TL;DR: What gadgets, tools, furniture and whatnot do I need for an ideal desk setup for a tinkerer/programmer/gamer? Leave a comment and give it y...
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Well, a 3D printer of course! To print all the stuff for organising space under the table so that 3D printer can fit on the table!
Oooh yes, of course! Any specific model you can recommend for 3D printing beginners? I always wanted one, but never had the space (haha) to actually get started.
I've seen Bambu Lab all over YT lately, they seem pretty good to me, but the Ender company also seems to sell DIY printers, so not sure yet... Thanks for the advise!
Lemme forward this thread to my partner! I’m consuming his printing services haha
Imo, get a monitor arm, so you can clear your desk. Wireless peripherals, so you can move them out of the way, get a soldering tray, so you can move to your desk and keep your monitor (ahh see, now it makes sense) for reference. Declutter first, get cozy, then look at expanding. You do soldering and woodworking, so obviously you need tools, tools need an organizer (@valeriavg said 3d printer, defs a great idea for expanding after you clean the clutter), you can also look into modifying your desk? Add some cable organizers, an outlet for your plugging needs, so it's more usable space and you dont need to crawl anywhere. Cant go wrong with another monitor either imo, 2 is the sweet spot, cuz you can have active and static screen at the same time. Imo, ambient lighting (strip LEDs) are overrated, get a clamp light, that you can just move around and point where you need it, if you do fine work regularly, you also get ones on an arm, with a magnifying lens built in, that + a 3rd hand helps alot when soldering!
Monitor arm(s) sounds amazing! I'll might switch to a standing desk at some point anyways and use the L-shaped desk as the workshop one (yes, we have that much more space now lol), so I'm all for having everything attached to the desk itself. As for modifying the desk: Not sure yet - I was thinking about adding an attachment, kinda like a cable box that I can paint in the same color as the desk, but for the entire width of it. That could hide all the cables and double as a nice optic addition. I could even add the LEDs back into that if I wanted :P Having some USB plugs on the thing sounds awesome, too, or even a power outlet. I might hide that under the desk, too, though...
If you go the monitor arms way, the back of your desk is clear. so what you could do, is use Perspex to make a tunnel from 1 end to the other, with a hinged lid, where you run your cables through. it's enclosed and safe, so you can put whatever you like in there and an LED strip across it would give a neat effect and give you a little shelf you can put small things on (eg. I build mini-lego). Having it on the desk also lets you plug things in easier without it getting in the way
Yup, using some blurring acryllic glass was part of the plan. Scatters the light better and makes accidentally looking at the LED strip not make me go blind lol
Standing desk could work, beauty of monitor arms, they just move to the new desk. If you're not pressed on space, get yourself 1 of those old filing cabinets, paint it and get organizer boxes for inside it, so you have a tidy organizer for all the bits and bobs
Ooh, that's a great idea, actually! I was thinking about an extra bookshelf or two to have more vertical storage for cables and such, but I'd need to organize everything first and fit the boxes/cabinets/shelfs around that, I guess.
Dont diy if its for your own place, try zigbee or Xiaomi IoT products, can also integrate with alexa, google etc so everything is centralized and controlled by one phone/computer.
Thanks for the advice! Anything specific you can recommend? I'm a DIY-er at heart - I love the process of building things often-times more than the result itself, but I'll definitely look into the home automation stuff you mentioned, especially Zigbee always looked interesting to me :)
Well if you insist on inventing things overall, arduino UNO or later is great for home automation / IoT.
Also raspberry pi has a ton of built-in OS specific for home automation projects.
Examples are: leak sensors on roof thermometers with smart thermostat that auto-starts the air condition when the room gets too hot, remote-controlled servo-motor blind curtains, the list goes on...and on if you are creative enough.
Try thinking first Bill-of Materials and cost-benefits because of the large amount of hardware/batteries thermistors etc. If you insist on doing this manually/DIY as you mentioned it is going to take a lot of soldering work and a breadboard also for testing the circuits.
Get a decent solder and start soldering :)
PS: Also Node-RED and MQTT are great for IoT hub-notifiers and workflow based home-automation.
Also check out instructables, filled with such projects.
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Raspberry Pi -based home automation
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Thank you so much! I've been reinventing the wheel with Raepberry Pis and ESP32 before, but mostly on a small scale. I really need to read into MQTT more, and and I necer heard of Node-RED, both go on the reading list :)
Good to hear, Node-RED /MQTT or RabbitMQ are good overall for workflow + auto-notifiers for Iot devices that use SDKs. EG: you can get temperature readings per hour and have Node-RED set its notifiers (or message queue) to send push notifications on your android device. You can do interesting stuff with that combination if you are doing custom IoT alone.
Good luck on your IoT projects, have a nice summer holiday.
Thank you so much! My first experience with MQTT was a Dyson fan a few weeks back, mostly as an adapter between my Raspberry Pi hub and the fan. I want my stuff to be smarter overall, so Node-RED seems like what I'm looking for. Any tutorials you can recommend?
I’d focus less on gadgets and more on flow.
A monitor arm and solid cable management will already transform the space more than most “cool setup” items. Then separate a simple “work mode” and “tinker mode” with a quick setup tray for tools and a proper task light.
The real goal isn’t a flashy desk, it’s being able to sit down and start working in seconds, without clearing space first.
You're absolutely right! The thing is, for me, it goes both ways. I usually adapt my setup to my workflow and vice versa. I haven't had the opportunity to start on a clean slate for ages now, so I'm not even sure what I missed out on in terms of possibilities.
I'll keep the advise "sit down and be able to work instantly" as a credo, otherwise I'll likely start to pile up stuff again lol
Congrats on the move, Pascal!
🏡 As a fellow tinkerer who's moved with boxes of cables, dev boards, and random electronics, I know the chaos firsthand.
One thing that saved my sanity was MoveMate app — it's a moving planner that gives you checklists with auto-deadlines (e.g., Germany Anmeldung in 14 days ✅) and lets you sync with your partner. My wife and I used it to split tasks so nothing fell through the cracks. No subscription either — just $2.99 one-time.
For the ultimate setup, I'd add:
Have fun building the new space! 🚀
Awesome, thank you for the MoveMate hint, will look into that ASAP!
Monitor arm has been mentioned quite often, actually, so I take this as an absolute must-have by now. Cable management will be harder, though, especially with the amount of peripherals I already have. Would need to declutter that first lol
A cat, a laptop, a book, a cup of coffee or tea — and most importantly, a partner who actually listens to each other.😁
Aww, that's so wholesome! Coffee for me, tea for the wife, usually, and yes, we were thinking about adopting a cat ;D
Late to the convo but, get one of those monitor light bars. I use the Quntis monitor light bar and it's wonderful. Although it's not the best for gaming, it's very versatile for coding, studying, reading, etc.
Uuuh, they look amazing, and they're quite affordable, too! Thank you, will definitely think about this, perhaps there's other use cases for those around the house, too :D
After major life changes, redesigning your workspace is more than an upgrade, it's an opportunity to build an environment that supports how you work, create, and recharge. For programmers, tinkerers, and gamers alike, the best setup isn't the most expensive one; it's the one that reduces friction, improves comfort, and makes you excited to sit down and build something every day.
Oh absolutely! That's what I thought as well. Most things in my space grew organically over the past decade, so I'm now taking the opportunity to build it from the ground up, which is why I activated the swarm intelligence that is the DEV community! Many people here have learned their lessons already and I want to learn from them :)
I agree on the price tag, what I'm after is tips and opinions - I want inspiration, and reducing friction is one of the inspirations I was looking for! Thank you for your insights!
ur ps5 (if u have one lol)
My shopping list has grown a lot thanks to everyone here in the comments, let's see if I can afford a PS5 after all of this ;D
But: Will go on the the list anyways!
yeah i strongly recommend it does
... but only if it doesn't chase people and shoot them with the laser, Half-Life 2 style, the wife wouldn't appreciate an autonomous seek-and-destroy machine in the new place lol
The electronics workshop is the part most setup posts skip, so I'll focus there. A few things that quietly transform that corner: a real ESD mat (the cheap green silicone ones are fine), a fume extractor with carbon filter for solder smoke (your lungs will thank you in 10 years), a third-hand with magnifier light on an arm clamp instead of the gooseneck kind, and a small bin system for components - the Hammond enclosures or Stanley sortmasters beat anything 3D printed because the lids actually stay shut. A real chair you can pull under the workbench beats every aesthetic upgrade combined.
I haven't even thought about a fume extractor! As for organising parts, I have a sorting unit with tiny drawers, but what I'm missing is something to organise the parts currently in use. I'll definitely consider the options you mentioned, thank you!