By T. Olsen
I rearranged and updated my computer workspace setup this summer in preparation for the new school year. I thought you might like to see what I did. I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself! Here are some of the products that I used…
Dual Desk Monitor Stand
If you’re using double monitors, and you have desktop clutter, this OOAMBB Bamboo Dual Desk Monitor Stand Riser with Drawer will help you immensely. It gives you more vertical 3D space to put things, which gives you twice as much room. The monitor stands attach with dowels which let them swivel at any angle you want. The space is pretty flexible for fitting in everything where it’s most convenient for you to put it. You can put a monitor on each side with a microphone in the middle, slide your desk phone underneath, and put your speakers at the sides. There are two little shelves for putting remotes or phones, and a pullout drawer for a notepad or other little things. The two slots on top in front can be used as pen or pencil holders, or to prop up your tablet or cell phone. This makes it convenient for you to use your cell phone for a video call. The desktop organizer was easy to put together and fun to set up. It makes your once crowded desk into a nice cozy nook! The way mine is arranged, it takes up an area of 36” wide x 18” deep, leaving plenty of room for the keyboard and mouse on the desk itself. I love this monitor stand!
KIZECK Basic Task Chair
This is a nice lightweight chair for your office or computer desk. It would work great as a student desk chair. The back has a mesh screen to keep you cool all day. The seat is well padded to keep you comfortable. There are no arm rests to get in your way, which also makes this chair ideal for small spaces. It does not have a headrest or a tilt mechanism, but those always bug me anyway. This chair has decent lumbar support. The height is easily adjustable on the pneumatic center pole. The wheels roll smoothly on the floor. This chair was pretty quick and easy to put together. I’d recommend it if you want a good basic task chair that’s sturdy and comfortable. (Not pictured, but it’s black.)
Compact Mechanical Keyboard
If you’re a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, you may like this YAWYORE K68 mechanical keyboard, especially if you need a keyboard for a small space. The keyboard is extremely compact and lightweight. It plugs in with a detachable USB-C cable. Even though it’s quite a bit smaller than a full-size keyboard, the traditional key layout and ergonomically shaped keys makes typing on it feel comfortable.
This keyboard is missing the numeric keypad, as well as the whole top row of function keys. They offer a way around this with an FN key on the bottom row – you press the Fn key and then press a number key to get the function that you want. There’s only one function key that I ever use, so I don’t mind that. But if you use the function keys a lot, you probably won’t like it. You can get a tilde ~ by holding Fn+shift+esc.
I got the black and yellow keyboard, which is mostly black with six yellow keys (esc, spacebar, backspace, and arrow keys). I did customize this keyboard with a different spacebar key instead of the yellow YAWYORE one. The spacebar was easy to switch out, because it doesn’t have a stabilizer bar connected to two little white pieces attached to the keycap, which more expensive keyboards will have.
This mechanical keyboard has the blue Cherry MX style key switches, which have a medium resistance and a click-clackiness that’s great for typing. Some people may find it loud, but I like to know when the keys are being hit. I don’t play games, so I only use the keyboard for typing. This keyboard also doesn’t have adjustable feet, so it only has one tilt angle, but the tilt seems fine to me.
This isn’t a true RGB keyboard that allows you to customize the color of your back lighting. The backlighting is rainbow-colored – they call it “mixed color light effect” – but the colors are static so they’re always the same. For example, the top numbered row is red, the TAB/QWERTY row is yellow, the ASDF row is green, the shift/ZXCV row is blue, and the bottom row with ctrl and spacebar is light purple.
Custom Spacebar Key
The JUNYOYO custom keycap is so cute and cool! It’s a great spacebar for anyone who likes anime or pirate themes, especially “One Piece” fans! This keycap has a cross-shaped stem (+) known as “Cherry MX style” to fit onto the switch of a mechanical keyboard. It fits perfectly on mine, which is just a cheap off-brand. But the cross design is common in many mechanical keyboards, especially those using Cherry MX-style switches. This spacebar key actually has the crosses underneath in two different places, so you have two choices and at least one of them will likely match up with yours.
My spacebar was easy to remove because it doesn’t have a stabilizer bar connected to two little white pieces attached to the keycap, which more expensive keyboards will have. So be careful because it’s very easy to break them or even lose one if it flies off the keycap when removed. Unfortunately, the stabilizer bar usually can’t be replaced, so once broken or lost, the spacebar key will no longer function properly. My keyboard doesn’t have a stabilizer bar so I had nothing to lose, ha. The black color of this keycap looks slightly faded and not as dark black as the other keys, but that’s okay.
Do you have any computer or study furniture that you recommend? Leave a comment!
