Home office redesign
How I designed the office of my dreams
I don’t know about you, but I’m spending a lot of time working from home (more than half my waking hours!). And I’m working with people who I’ve never met in person and whose image of me is solely based on a rectangular representation in a Zoom window.
As such, I recently embarked on an office redesign intended to 1) make my space comfortable and 2) make me proud of how I look (body issues aside). To anyone scoffing at this second point, consider how much $ and effort people put into things like clothing / shoes / makeup / perfumes. A good home VC setup is the modern equivalent.
Anyway, after receiving a sufficient number of questions about it, I decided it was time to write up the details of my set up:
Desk
After a fair bit of research, I ended up with the UPLIFT V2 electronic standing desk in the 60" x 30" size with a Reclaimed Fir wood top — and I’m really happy with it! I start every day standing and switch to sitting sometimes in the afternoon.
Monitors
I have two HP Z32 monitors, which I like because of their thin bezels and that they only require a single USB-C cable from my Macbook Pro. These are mounted on to the desk with a Jarvis Dual Monitor Arm (I originally had the Uplift mount, but the monitors were too heavy for them) The monitors also charge my laptop at the same time with 100W of power via that same cable! (Note: this requires a USB-C cable with Thunderbolt 3.0 support).
Camera + Lens
I am using a Canon 90D camera body and 28mm f/1.8 lens for that juicy depth of field bokeh magic. I choose the 90D because it supports “clean HDMI output” (meaning you don’t see the auto-focus on my head bouncing around or other overlays) and since I had some Canon lenses already. To provide continuous power to the camera, I’m using this AC power adapter (and have turned off auto shut-off in my camera’s settings).
Connection to Mac
I initially used a USB cable and Canon’s EOS Webcam Utility app (in Beta), but there was a noticeable lag and it didn’t play nice with Zoom out of the box (needed to route the feed through Snap). More recently, I picked up a Cam Link 4K which fixed the issue and worked like a charm — virtually no set up (though note: I needed a mini HDMI to HDMI cable to connect to the camera).
Note: the Cam Link 4K has been out of stock for some time; I got lucky and found it in stock on BestBuy.com one day.
Mount
Getting the camera in the right position was important in order to make it appear like I was looking people in the eye — meaning the camera would need to be close to the top of my monitor. Given I’m using a prime lens (aka no zoom), the placement was even more important.
After striking out looking for a camera desk mount, I ended up buying a tall monitor stand that clamps to my desk and attaching the camera to the extension arm with a ballhead clamp. It’s surprisingly sturdy and allows me to create some distance between me and the camera and continue to use my desk as seated or standing, without having to touch the mount.
Microphone
Since the camera’s built in mic isn’t so hot (and would pick up auto-focusing sounds even if it were), I’m using an Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ mic with a mini tripod and windscreen.
Backdrop
Behind me, I have a custom credenza from The Hunt Vintage. I was struggling to find a piece of furniture that was sufficiently shallow and was pleased to learn that this shop can adjust dimensions to your specifications. Above that, I have a bunch of succulents and a 55" Samsung Frame TV with a beige frame. The TV feels more like a piece of art and I have different artwork that I’ve favorited rotating throughout the day.
Walls
I had the walls painted black (Wrought Iron by Benjamin Moore), which helps make this room feel separate from the rest of the house. On the wall in the above photo, next to the TV, I have a Brilliant light switch and Nest temperature sensor.
Finally, here’s the view from the camera:
