Prototyping my new office desk

[twistsol]

The desk in my home office where I spend 8-10 hours a day came back from 4 years of college and none of the kids wanted it. It is too small for three 27" displays, two laptops and a 10 key. The prototype is just a piece of 5/8 particle board screwed to the old crappy Ikea desk.

It looks like 210CM or just a couple inches shy of 7 feet will be the size of the new top. I'll work this way for a bit to be sure before I start building.

[leehljp]

I have built 3 desks over 40 years and learned that I cannot let a single desk define me when my needs change. Desk size for the increasing need of screen real estate has been the one issue that drives change.

[capncarl]

If it were mine to be prototyping I would first focus on somehow moving or working around the 110v floor receptacle. You must hit the plugs continuously with your feet and chair wheels!

[twistsol]

The plug is intended to land inside the cabinet on the right and will be wired internally. I've kicked it a number of times, but both computers on my desk are laptops, so I just lose power to the displays momentarily. I haven't yet figured out cable management. Size determination was my first consideration, then everything else follows that.

My inspiration is shown below. The protractor writing desk was designed by Italian designer Carlo Mollino in 1949. Replicas of it sell for $3,000 to $20,000, and those built in Italy by his company have been sold for upwards of $100k. Assuming I can actually do this, it will be my most ambitious project to date and the final piece of my office remodel.

[mpc]

I found a few inches more depth to the desk make a world of difference especially for a multi-monitor setup. I added a 6 inch extension shelf to the back of my traditionally sized desk. That leaves enough room in front of the monitors for the keyboard + rat and papers, bills, whatever, between the keyboard and monitor stands. We used to have deep desks where I worked; then they went to standard (= stupid) cubicles with shallow worktops (calling these things "desks" is an insult to real desks) assuming nobody uses paper or reference material/books. A horrible assumption where I worked.

Edit: that desk design is pretty awesome looking.

Looking at your first pic it appears you have wireless mouse and keyboard. Are the monitors USB-C? They make a world of difference when it comes to cable clutter especially with laptops. One USB-C cable from the primary monitor to the laptop handles all data plus video (assuming the laptop supports video over USB-C - not all do), Ethernet network cable, the wifi/bluetooth dongle for the keyboard & mouse, etc. And most have a DP-out port to feed another monitor's DP-in (DP = DisplayPort). I don't think 3 monitors can be daisy-chained this way however. USB-C can also provide power to the laptops; many USB-C monitors can thus charge the laptop over the same cable. The power available varies though so make sure the monitors can actually feed the laptops. Dell USB-C monitors typically can feed 60 watts back to the laptop which works for basic laptops; models with integrated Nvidia graphics chips usually want more but will work on 60 watts if you aren't gaming or otherwise working the laptop hard for hours on end. For those folks not familiar with USB-C capabilities today. USB-C really makes USB worthwhile. Finally. One other note: RV and camping stores often sell small Velcro strips, they look like strips of colored tape. They make great cable ties. Some PC power supplies (for those who assemble their own PCs) include a similar Velcro based cable management strip in the package. They hold well yet are easy to undo when necessary. Tack a couple of these to the backside of the desk to hold the monitor power cords and USB-C cables.

mpc

[twistsol]

All of the monitors are USB-C The two on the left are DELL and the one on the right is an Apple Studio Display. Each one has a power cord to the display and a single USBC cable going to it. The one in the middle also has an HDMI cord and when I plug that in drops the connection to my Macbook Pro laptop and switches over to the Dell laptop provided by one of my clients. The vast majority of my work is done on the Mac and the two displays on the right.

As far as the velcro strips for cable management. Comcast provides a million of themm I have a roll of them that are bright red so I don't lose them but will switch to black ones for this project. The mac also has another USB-C cord that goes to a hub where the mouse/keyboard receiver is as well as a 1TB drive.

I need to come up with a better way for the laptops to be placed on the desk since both of them need to be opened to turn them on on in the morning. The Mac turns on automatically if you open it an inch or two which is nice when you want it and annoying when you don't. The Dell needs to be opened enough that I can get my finger to the power switch which is on the top of the keyboard right next to the hinge. I think they may go behind a door in the pedestal base instead of putting in drawers. Still more planning to do.

[dbhost]

I am finding with my desk setup, I have a dual 24" monitor setup, I can not use my laptop screen and the 24" is a bit restrictive. My next setup is going to lose the 24s, go with a single 32" and use the laptop screen.