Desk to work on

This year, probably by July, we are moving to another house.

 

With this move I've an opportunity to get a new desk to work on as I can start over. Currently my desk is a 42" hollow-core door over two, 2-drawer, file cabinets.

 

The dual monitors, scanners and an Epson printer fit, albeit tightly but anyone could want more real-estate.

 

Looking for suggestions, what do you use? and how did you “engineer” it?

In my last house, where I did a great deal of computer work, I built a 10' desk. 4'x8' x3/4" birch ply. Rail support to studs on the wall and a shelf unit base at one end, drawers base unit at the other end. I built the base units as well, but they can be Ikea / or whatever unfinished furniture. Simple, cheap, 2 computers 3 printers, and a great dog shelter underneath. If interested PM I'll either find a photo or sketch / provide specifics.

I use a large IKEA desk too. I thought of buying one of the fancy workstations, but the IKEA is just as good and about 1/3 the price.

Most tables are too high for a keyboard, placing a a strain on your hands, arms and wrists which can lead to pain, even disability. The table you work at with a monitor and keyboard is essential to your health as well as efficiency. The keyboard should be at a height that your elbows are at right angles, and the top of the monitor should be eye level. The mouse, pad or trackball should be at the level of the keyboard.

 

I use a workstation table by Balt. It is sturdy, relatively compact, and completely adjustable. It's somewhat expensive compared to big-box office furniture, but better constructed. There's room for desktop tower on the lower level, UPS and external drives, but probably not a printer. Nor are there any drawers. It is comfortable and ergonomic, and I spend up to 12 hours a day editing photos, print copy, audio and video.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Balt-Pneumatic-Computer-Workstation-Adjustable/dp/B000233Z3Y/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1516982086&sr=8-22&keywords=balt+computer+table

 

Printers can go nearly anywhere you have room, on practically any kind of surface. All of mine are either wireless or connected to an ethernet LAN, so distance is not an issue. One large printer (Canon Pro-10, 55 lbs) is on a Balt printer stand, with shelves for paper or possibly another printer. It's on wheels so I can move it as necessary, and it's sturdy enough not to shake and rattle when in use. The Pro-10 is currently connected to ethernet, but can be operated via USB or wireless. I have a Canon Selphy photo printer on top of a studio monitor (sound), a big color laser jet in another room, and a small B&W laser jet where in a central location for both my wife and me.

 

https://www.amazon.com/22601-Heavy-Duty-Mobile-Printer-Shelves/dp/B001MS6ZXA/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1516982086&sr=8-15&keywords=balt+computer+table

What I use as a desk is part of a grouping of custom furniture. The group includes a 10-drawer dresser, a rectangular desk with a single drawer, and a corner piece. I use the corner piece. Although at times I feel a bit cramped, most of the time I am quite comfortable in my little corner of the world. It houses my iMAC with a sliding work surface immediately below on which sit my keyboard and trackpad.

Mid-century Danish Modern desk and chair. Bought it at a little antique shop south of the city (San Francisco) along the coast, a bit north of Santa Cruz.

 

Those outer diagonal pieces of wood detach, so the wings they're supporting on each side can come off and be stored away. The room also serves as a guest room, so it's nice to give guests a little more open space when they stay over by making the desk a bit smaller. (Of course, the desk is usually messier than this. I did a little clean-up prep for the photo!)

 

Definitely not as serviceable as some work stations but I like the style, which makes up for any utilitarian drawbacks. By the way, I know a lot of people like to work against white walls, but I find the blue kind of comforting without being obtrusive. I worked in an office for many years and didn't want to be in any sort of more sterile type of atmosphere at home.

 

L-shape glass desk with two 30" monitors side by side (thinking of adding a 3rd), CPU unit and ottoman for foot rest below the desk. Printer at L-junction. Wood shelving on the other section of the desk. 6-drawer wood cabinet below that section - each drawer has round hole at the back for cables to extend behind the drawers to the wall outlets - as some drawers hold external drives. Wood bookcases on walls of office. I would show a photo if the office is not so overflowing with books and things currently. Need some rearrangement.

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Danish modern or English oak means nothing if you don't observe good ergonomics. The table Fred G shows is beautiful, but your forearms would rest on the table's edge and your wrists would be bent downward at the wrists. That is a formula for tendonitis or dystonia, sometimes in just a few weeks depending on your usage. If you check your email once a day then settle down to watch TV, you can probably disregard ergonomics.

 

A few years back, I made do with a folding table about the same height as above. In three weeks, I could barely flex my right arm. If you work for a living, how many office workers have you seen with keyboards on top of their desk and their wrists bandaged? Happens a lot with musicians too.

 

There are keyboard shelves you can attach to other furniture. That is probably the most important improvement to make. With a table like above, I used a draftsman's stool in order to have the keyboard at the proper height.

The table Fred G shows is beautiful, but your forearms would rest on the table's edge and your wrists would be bent downward at the wrists.

Ed, thanks for your concerns about my health. :)

 

The chair came with the desk and I thought it would photograph nicely with that chair, so I brought the chair upstairs from its safe haven in storage in my garage. What I actually sit on is a fairly expensive ergonomically sound office chair, with its very own adjustable arms and seat. It just didn't look as good in the photo. A little bit of fact and a little bit of fiction, just the way I like my photos!

 

By the way, I've been working with just my laptop for some time now, but still plan to get a larger monitor and a regular keyboard. I'm well aware that not having a proper keyboard does a number on me, not so much my wrists, which seem to be plenty limber (LOL), but my neck, which tends toward stiffness. I offset the current bad desk habits with as much yoga and exercise as I can and avoid sitting for too long without taking a break, though the time can get away from when I'm in a photo groove.

 

Anyway, again, thanks for making the points, which are important in any work environment. Maybe it will spark me into getting the monitor I want. I tend to put off equipment purchases just because I hate doing the research into what's best to get. I'll be using my Macbook as the processor, so any suggestions for a compatible 27"-ish monitor at this point would be welcome.

 

Anyway, probably way too much info for the OP, who just got an earful . . .

i Work around too many people with elastic gloves and bandages, mainly musicians, to take ergonomics lightly.

IKEA, but, whatever desk you get, make sure the vertical height is ergonomic for proper keyboard height.

 

It's an ad, but the data seem straight enough: Ergonomic Office Desk, Chair, and Keyboard Height Calculator

i Work around too many people with elastic gloves and bandages, mainly musicians, to take ergonomics lightly.

Just saw this. I hope you realize I was agreeing with you and I can't see anything in my response that would suggest I think you do or should take ergonomics lightly, but maybe you were just re-emphasizing it. As I said, I appreciated your bringing it up and your concern.

For the past 5 or so years I've been using a standard 2.5ft x 6ft. laminated particle board table with folding legs, heavy and sturdy but easy to move. IOW it doesn't jiggle when typing on the keyboard as other light weight tables. I also use a second table I bought at Target to put my "All In One" Epson printer with drawers to store prints and USB jump drives. I have a basic two drawer steel file cabinet. Pictured below are two setups from different residences. They show the amount of ambient light I edit and color manage images for print matches.

I got one of these in 2013; Xdesk Handcrafted Power Adjustable Standing Desks - About Xdesk It still works and is very nice. I don't use the sit-stand feature every day or even every week, but it's nice to be able to vary the height when you have to be at the desk for a long stretch.