This was all going to be discussed via video uploads, but I decided to do a quick blog about my home office based on the interest on twitter regarding my chair and office setup. This post will just cover the desk and the chair, I'll post more about the video and audio, as well as the monitors down the road.
This is not meant to be exhaustive, and this is not my final desk setup. Still planning a keyboard upgrade, a replacement of the table lamp for an articulating desk lamp, a super-ultra-wide monitor, a whiteboard to the left of the window, finishing my baseboard trim, and maybe a happy little plant down the road.
The Setup
None of the pieces in my desk setup are the best in the market. A lot of my desk philosophy has been price to performance. Finding those products that get you 90% of the best for 60% of the price. I don't mind spending money on high-quality things if there are corresponding good materials, workmanship, and even aesthetics to go along with it, but often the "best" product out there doesn't have the quality improvement to justify the jump in price.
The Desk
I lucked into this desk, and it's the most expensive piece of my setup. It's a floor model from a company called Holmris and they make very nice office furniture. They also happen to have their only US location right across the street from my wife's work and had a floor model out for sale. I picked up a couple of thousand dollar desk for $450. Highly recommend for the price I paid, but I would not have purchased it for full price. It's a great sit/stand desk with dual motors, and is incredibly stable at full height, even with all of my gear on the desk. Motor quality and stability at height are your most important factors when looking at sit/stand, and I would give up features like "height presets" in order to get a better quality base desk.
I would recommend a sit/stand desk even if you don't plan on standing. The benefit to the height adjustment is that when you sitting your desk can be at the PERFECT height for you. Infinite adjustment lets you set up your desk in the most ergonomic way possible.
If you're going to do a sit/stand desk, I'd recommend mounting a power strip and a cable tray of some kind to the bottom of the desk. It keeps all but your main power and connectivity cords tucked up under your desk, and it makes it way easier to keep a nice clean looking umbilical because all of your cabling is staying with the desk when it moves. I don't love the cable tray that I grabbed, but it fits squarely into "good enough" territory and does what it needs to.
The Chair
I get asked about my chair pretty frequently during video conferences. It's the ErgoChair from Autonomous and I'd highly recommend it, particularly for the price point. It's got all of the adjustments that you could want and has pretty good build quality. I've seen no signs of wearing out in the 3 years or so that I've had it with extensive home office use. It's comfortable, it's supportive, it's ergonomic and helps me sit up straight. Very tall individuals may find that the headrest doesn't adjust high enough, and depending on your torso length, the armrests may not have enough adjustment. $350 for a high-quality ergonomic chair is right about where it should be, and I would have zero qualms about buying it again should I need a second one.
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