Ask HN: What cool desk ideas do you have for a home office?

It's cheaper to buy a repo adjustable desk than MacGuvering something from Home Depot.

I spent $$$ making a counter height 3D printing table via all ways X crosses in tension stainless cable and threaded loops and stainless threaded rods through the base. Cut stainless cable is wicked sharp.

So I have a big 4k TV that I use as a monitor. The distance from the bottom of the TV to the desk should really change when I switch from sitting to standing. It would be cool if the screen mount also lifted when going from sitting -> standing.

built-in fridge?

I always thought the Lian Li DK-05F was pretty cool - a computer case that’s a desk with a glass top. Not sure it really solves a practical problem, but it’s cool!

A directional speaker above you so you can take meetings without headphones but also without the sound bothering others.

https://soundtube-int.mseaudio.com/fp6020-ii.html

I did exactly this about 4 - 5 years ago

I bought spring-based (not electric) height adjustable legs / frame and then went to home depot with a friend and cut a 70" x 30"ish x 1" piece of wood. Added a rounded edge to one side, sanded, stained it, then screwed it into the frame.

I love it. It's huge compared to a typical desk, and although I haven't done anything unique with it, it's been solid.

I dont really know what I'd add to it that would be worth giving up desk space, tbh. The conveniences / tools I use work fine being on the desk rather than part of the desk

This was posted a couple years ago. Make sure to check out the first pic:

https://blog.luap.info/drafts/i-built-a-lay-down-desk.html?h...

And discussed on HN here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24687458

hi. happy to sponsor you a free height adjustable frame. pls email me at duy@autonomous.ai

ps: i lead the hardware + software labs at autonomous (autonomous.ai), a smart office company. super excited to see what you’ll build!

I think it’d be neat to embed USB ports within the wood. The cables could be embedded in the wood using a router, completely out of sight.

Imagine plugging your phone, keyboard, or mouse, directly into the wood. There might be some downsides, but it’d be unique.

I prefer wired keyboards/mice for their reliability. But aesthetically, I don’t like having a bunch of cables spread across my desk.

Route cable management into the desk so you can have wired peripherals without wires everywhere.

Button under the desk controlling LED lights outside the room. The light indicates whether you're in a meeting and can't be disturbed, working but can talk if necessary, or just chilling.

I've been happily hacking on my Ikea Bekant for three years. I replaced the top, replaced the buttons with a double throw rocker switch (1), built a Mac Mini/laptop shelf on the back half, a KVM switch on a little shelf in the front.

Cable management isn't horrible but there's a lot of room for improvement. I'd like to replace all the AC adapters with one big one that can supply everything.

I've built some outlandish and unsatisfying desks in the past, the gradual approach has been better.

1. This is unsafe for children, as they might figure out a way to flip the switch and crush themselves. Please take this consideration into account.

For a while I've wanted to build a big red "Ship it!" button (think emergency stop button). When slammed, it runs `git add -u . && git commit -m "Shipped!" && git push`

Having the mobo upside-down below the desk.

I would love to see a desk with an integrated mechanical keyboard, or an inlet for them. I really liked the mechanical keyboards I had, but ultimately I prefer very slim keyboards.

If you like solid oak, take a look at https://ergohide.com/

I tend to mostly focus on the displays. The desk(s) follow from that...

I currently have two 43" 4k displays (Philips BDM4350UC) next to each other. One directly in front of me, the other angled to the side. It's not working great - too much strain to use the right half of the side screen.

What I'm curious to test: one 43" 4k screen in the the middle with an LG DualUp 18:16 screen to each side.

Maybe I should just get two pivotable regular cheap 24-27" 16:9 displays and be done with it, a bit like this:

https://old.reddit.com/r/battlestations/comments/aogog4/my_p...

I was at Home Depot to get a 6 foot butcher block countertop for this purpose, but then a 12 foot butcher block countertop caught my eye... and that's how I ended up with a 12 foot desk. Huge pain to transport. Takes up too much room. I have no regrets.

If you get a butcher block countertop from a big box home improvement store, make sure to finish[1] it right away, since they are moisture sensitive and the plastic wrap job is usually somewhat damaged by the time you get it, due to the vagaries of transport.

[1]: (finish == woodworking term meaning to apply a protective coating)

Do you move much? I had two of those solid wood Ikea desks in an L shape and I eventually got rid of them because they were absolutely miserable to move. I don't remember the exact weight but I think they were something like 80lbs each and I'd have to drag them up stairs on their sides alone. I miss that desk set up but I move every year or two since I rent and I just couldn't deal with them anymore.

Now I've got a fully jarvis frame with some amazon wood top just sitting on it.

Not a desk idea, but... I've thought about getting a nice seat from a wrecked vehicle and mounting it on a rolling platform for a desk chair. The nicer ones are heated and ventilated

I've got a big partner desk, picture 1940s law office [1]. I've always wanted to make it a standing desk, but haven't yet found a good candidate which would require no modification to the original desk, save mounting hardware underneath the desk surface. It would need to be slim on the feet (about 2 inches of clearance underneath the file cabinet drawers), and able to support about 200lbs of gear to adjustable heights

If y'all have suggestions, please let me know! Following this thread closely

[1] - https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2e/7f/ec/2e7fecdc12ec89d510e11033e... Kinda like this, but the top is totally separate from the cabinets, and is slightly wider

I did something like this recently, and it turned out okay; going into it I already expected there would be multiple iterations before I was really happy with it.

My idea was to have the smallest actual desk surface possible for my needs, maximizing the number of screens/pixels in my field of view. I got the heaviest duty electric standing desk frame and built on top of that. The desk surface is about 16” deep, which allows me to have smaller monitors that extend below the surface of the desk (but still within view) mounted beneath my bigger monitors. I also set up rails (2x6) at two different heights to accommodate monitors at eye level and below, and at above eye level, so basically three rows of monitors. All of my monitors are on arms, which in retrospect was maybe not the right choice, since I don’t actually need them to move, and the arms make them wobble a bit when I bump the desk.

I have my work and personal laptops each on a monitor arm (with a laptop tray). Laptops on arms are actually the best thing ever, since I can use them sitting or standing without adjusting the desk height, and I can have a laptop positioned over my mousepad. Got one of those aluminum mstand things collecting dust.

If I had to start again, I would get a second standing desk frame just for my desk surface and laptop arms. I would cut out all the monitor arms and build a sort of parabolic-shaped frame on top of the heavy duty standing desk frame to hold my monitors infixed positions relative to each other. With two standing desk frames I could easily adjust my desk height vs monitor height.

I also have a drivers seat from a PT Cruiser mounted to a gas cylinder chair base. This is mostly great, but I think it would be better without wheels, or at least with stiffer wheels. If you go this route be on the lookout for car seats with built-in heat; not sure why all desk chairs don’t have this feature.

I guess I have a lot of thoughts on this lol.

As someone who learned industrial design think the most important thing is to have the desk match your use. There isn't any specific advice I could give as my desks are extremely tuned to my own needs (5.1 audio production, electronics, etc.).

The most important thing is to get the width and depth right and to figure out where everything goes. Don't be afraid to add multiple levels either going up or down to add what you need. Don't limit your thinking to the desk, think also about storage of desk stuff, what accumulates on the desk, what you need to see, what not, etc.

Although "designers" (if they don't think a lot about functionality I prefer to call them stylists) love them I'd avoid minimalist desk ideas, unless that is how you use desks (most people I have ever known have a ton of shit lying on their desks). Don't design for a shiny product picture, design for your own daily use.

The best thing I ever did for my desk had nothing to do with my desk: I added a ton of small-stuff storage in the form of office cabinets for my electronics needs and label them properly. This makes it easy to clean up accumulated stuff and find it later. This improved the way I could use the desk more than any desk design could have done, ever.

That means if you want a good desk design you have to analyze your own usage patterns before and try to draw the right conclusions.

  Although "designers" (if they don't think a lot about functionality I prefer to call them stylists)