office and I keep two separate desks. I have a modern motorized desk that can sit or stand. I also have a mid-century classic desk for "analog." And that's where I do all my real business planning. I use digital to-do app only for errands such as reminders to get milk and so on, so sometimes my actual projects get written into the digital world this way, which I do on my phone at the writter's desk. In this way, I'm not only much more distant from potential distractions, but also it's much more secure. Yes, people working at these companies can spy on you. Don't assume your digital notes are secure.
allenu 4mo ago
Very beautiful setup. I'm jealous of the space to do this. I like the idea of making the desk face out into the room, but my office is quite small, so it would end up floating in the middle of the room. Having it in the corner isn't quite as pleasing to the eye, but it makes it so the rest of the room feels larger. There are bits in here that are a little bit over-designed in my opinion. Do you really need two fountain pens at the ready? Must they be there on the desk at all times? I find I carry my single fountain pen with me when I need it. I also can't see myself always sitting at the desk to read. I have books scattered about the house wherever I was reading last. Also, it's great to have such a wide desk for both digital and analog, but how many of us have the space for that luxury? Anyway, just food for thought if you look at something like this and feel jealous and think whatever space you work in today is now poorer for seeing someone else's nicer setup.
- dudul 4mo ago
  The guy is obviously passionate about his fountain pens: https://arslan.io/2025/12/19/a-look-at-my-fountain-pens/ https://arslan.io/2025/12/19/a-look-at-my-fountain-pens/
CodeNest 4mo ago
[dead]
gib444 4mo ago
This motivated me to clean my desk, and turn it around so I'm facing away from the glare and out towards the room (now with a glimpse of view outside instead of the wall). \o/
- gblargg 4mo ago
  I think his before desk was better, just a clean surface with monitor and speakers, ready to start a new task fresh.
PunchyHamster 4mo ago
Of course they are not next to the wall, the acoustics are terrible! Also wall is good place to put storage in, having desk face it is generally a bit of a waste and only worth if there is not much space behind it to have it other way I made a big U with desks for PC/music/electronics, I did actually prefer having the most used side (computer) next to the wall but aforementioned acoustics were absolutely ass so I moved it
thadk 4mo ago
His Studio Display 3D printable model MacBook holder: https://arslan.io/macbook-holder-for-apple-studio-display/ https://arslan.io/macbook-holder-for-apple-studio-display/
poly2it 4mo ago
Since this thread seems to have attracted the attention of some hackers with taste, has anybody considered an adjustable height desk? If so, what brands are you looking at? They all seem to compromise on the aesthetics on the desk and end up quite clunky.
- cryzinger 4mo ago
  My wife and I both have Fully desks, which are now part of the Herman Miller family (but weren't at the time we bought them). Not the cutest designs ever, but they've both held up well, and I think the bamboo/wood-ish desktop finish is nicer looking than similar models from other brands. I've also seen a few places (including IKEA?) sell bring-your-own-top adjustable desks, where they provide the legs and motor and skeleton and then you add some kind of slab of your choosing as the desktop. Haven't tried one myself, though.
  - __float 4mo ago
    You can also buy the Fully legs/motor on their own and bring your own desktop. I really disliked the bamboo desk fwiw and much prefer the thicker 1" laminate "wood" one. I wish I'd gotten the extended range legs, though.
    - colinb 4mo ago
      I have the bamboo desk with the curved front. I like: - the way the wood looks and feels. - it has been fairly tough. I managed to stain it with an overnight pen leak, but it's mostly easy to clean, and stands up to minor impacts from computers and cups. Also, no water marks so far. I dislike: - the curved front, which looked cute in the pictures but makes it a PITA to fit a keyboard tray. That was a mistake. I wish I'd gone for the straight edged desk.
- fluxusars 4mo ago
  I can recommend Vernal desks. I just bought a corner desk that's height adjustable and it feels like quality.
- 4mo ago
amelius 4mo ago
> And moving the chair from one side to the other is enough to change the context. I think it would be better to have the analog side on the opposite side of the desk, so you wouldn't be able to peek at the screen so easily and get distracted.
- dudul 4mo ago
  but then he... he would face... tHe WaLl!
  - amelius 4mo ago
    https://www.alexselimov.com/posts/men_who_stare_at_walls/ https://www.alexselimov.com/posts/men_who_stare_at_walls/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920074 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920074
dudul 4mo ago
OK, I have something similar with an L-shaped desk, one "leg" is my monitor/keyboard/blabla and the other side is where I write, read, build models, do non-computer hobbies. OK. I don't think people are too (d|n)umb to realize that it's a great setup, it just requires a fairly large room to pull it off.
nzeid 4mo ago
I want this. It's the reason why every time I shop for desks I look for workbenches. Desks are always TINY and I never understood why.
- throwaway2037 4mo ago
  I agree. I recently bought a beast from IKEA: TROTTEN (160x80 cm). Crazy cheap and built like a tank.
  - bschwindHN 4mo ago
    I recently upgraded to a desk of the same size, it's great! I have a habit of sitting cross legged and my legs were always bumping into my old desk whose legs were spaced too close together. I had to the wooden top cut at a home center and then I sanded it and applied a finish myself because I couldn't find anywhere local that sold a desk top that size. Combined with a dual motor standing desk set of legs, it turned out great! I also 3D printed brackets for all the power bricks of various devices I have and mounted them on the underside.
    - throwaway2037 4mo ago
      This would be a good blog post or YouTube video. Do you have anything public to share? Your project sounds cool.
      - bschwindHN 4mo ago
        I was actually planning to write a small blog post about it because some parts are specific to where I live, but I'm sure there are plenty of articles already around. Just look up "custom standing desk" or "countertop/butcherblock desk". The woodworking was fun but you're basically screwing a big piece of wood to some pre-made metal legs that have motors to raise it up and down.
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
solenoid0937 4mo ago
When I went remote for COVID I did something similar in terms of analog-digital separation, but at the level of my home, not my desk. All of my work-related gear never left my home office (even my laptop). When I leave my home office this allows me to "disconnect" mentally.
- safety1st 4mo ago
  I ended up at the same conclusion as you guys but implemented in yet another way: my home office has a desk for digital work, and a 'study nook' for analog (mostly reading, but it has its own little desk as well). If I had a larger home, a dedicated den or study room would be a pretty high priority for me. I want my office to be a minimalist, businesslike space with no distractions that focuses me on the screen where my work happens. But the study is a place for clearing my head, thinking and reading, more about comfort, dimmer lighting, familiar objects, and no screens unless I bring in a small e-reader.
rkunal 4mo ago
Nice article to show status signalling vanity and taste-based elitism. Adding a drop of "playing lego with kids" to show humane side was clever.
- robotresearcher 4mo ago
  He’s a software engineer with a passion for design. Just skip it if it’s not for you.
- throwaway2037 4mo ago
  Yeah, I love this part too: https://arslan.io/2025/12/26/books-i-read-in-2025/ https://arslan.io/2025/12/26/books-i-read-in-2025/ > If I’m reading a book, once the kids are asleep, I have 3–4 hours each evening, and I also have free time on the weekends. So it’s possible to read a lot of books as a father of two kids. I could probably read even more if I stopped spending time on other things, like writing for my blog, learning piano, or doing industrial design. I thought: "Oh, I see, so you don't parent much."
  - a10c 4mo ago
    I too continue parenting my children once they are asleep.
  - marknutter 4mo ago
    It's possible to be a great parent who does "parent much" while also having your own hobbies and life.
digitalsushi 4mo ago
in the 1980s we had the McDLT, a styrofoam container to keep the hot side of a hamburger hot, and the cold side cold. This desk kinda reminds me of that.
seydor 4mo ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbToLPgu0N8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbToLPgu0N8
deleted 4mo ago
[deleted]
pretext 4mo ago
What brand and model of ergonomic armchair does he use?
- abyssin 4mo ago
  Aeron
BrissyCoder 4mo ago
If I found out that I was working with someone with this setup I would a) try to get them fired immediately or b) voluntarily quit. I do not know how you live with yourself.
- acupofnope 4mo ago
  That's a strong reaction to someone's furnishings. Care to elaborate why?
- ebbi 4mo ago
  You're that insecure?
maxglute 4mo ago
Fancy pencil pushing setup. All that $$$ and didn't upgrade to an embody. That said, digital/analogue studio spaces have been solved by artists for a while... get a big task table with sacrificial surface and nice lighting and make a mess of it.
ludicrousdispla 4mo ago
> ...moving the chair from one side to the other is enough to change the context. That's some lateral thinking[0] right there. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking
woolion 4mo ago
Just looking at the "analog desk" picture, it almost hurts to see the bad posture reading the book. Hunched forward, bent neck... Shouldn't you invest in a book stand, or something that would not cause such discomfort?
Igor_Wiwi 4mo ago
To me this feels super artificial, like catalog of every FAANG eng wants to have items. Looks good but with an intention to be instagrammable
realaaa 4mo ago
sleeeeeeek

358 points by _jsmi 4mo ago

It's not mentioned in the article but one thing I constantly struggle with when laying out my office is facing the desk toward the wall (like he originally had it) vs. facing toward the room (the "digital" side of his desk now). I don't like facing the wall but I find when I face the room the monitor totally blocks my view and it kind of looks like ass from the other side. This guy did way better cable management than I have done but still, you're looking at the back side of a monitor like a huge 2001 style monolith, especially if your monitor is black. I still don't have a good solution for this, and curious what others are doing.

IanCal 4mo ago
A few scattered thoughts but a board with decoration or art of a similar size could be a nice cover, the other (more building required) would be to look if there’s a way you can fold down/away the monitor when not in use.
spectra72 4mo ago
Walking into my office, you definitely see the backside of my dual monitor + audio interfaces + studio monitor speakers (I dabble in music production as well as tech) from the doorway. I just live with it. I'm on the good side. The few times a day my wife needs to talk to me she just comes around to my side of the desk anyways.
arjie 4mo ago
I place mine against the wall. It is most convenient this way because the Ethernet and power outlets are against the wall. In addition it means that the remainder of the space is large enough to be used for other things. My wife and I sit in the same room with a table with the 3D printer, home servers, and our various shared workbench tasks in between us. I sit by the window because I like sunlight and looking over the city, and while my wife does too my mood is more mercurially related to it than is hers. Overall, power and data management dominate this entire arrangement. I have far too many devices each of which draw very little power but demand their own massive power connections. In the end, I will likely just rack most of them to make room for the second child we plan to have.
globular-toast 4mo ago
If you do good cable management it looks good imo. I have a desk arm with monitors attached on their VESA mounts. All the monitor cabling is attached to the mounts and goes into the cable management tray under the desk with everything else.
normie3000 4mo ago
You just need a home cubicle.
jedberg 4mo ago
It's not an issue if your office is so small that no one is hanging out in front of it. :) My wife only comes in to get printouts and supplies if I'm working, and if she's working (we share the "battle station" by switching out whose laptop is connected to the dock) I basically only go in there to quickly chat and walk around to the other side.
bombcar 4mo ago
The "standard" answer is to do basically what he did - cluster the monitors on a corner (either angled or straight). The "classic" answer is an L-shaped desk, or a desk with credenza. E.g., https://www.borofkasfurniture.com/desk-2/bbgavioffice2-p207/iteminformation.aspx https://www.borofkasfurniture.com/desk-2/bbgavioffice2-p207/... or https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-9731/Office-Desks/Industrial-Office-L-Desk-66-x-78-Gray-Top-Black-Base?model=H-9731&RootChecked=yes https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-9731/Office-Desks/Ind...
layer8 4mo ago
Place your desk roughly in the middle of the room, in a direction where the room is not too wide/long, so your back is still fairly near a wall or shelves, with only a meter or so of space both behind your chair and behind your desk. That way your setup will mostly only be visible from the side.

baliex 4mo ago

Having just moved house, this is fantastic inspiration. To be fair, the huge window by the desk in the article makes it a naturally more appealing space than my own. But it’s enough to make me rethink the layout we have here so far. Especially since we want space for non digital projects too.

Upas 4mo ago
I also just moved to a new house, and am very happy this showed up. I'm trying to do a complete furniture refresh for my office, declutter, and reorganize. I'm lucky enough that there is a large window in the room, and I also only use one monitor. While I think my room is not as large as his, I can still make it work. The one thing that was stopping me was cable management - but with clever furniture placement, I think the cables can mostly be hidden. The non digital side makes total sense and I would love to mimic this
necovek 4mo ago
As someone with full-height windows at home — depending on your climate (continental Europe here, so similar to NYC or Boston, with below freezing in the winter and 40C/104F in the summer) — might not work too well. You lose space for shelves and such, opening a window can let the rain in, floor will get very cold, and depending on the glass type, you either get it to be like a greenhouse/too hot in the summer, or not leveraging the same effect in the autumn/winter. In general, on sunny days air can get stuffy even in the winter. It can also be too bright for some types of work during sunny days — especially if facing East or West and the sun is low. All of this depends on the orientation too, and facing north it is probably perfect. They are otherwise beautiful and have many pros: but I wanted to warn of some practical drawbacks too.
- abyssin 4mo ago
  There's something visually appealing about full-height windows, but they're not worth it in the long run. You get used to them fast, they're less energy efficient, they're more expensive. If they aren't fixed, the lower part being closer to the ground is more prone to water ingress. I woudn't say they don't make sense at all, but large continuous windows that aren't full height provide almost all the benefits in daily use, with many advantages.

erelong 4mo ago

Initially thought one desk was facing the room, the other desk would be behind facing the wall (where there is bookshelf space instead I guess) I have considered that as a dual setup (a desk towards room and a desk behind you up against wall)

rickdg 4mo ago

You have one monitor yes, but what about second monitor?

dnmc 4mo ago
When you have two monitors, is your head always turned to one side? That always hurts my neck, so I wind up with the second monitor relegated to the side, where I never actually look at it.
- benoau 4mo ago
  This is why ultrawides are very comfortable, you can focus on the center region where 2x monitors likely have their edges meeting.
  - doubled112 4mo ago
    I repurposed a 43” 4K TV as a monitor. The thing I’m working on goes roughly in the middle, everything else is sprawled out wherever.
    - grvdrm 4mo ago
      Which? I like this idea.
      - doubled112 4mo ago
        It is an older $299 Toshiba Fire TV that isn’t powerful enough to stream 4K content smoothly. Displays 4K@60Hz fine over HDMI fine. Wouldn’t recommend it, but I already had it.
        grvdrm 4mo ago
        Ah. Got it. Thanks!
- skydhash 4mo ago

weego 4mo ago

Adding another desk isn't "rethinking the desk". It's adding another desk with a slightly different purpose to the first desk. It's maximalism under the guise of insight.

mvdtnz 4mo ago
He didn't add another desk. Did you read the linked article?
gblargg 4mo ago
He has an old picture of the desk against the wall. The new setup is the cluttered desk in center of the room. "Two-part desk" actually means a one-part desk, the source of your confusion probably.

Tomte 4mo ago

What is the lamp, the one that‘s like a paper globe? That was everywhere in my childhood.

righthand 4mo ago
Japanese lantern
Munksgaard 4mo ago
Not necessarily that specific lamp, but GULLSUDARE from IKEA is the same kind.
dredmorbius 4mo ago
"Paper lantern" generally. Many inexpensive import shops carried them in the Before Times. Widely available now. They offer a soft ambient glow. Not ideal as a reading lamp (a bit too diffuse), but quite good for general room lighting. <https://duckduckgo.com/?q=round+paper+lamp&iar=images&t=ftsa https://duckduckgo.com/?q=round+paper+lamp&iar=images&t=ftsa>
allenu 4mo ago
The one on the shelf is probably a Akari paper lantern. I have an orange one that I quite like. You used to be able to buy them from Design Within Reach or the MoMA Design Store, but I can't find them on their sites now but they're on the Noguchi site. [1] The hanging sphere one might be similar. For those not aware of them, Design Within Reach has a lot of nice famous designed furniture and shelving, but pricey. They often have 15% off season sales though. Good place to shop if you're into the stuff seen in this blog post. [1] https://shop.noguchi.org/collections/akari-light-sculptures https://shop.noguchi.org/collections/akari-light-sculptures

mold_aid 4mo ago

I mean I love this kind of stuff but honestly the answer here is "have a huge honking office." I have a digital/reading split and there's actually a technical term for it: a mess. What I like to do is think of the office less as a discrete space and more like a colonial, expansionist government - if I have sat in a chair for any amount of time, anything in a five-foot radius starts accruing stacks of books, paper pads, that kind of thing. My wife loves this! Sometimes it gets cold in a room and I leave it for a while and when I return months later it's like discovering an office from the past

tianqi 4mo ago

A basic principle of ancient Chinese Feng Shui is that you should not sit with your back to a space. In other words, you need to have your back against a wall, not your face facing a wall. I believe there is a reason for this. When there is a space behind you, human instinct forces you to pay a subconscious attention on that space (we are very alert to danger from behind), making it harder to concentrate on what is in front of you.

poplarsol 4mo ago
It's to stop the eunuchs from murdering you.
- novaleaf 4mo ago
  I like to joke that if you look at every Feng Shui rule through the lens of "to reduce the risk of assassination" it all really makes sense. Maybe it's not so much of a joke....
nozzlegear 4mo ago
What about having a window on the wall you're facing, so you can look out it?
- tianqi 4mo ago
  This principle emphasizes that there should be no space behind you. It has nothing to do with the wall or window in front of you. Those are just examples I used to explain according to the original post. If you're concerned about the window's position, ancient Feng Shui advised the window should be located to your side, specifically on the side of the hand you don't use for writing. I think their reasoning was: this way, your head and the hand you use for writing won't cast shadows on the area where you're writing.
  - hahajk 4mo ago
    Shouldn't the window be opposite your writing hand? If the light comes from the same side as your writing hand it casts a shadow toward your eyes rather than away from your eyes

porknubbins 4mo ago

I do the same thing but with two physical desks, not just partitioning one desk into two logical desks. Aside from the obvious advantage of more space it really helps put your mind in a different context when you are at a different location. In his example just moving over slightly would do nothing for me with the computer just arms length away and still in full view.

Tempest1981 4mo ago
Yep, even more-so with a corner desk (L-shaped). Although there are times my work involves both papers and computer, and the quick swivel of a corner desk is great.
- alexfoo 4mo ago
  I think most people constantly try to adapt their setups based on every changing work/life requirements, plus also phases/trends of "lots of monitors" <-> "single big monitor", etc. There are random attempts to declutter or go minimalist. Less is more. But then more stuff comes (and maybe goes). Seasons bring extra lighting, a desk fan, a heater, etc. I've worked in a variety of setups in both offices and at home. Working for a startup I spent 18 months with 3 of us crammed into 2 normal desk widths. I think I had not much more than 60cm of desk for the whole of this time. The front portion of my desk was the keyboard and mouse and the back part of the desk was the desktop PC with monitor on top of it and a desk phone (2-4 hours a day spent on the phone to customers) to the right of that. Just enough space for a water bottle and/or coffee mug between the mouse and desk phone. I was disproportionately happy for the times when one or both of my colleagues either side of me went on PTO. At some points I had a 90 minute commute (each way) by train and used that time to bash away at things on a Linux laptop. No chance of network connectivity on the move, this was the late 90s, the huge laptop (Toshiba Satellite things that were 50mm thick) could barely last the 90 minutes anyway. You made sure it was fully charged and that you'd downloaded everything you needed for the journey before you left home or the office. And you still took a book (or pen/paper) for the inevitable times you hadn't. Other than this necessity it takes a lot for me to get into any kind of a flow if I'm not sat at a desk. I can't take my laptop and just sit on the sofa and do things, it just doesn't feel like "work". I'm hoping to get better at this though as I do envy people who are happy doing this. For 18 months I worked in a classic cube farm in a corporate HQ in the US. Reasonably big cube with 6' high walls and U-shaped desk, so there was an easy way to have different zones for "laptop work", "paper work", and "other" (usually lunch _al desko_). It was nice having a little locker for hanging coats/etc, and a place for the internal/external mail to be delivered. The nearest window was probably 30 yards away from me and even then you really couldn't tell whether it was night or day. Sometimes I wasn't sure whether I was alone on our part of the floor or whether the other ~150 people were there. My favourite office setup was back in the UK with a big L-shaped desk in an area with lots of glass partitions and windows. There were about 5 of us in the space that would usually be occupied by about 40 if they were trying to pack them in, but we were left to get on with things. It was deathly quiet too, which I loved. I had a view across South London and could see plenty of sky, buildings, trees and people. My home offices have been OK but far from perfect. Too warm in the summer months given no aircon (I've got the sun beating down on my back right now), never too cold though. But never enough space. They've also always been a work in progress and never "right, that's all sorted" but I hope to get a bit closer to that with the next move. I reckon I'll get it right just before I retire.

dleeftink 4mo ago

I saved my desk from curb side collection. My chair idem. My laptop battery died two years ago so my desk cannot be too far away from a wall socket. Maybe one day I could face my desk away from a wall.

dredmorbius 4mo ago
Extension cords exist.
- dleeftink 4mo ago
  They'll only get you so far
  - PhilipRoman 4mo ago
    Yes, only... 25m? You must have a bigger room than I do :)
    - dredmorbius 4mo ago
      Clearly it's the Big Room.

866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago

Will there be a follow-up when that Ikea tissue-paper lamp catches fire and burns his flat down? I don't know how those things are legal, like building a computer case out of recycled newspaper clippings.

rogerrogerr 4mo ago
Betcha there’s an LED in there creating less waste heat than the sunlight hitting it during the day. Would you like to buy a fire insurance policy against the specific casualty of that lamp igniting from its light source and burning OP’s flat down? I’ll sell you one for a great price.
- 866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago
  I don't know when's the last time you handled an Edison base LED bulb but they get really goddamn hot at the base where they cram all the improperly-cooled electronics into an area the size of a thumbnail. You're literally arguing that rice paper is an acceptable material for electrical safety. Frayed cord, damaged/defective socket, the list of potential ignition sources goes on but hey let's wrap it all in dry grass and kindling.
  - rogerrogerr 4mo ago
    Looks like this is the product: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gullsudare-pendant-lamp-shade-white-handmade-80583616 https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gullsudare-pendant-lamp-shade-w... They pair it with a 2.8W bulb: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/solhetta-led-bulb-e26-450-lumen-globe-opal-70591476/ https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/solhetta-led-bulb-e26-450-lumen... Less than an ancient phone charger. OP’s flat will be fine.
    - 866-RON-0-FEZ 4mo ago
      No one is lighting a room with a 2.8W LED (equivalent to a 25W incandescent). That is barely enough light for a focused desk lamp.

satvikpendem 4mo ago

Very aesthetic, the author must be a photographer, these photos could fit very well on r/malelivingspace.

lifty 4mo ago
He’s a software engineer with taste. I know taste is subjective but I happen to like he’s taste.
- 3eb7988a1663 4mo ago
  Ehh, I find it difficult to distinguish between "taste" and "money". The shelving alone is a "contact us for pricing" situation. Premium items coupled with a too-clean-to-be-used work environment and natural light can do a significant lift in the "taste" department.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 4mo ago
    On the contrary, there's lots of expensive stuff that's horrifyingly terrible taste. There might be some connection, but they're separate
  - Symbiote 4mo ago
    Prices are on the linked page, or in a full price list PDF it links to. (Though the fetishisation of this shelving seems weird. Maybe as I grew up in the UK, but I associate it with every single public and office building. Every library, every office, every school. It's not what I'd choose for home.) https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606/components https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606/components
    - globular-toast 4mo ago
      It's great when you actually do want the flexibility. Not that you need anything ridiculously expensive, though. In a garage or workshop it's great because you can just put the brackets where you want and store long stuff like wood or pipes etc. But if you're just putting up shelves that you're never going to move it's less appealing. That said, I have used it in my study because I don't care how it looks and it's very strong.

porphyra 4mo ago

Wow this guy has the 606 Vitsoe Universal shelving [1] and USM Haller desk [2] A dream setup. [1] https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606 https://www.vitsoe.com/us/606 [2] https://us.usm.com/collections/tables-desks https://us.usm.com/collections/tables-desks

mrweasel 4mo ago
The Vitsoe shelving is the goal for my office, but the initial cost is just so high. I know it will last me the rest of my life, and I should just have bought it when I first wanted it 15 years ago. The chairs in front of the desk might be a pair of Vitsoe 620 Chair Programme.
- PunchyHamster 4mo ago
  I mean if you like look of some raw profiles on the wall with plain white shelving, not sure why you want to pay extra for it
normie3000 4mo ago
Are there compatible alternatives to this shelving without the price tag?
- braincat31415 4mo ago
  Home Depot vertical rails and shelves serve me just as well.
  - sonar_un 4mo ago
    That's exactly what I did. It really doesn't look bad and is super cheap. https://ibb.co/Kj6vYL0v https://ibb.co/Kj6vYL0v
- Symbiote 4mo ago
  Perhaps buying it second hand

nntwozz 4mo ago

Tolomeo detected. Michele De Lucchi & Giancarlo Fassina (1987)

mvdtnz 4mo ago

This does not look like the work space of someone who does serious work.

BrissyCoder 4mo ago
I completely agree and I think the fact that he's not being roasted by HN commenters for posting this is a good sign that it is over for this website/forum.
bschwindHN 4mo ago
What would the workspace look like for someone who does "serious" work?

platinumrad 4mo ago

It's cheating, somewhat, to replace your desk with once that is as wide as two desks. I'm trying to figure out a way to do something similar with only one desk's worth of space.

nickjj 4mo ago
My desk is only 48" wide (4 feet / 1.2 meters) and 30" deep (76 cm). This is enough space to have a massive mouse pad with a full sized keyboard and mouse on it with enough space to the right of it to comfortably sit and work with physical items. The desk also has a 32" 4k monitor and a 27" 1440p monitor, a rack sized audio processing unit, a USB audio interface and easy access to a drawing stylus. I don't even have monitor arms either to save space, they rest on stands. It's also deep enough where if I wanted more horizontal space I could move my keyboard and mouse forward and have plenty of room to sprawl out a few physical items. Long story short, what kind of desk are you working with? I would consider my desk fairly small but it has lots of room for common things.
- platinumrad 4mo ago
  My desk is a tiny bit wider, my displays are smaller, and my keyboard and deskmat are smaller too. My monitor arms do take up a ton of space though and make it hard to temporarily increase my working area by pushing my keyboard back. If I had the space I'd love to have a writing area as wide as OP's, which looks wider than either of our entire desks.

a1o 4mo ago

I can’t sit with my legs down like this, I always need them on top of something, and my legs are like super long. :/

zkmon 4mo ago

It "looks" amazing. But you know, the real hard work is always done by the rag-looking, worn-out dirty, dented, scratched, faded-out, weak tools and work-benches. Not the shiny or rugged ones. Just like some notebooks that were used a 1000 times, with corners rounded by usage, not by design. I would love a table that has uneven solid wood surface, with cracks and scratchers, burn marks, broken corners, worn-out edges, ink-marks everywhere, shaped out by the usage, not by design.

normie3000 4mo ago
> I would love a table that has uneven solid wood surface, with cracks and scratchers, burn marks, broken corners, worn-out edges, ink-marks everywhere, shaped out by the usage, not by design. So buy a table and start using it.
globular-toast 4mo ago
It is possible to take care of your tools. My workbench looks used, but why would it have burn marks etc? I take care when I work. My office desk looks pristine because it's not a workbench.

biddit 4mo ago

I have a similar setup, but separate desks: - A sitting desk for coding - A standing desk for thinking and working on paper There is something magical about standing while working on paper. I’ve also found that this separation became more important to follow since the arrival of LLMs.

globular-toast 4mo ago

I put my desk facing the middle of the room in a previous place a few years ago. I really liked it. Unfortunately it does require more space, though, which I don't currently have. If I ever have more space again I'll definitely be doing it again. It feels so much cosier. I don't like having my back to the door.

neuroelectron 4mo ago

I'm not really convinced that this is a good solution. I have my own home office and I keep two separate desks. I have a modern motorized desk that can sit or stand. I also have a mid-century classic desk for "analog." And that's where I do all my real business planning. I use digital to-do app only for errands such as reminders to get milk and so on, so sometimes my actual projects get written into the digital world this way, which I do on my phone at the writter's desk. In this way, I'm not only much more distant from potential distractions, but also it's much more secure. Yes, people working at these companies can spy on you. Don't assume your digital notes are secure.

allenu 4mo ago

Very beautiful setup. I'm jealous of the space to do this. I like the idea of making the desk face out into the room, but my office is quite small, so it would end up floating in the middle of the room. Having it in the corner isn't quite as pleasing to the eye, but it makes it so the rest of the room feels larger. There are bits in here that are a little bit over-designed in my opinion. Do you really need two fountain pens at the ready? Must they be there on the desk at all times? I find I carry my single fountain pen with me when I need it. I also can't see myself always sitting at the desk to read. I have books scattered about the house wherever I was reading last. Also, it's great to have such a wide desk for both digital and analog, but how many of us have the space for that luxury? Anyway, just food for thought if you look at something like this and feel jealous and think whatever space you work in today is now poorer for seeing someone else's nicer setup.

dudul 4mo ago
The guy is obviously passionate about his fountain pens: https://arslan.io/2025/12/19/a-look-at-my-fountain-pens/ https://arslan.io/2025/12/19/a-look-at-my-fountain-pens/

CodeNest 4mo ago

[dead]

gib444 4mo ago

This motivated me to clean my desk, and turn it around so I'm facing away from the glare and out towards the room (now with a glimpse of view outside instead of the wall). \o/

gblargg 4mo ago
I think his before desk was better, just a clean surface with monitor and speakers, ready to start a new task fresh.

PunchyHamster 4mo ago

Of course they are not next to the wall, the acoustics are terrible! Also wall is good place to put storage in, having desk face it is generally a bit of a waste and only worth if there is not much space behind it to have it other way I made a big U with desks for PC/music/electronics, I did actually prefer having the most used side (computer) next to the wall but aforementioned acoustics were absolutely ass so I moved it

thadk 4mo ago

His Studio Display 3D printable model MacBook holder: https://arslan.io/macbook-holder-for-apple-studio-display/ https://arslan.io/macbook-holder-for-apple-studio-display/

poly2it 4mo ago

Since this thread seems to have attracted the attention of some hackers with taste, has anybody considered an adjustable height desk? If so, what brands are you looking at? They all seem to compromise on the aesthetics on the desk and end up quite clunky.

cryzinger 4mo ago
My wife and I both have Fully desks, which are now part of the Herman Miller family (but weren't at the time we bought them). Not the cutest designs ever, but they've both held up well, and I think the bamboo/wood-ish desktop finish is nicer looking than similar models from other brands. I've also seen a few places (including IKEA?) sell bring-your-own-top adjustable desks, where they provide the legs and motor and skeleton and then you add some kind of slab of your choosing as the desktop. Haven't tried one myself, though.
- __float 4mo ago
  You can also buy the Fully legs/motor on their own and bring your own desktop. I really disliked the bamboo desk fwiw and much prefer the thicker 1" laminate "wood" one. I wish I'd gotten the extended range legs, though.
  - colinb 4mo ago
    I have the bamboo desk with the curved front. I like: - the way the wood looks and feels. - it has been fairly tough. I managed to stain it with an overnight pen leak, but it's mostly easy to clean, and stands up to minor impacts from computers and cups. Also, no water marks so far. I dislike: - the curved front, which looked cute in the pictures but makes it a PITA to fit a keyboard tray. That was a mistake. I wish I'd gone for the straight edged desk.
fluxusars 4mo ago
I can recommend Vernal desks. I just bought a corner desk that's height adjustable and it feels like quality.
4mo ago

amelius 4mo ago

> And moving the chair from one side to the other is enough to change the context. I think it would be better to have the analog side on the opposite side of the desk, so you wouldn't be able to peek at the screen so easily and get distracted.

dudul 4mo ago
but then he... he would face... tHe WaLl!
- amelius 4mo ago
  https://www.alexselimov.com/posts/men_who_stare_at_walls/ https://www.alexselimov.com/posts/men_who_stare_at_walls/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920074 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47920074

dudul 4mo ago

OK, I have something similar with an L-shaped desk, one "leg" is my monitor/keyboard/blabla and the other side is where I write, read, build models, do non-computer hobbies. OK. I don't think people are too (d|n)umb to realize that it's a great setup, it just requires a fairly large room to pull it off.

nzeid 4mo ago

I want this. It's the reason why every time I shop for desks I look for workbenches. Desks are always TINY and I never understood why.

throwaway2037 4mo ago
I agree. I recently bought a beast from IKEA: TROTTEN (160x80 cm). Crazy cheap and built like a tank.
- bschwindHN 4mo ago
  I recently upgraded to a desk of the same size, it's great! I have a habit of sitting cross legged and my legs were always bumping into my old desk whose legs were spaced too close together. I had to the wooden top cut at a home center and then I sanded it and applied a finish myself because I couldn't find anywhere local that sold a desk top that size. Combined with a dual motor standing desk set of legs, it turned out great! I also 3D printed brackets for all the power bricks of various devices I have and mounted them on the underside.
  - throwaway2037 4mo ago
    This would be a good blog post or YouTube video. Do you have anything public to share? Your project sounds cool.
    - bschwindHN 4mo ago
      I was actually planning to write a small blog post about it because some parts are specific to where I live, but I'm sure there are plenty of articles already around. Just look up "custom standing desk" or "countertop/butcherblock desk". The woodworking was fun but you're basically screwing a big piece of wood to some pre-made metal legs that have motors to raise it up and down.

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

solenoid0937 4mo ago

When I went remote for COVID I did something similar in terms of analog-digital separation, but at the level of my home, not my desk. All of my work-related gear never left my home office (even my laptop). When I leave my home office this allows me to "disconnect" mentally.

safety1st 4mo ago
I ended up at the same conclusion as you guys but implemented in yet another way: my home office has a desk for digital work, and a 'study nook' for analog (mostly reading, but it has its own little desk as well). If I had a larger home, a dedicated den or study room would be a pretty high priority for me. I want my office to be a minimalist, businesslike space with no distractions that focuses me on the screen where my work happens. But the study is a place for clearing my head, thinking and reading, more about comfort, dimmer lighting, familiar objects, and no screens unless I bring in a small e-reader.

rkunal 4mo ago

Nice article to show status signalling vanity and taste-based elitism. Adding a drop of "playing lego with kids" to show humane side was clever.

robotresearcher 4mo ago
He’s a software engineer with a passion for design. Just skip it if it’s not for you.
throwaway2037 4mo ago
Yeah, I love this part too: https://arslan.io/2025/12/26/books-i-read-in-2025/ https://arslan.io/2025/12/26/books-i-read-in-2025/ > If I’m reading a book, once the kids are asleep, I have 3–4 hours each evening, and I also have free time on the weekends. So it’s possible to read a lot of books as a father of two kids. I could probably read even more if I stopped spending time on other things, like writing for my blog, learning piano, or doing industrial design. I thought: "Oh, I see, so you don't parent much."
- a10c 4mo ago
  I too continue parenting my children once they are asleep.
- marknutter 4mo ago
  It's possible to be a great parent who does "parent much" while also having your own hobbies and life.

digitalsushi 4mo ago

in the 1980s we had the McDLT, a styrofoam container to keep the hot side of a hamburger hot, and the cold side cold. This desk kinda reminds me of that.

seydor 4mo ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbToLPgu0N8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbToLPgu0N8

deleted 4mo ago

[deleted]

pretext 4mo ago

What brand and model of ergonomic armchair does he use?

abyssin 4mo ago
Aeron

BrissyCoder 4mo ago

If I found out that I was working with someone with this setup I would a) try to get them fired immediately or b) voluntarily quit. I do not know how you live with yourself.

acupofnope 4mo ago
That's a strong reaction to someone's furnishings. Care to elaborate why?
ebbi 4mo ago
You're that insecure?

maxglute 4mo ago

Fancy pencil pushing setup. All that $$$ and didn't upgrade to an embody. That said, digital/analogue studio spaces have been solved by artists for a while... get a big task table with sacrificial surface and nice lighting and make a mess of it.

ludicrousdispla 4mo ago

> ...moving the chair from one side to the other is enough to change the context. That's some lateral thinking[0] right there. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

woolion 4mo ago

Just looking at the "analog desk" picture, it almost hurts to see the bad posture reading the book. Hunched forward, bent neck... Shouldn't you invest in a book stand, or something that would not cause such discomfort?

Igor_Wiwi 4mo ago

To me this feels super artificial, like catalog of every FAANG eng wants to have items. Looks good but with an intention to be instagrammable

realaaa 4mo ago

sleeeeeeek