Carl Barenbrug

Research + product design

lab

Workspace Setup Revisited (2022 edition)

My home office setup has changed quite lot over the past few months. So I felt it was time to share the latest iteration of my workspace, which incidentally, I now share with my partner. So for starters, we now have two desks in the office. But I'll focus on my desk setup only.

Minimal workspace setup 2022
Minimal workspace setup 2022

The physical desk

The desk was not an easy one to source. I had ordered the first desk from L&Z Elements in Germany, but that was a couple of years ago when trade between the UK and EU was still in a transitional period. But since Brexit was finalised, it became a lot more challenging to source certain pieces of furniture—especially from small retailers. Anyway, I managed to find a UK producer of the linoleum finish. It was important to me to have matching desks. Although my new desk is a little smaller than the other, the depth and thickness are the same. It sits on two black Sinus trestle legs also sourced from L&Z Elements.

Minimal workspace setup 2022

Atop the desk sits the following:

Having spent about two years working from home in chairs not designed for extended periods like a full work day, I had to find a good solution that balances ergonomics with aesthetics. After a lot of research, I settled on the Physix Studio by Vitra. It's an incredible design that works so well in the space and finally offers me some decent back support. I actually ordered two, because having different office chairs would just be madness, wouldn't it?

Minimal workspace setup 2022

The virtual desk

The digital desktop is kept obsessively clean. My app dock is always hidden by default and only pops up on mouse hover. This not only helps me focus on the app in use, limiting distraction, but it also allows me to appreciate the desktop artwork so much more. My wallpaper will typically be one the designs from the SLM 613 collection, but at times I just go for a solid dark grey colour if I need to reset.

My typical everyday tools are:

  • Safari for browsing
  • iA Writer for writing and notes
  • Dropbox + Paper for file storage and documentation
  • Mac Mail for email (see my config)
  • Wando for to-do lists
  • Photoshop for photo editing
  • Figma for designing
  • Telegram + Slack for comms
  • Transmit for FTP client
  • Visual Studio Code for coding
  • Are.na for bookmarking + discovery
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