We used to live in a larger home. I'm a fan of the Bush Modular Office Furniture line, but there are so many products tracking down a particular piece can be a hassle. Staples, Amazon, OfficeMax, a range of vendors can be used.
My 'man cave' room is nearly 12x12 feet, and pretty packed with my stuff. To the left, 3 plastic drawer towers to hold miscellaneous odds and ends. The chair is a La-Z-Boy Roland recliner with swivel base; the chaise lounge (no open gap between seat & foot rest) is handy for lounging dogs. Unlike vinyl, leather 'lets your skin breathe' so when you get up you don't feel like your bare skin is peeling off it, I was told. I sit back in comfort, but it's not as conducive to active engagement in work, so if I were working, I'd suggest a standard office 'computer chair.'
Yes, I know it's a mess.
1.) Office Furniture: For the Bush modular furniture, I have 2
corner desk units (they're 4 feet long from center rear to either side rear corner, spacious and strong), and between them a
5 foot desk with
hutch. In the past I had a
corner desk hutch (expensive!); those are a pain to put together, heavy, the size and shape make getting it through a normal-size doorway intact impossible, and disassembly would be a nightmare. I also like the open, lighter look of no hutch.
Some comments on the Bush line:
-----1.) They're not adequately cross-referenced. You'd think if you found a page on the corner desk, it'd have a handy link to the matching hutch, saving you a tedious online search. Don't hold your breath.
-----2.) The products I've used were meant to be put together and never disassembled and moved. The corner desks I've disassembled and partly busted up a bit getting them moved, but the way they come together and sit, they're sturdy and look intact anyway.
-----3.) Seriously, Bush; when someone finds a page to buy a 48" corner desk, a link to the matching hutch without an extended foray online should be obvious.
2.) Keyboard: Apple Magic Keyboard (smaller version), and Logitech MX Keys Mini -
my thoughts on the keyboard comparison. I'm a wireless low-profile membrane keyboard man.
3.) Display: Dell U2723QE 27" 4K hub monitor picked up as open box special from Woot! at a killer price. (
My late 2024 display hunt discussion thread). Really nice; if I were in the market today, I might aim for their 120-Hz 4K 27" at under $300. I use USB-C (DisplayPort Alt. Mode) to connect, not HDMI, so the hub ports work.
4.) Mouse: Microsoft Bluetooth Mouse 3600. I like non-Apple 2-botton small, fairly basic wireless Bluetooth mice. It works.
5.) Speakers: Logitech Z623 400 Watt Home Speaker System, 2.1 Speaker System - Black. Bought in late 2013, and still going. I'm no audiophile; happy with it.
6.) Dock: Caldigit TS3+: another poster mentioned you can often find these old Thunderbolt 3 docks for under $100; I checked FaceBook Marketplace and this was $90 used a 40-minute drive from me. Done. The USB-C downstream ports don't support video out; there's one Thunderbolt 3 downstream port.
7.) Printer: Brother DCP-L2540DW laser printer with 3rd party toner. Bought this as a roughly $100 cheapie all-in-one on-sale way back in the latter part of 2015 (they came out in 2014). Could be a hassle to set up wirelessly, but it got done. Toner application a bit uneven at times across the page, but well over 9 years in with an on-sale cheapie? Not bad.
8.) Backup System: Carbon Copy Cloner + a
Crucial X9 2 Terabyte external SSD drive.
9.) Mac: M4 Pro Mac Mini, 48 gig RAM, 2 Terabyte SSD, overkill for me but I tend to keep a Mac a long time, and 6 years from now I want to have however many browser windows open and several programs running in the background without major slowdowns.
The 2 Terabyte thing (yeah, way overpriced) is like this. For now, I don't keep stuff on an external SSD other than backup. When it gets crowded, I plan to offload my very large Photos library to the Crucial X9 SSD and redirect Carbon Copy Cloner to backup on my old
Samsung T7 Shield 4-terabyte external SSD.
If I were buying again today, I'd consider the M4 Max MacStudio and a newer Dell 120-Hz 4K 27" display for around $350, and I'd get a more modern printer with easier wireless setup.
P.S.: Webcam is an old
Logitech C920 I picked up in early 2012; ran the USB-A cable to a port on the Dell display hub; works okay for video conferencing with my Dad.
