A workspace can be more than a desk, computer, and chair. For me, it’s a place that can stimulate new ideas, connect you to your creativity, and is streamlined how you work.

In this article, I’ll share the ideas behind my studio desk setup and give you a tour of the space. Before I begin, I want to thank Ergonofis for sponsoring this article. This episode is part of a larger Studio Design series, which I’ll leave a link to in the description. To catch you up on what’s happened so far: I leased a studio for my media and maker brand, Mod Musings. I designed a vision for this space, a zen workshop. And I’ve begun doing everything from scratch, including building my custom storage and sealing my concrete floors.

Now, I’m working on the area of my studio where I’ll be spending the most time. A desk setup that has all the tools I need to create. Is inspiring and comfortable to be in.And is highly modular, so that it can be reconfigured, and used for a wide range of work. It brings together some of my favorite ideas from my home setup, along with some new ones I came up with for this space.

Main Desk

Starting with my main desk, which is made by Ergonofis, the sponsor of today’s article. This is The Sway Desk in White Oak. It’s made from locally-sourced solid wood and is handcrafted in Montreal, Canada. I’ve used Ergonofis desks for years and have always been impressed with their quality. The Sway Desk is heavy-duty and sturdy at all heights, even with the casters I installed. My favorite detail is the updated design for their control, which features a simple and sleek, swipe up or down gesture to go to your saved heights. Making it easy to switch between sitting and standing.

The Sway desk is very quiet and has additional features like reminders to stand and an anti-collision system. For my setup, I added a few extras to the desk. A drawer for quick access to my most used things. And the cable management system to tame and hide all of the cords from my devices. Keeping everything plugged into a single power strip mounted on the back of the desk. This allows my whole setup to be plugged in with a single cord. Keeping it visually clean, and easy to unplug if I want to roll away the desk. For my chair, I’m using the ErgonofisYouToo chair in the Smoke and Sandstone color. I’ve sat in a lot of different chairs, and I was surprised at how comfortable and stylish this one was. I can highly recommend it.

Macbook Setup

Moving onto my workstation. I’m using a 16” Macbook Pro that’s completely maxed out. It’s quite an investment, but I’ve gotten so much out of it that it’s paid for itself. To dock this, I use a laptop bracket hidden under my desk. And plug into a CalDigit TS4 hub via Thunderbolt, which charges my MacBook and has 18 ports to connect additional peripherals. With a single plug, it conveniently connects to everything in my setup. For my monitor, I use the 32” Apple Pro Display XDR. While I’ve grown accustomed to using ultra-wide monitors at home, nothing available on the market was bright enough to accommodate the abundant light coming into the studio.






I honestly hesitated to buy the monitor because of its expensive price, but the moment I turned it on, I knew why it cost so much. I’ve never worked on a monitor as crisp and vibrant as this one. Because it’s a Retina 6K display, I can fit so much on the screen, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s not a monitor for everyone, but it’s exactly what I need in this space. At first, I paired this with the Apple Pro Stand, but I had to swap it out because it blocked the path of the USB cable going into my keyboard. As much as I prefer the look of the minimal aluminum stand, I’ve found the HX monitor arm by Ergotron is more practical for this setup.

On top of my monitor is the ScreenBar Halo light by BenQ. This is an incredible accessory that illuminates my desktop when I need more light, and also provides bias lighting behind my monitor. The light can be programmed and controlled using this sleek wireless dial that can go anywhere on your desk.

Speakers

For audio, I am using the YU4 speakers by Kanto. These are larger than my go-to desktop speakers at home, but I got these to help fill this larger space. I’m no audiophile, but to my ears, these sound amazing. My favorite feature is the remote control for the speakers, which helps me fine-tune the sound and switch between sources.

They sit on these 6” stands, also by Kanto, which helps hide and guide the cables from behind the speaker. Moving onto my desktop peripherals, for my Mouse & Keyboard mouse, I am using the Logitech MX Master 3S for Mac in the Pale Gray color. This has been my go-to mouse for years because of its finely tuned ergonomic form, and excellent productivity features like programmable buttons, and this handy thumb wheel. At home, I’m still using Logitech Lift, which has also become another favorite. I can highly recommend either for their comfort and aesthetics.

If you’ve been around the channel, you know that I’ve become obsessed with mechanical keyboards. They’re fun to build and customize, they look incredible, and they are an absolute dream to type on. For this setup, I am currently using the Sonnet. A premium 75% custom mechanical keyboard by MODE.

The Sonnet comes in many color options and materials, so you can design it in a way that best suits your style, and build it in a variety of configurations for your preferred feel and sound. I’ve done some work with MODE before, and I’m excited to announce that I’ve partnered with them to create a special-edition collaborative product. What started as a DIY project has now become an official wood accent piece for the MODE Sonnet keyboard.

It’s made of solid White Oak, which is hand-sanded and finished with a natural oil for added durability. I’ll leave a link in the description to learn more about the MODE Sonnet and White Oak Accent. Both of my peripherals sit on top of a Wool Felt Desk Pad, by Grovemade. This provides a nice surface for me to work on, and allows me to slide my things out of the way when needed.

Second Desk

While my main desk is where I do most of my video and design work, my second desk is more of a workbench. A place intended for building, assembly, and sketching. It’s also a flex desk in case I need to host a freelancer here in the future. The desk I’m using is the 30x60” Shift Desk in Pale Gray. A sit-stand desk is also by Ergonomics.

This is paired with the Tilt stool in white. I chose a different color from my main desk to give it some material contrast. To tie this desk into the rest of the office, I’m using some white oak accessories. Starting with the newly released white oak desk shelf, by Grovemade. This adds extra storage to my desk to help me organize the things I’m currently working on. Until now, Grovemade has only had offerings in maple and walnut, but because I favor white oak, they’re starting to explore it as an option.

So They created an additional set of prototype white oak accessories to test out in my setup. I personally love white oak because it’s a medium-value wood that’s flexible enough to go with dark or light color schemes. While the desk shelf is available to order now, the rest of the white oak accessories are still in testing. If you’re interested in seeing more white oak products from Grovemade, click the link in the description to learn more.

Another accessory I have on the desk is this laptop stand that tucks into the desk shelf. I use this to hold my laptop or my iPad for reference. In full disclosure, I am working closely with Grovemade on some upcoming projects, and these products were sent to me. But as a long-time customer of Grovemade, I would still recommend their high-quality products. It's the reason I’m working on them.

One of the things I do on this desk is built keyboards, which sometimes require a soldering iron. To have access to power, I got

this slim charging station from Anker, which I keep tucked away in my desk shelf, when not in use. When I’m building on this desk, I tend to have loose parts I’m working with. I use these raw concrete trays as a catch-all to hold small pieces and tools while I work.

Overall I’m trying to incorporate more concrete as a material in my office to tie into the DIY Alex Drawers floors. Below the desk, I need storage to organize small items like cables, parts, and accessories. So I built this DIY Ikea Alex drawer on casters that can be moved around for convenience. While the drawer works as-is, I wanted to customize it to match the rest of my setup. Because I recently finished building out the storage for my office, I have so many leftover offcuts I want to use up.


So I took some sheets of 1/4” white oak and cut them up to cover the existing drawer faces. Then I sanded and finished them the same way I did my storage cabinets. To apply the faces, I use wood glue and clamps to hold them in place while it dries.

A tip here: make sure to add enough glue to get good adhesion, and progressively wipe off any squeeze-out. Next, I installed these black pulls to the drawer faces, using a template I made out of an index card. This card has a cut-out to align with the center of the drawers, which I marked out with tape, and has holes for where my screws need to go. This made it easy to align and install all of the pulls down the center. To prevent tear-out on the inside of the drawer, I used a scrap piece of wood behind the drawer face, with help from my dad.

This was a fun DIY project, which adds character to a common Ikea piece, and gives me a solid mobile storage solution. I got this idea from YouTuber Dainty Diaries, Pegboard which I’ll share a link to in the description. Above my desk are two Ikea Skadis pegboards, which I’ve used extensively in my home office. I love this system because I think they look nicer than regular pegboards, and they come with a bunch of first-party and third-party accessories that help me organize and display my things. Some of my favorites are these custom-printed hooks that can hold my keyboards and iPad. And these magnets hold my tools.

Since my things are a bit heavy, I wanted to give the Skadis pegboards a little more support and stability. So I got these custom-printed mounts that allow you to add two more screws at the bottom to replace the rubber feet that normally come with it. These pegboards are mounted high enough, so they don’t interfere with my desk when it’s elevated in standing mode. It’s the perfect add-on to make this desk highly functional and beautifully organized.

Overhead Shelves In my design for the space, I wanted to add long floating shelves above my desks to have some overhead storage, a place display decor, and a surface to clamp camera gear too. After looking at options between something off the shelf and building something myself, I found a place where I could order custom floating shelves.

I ended up getting two sets of 60” shelves to line up side by side with each other to match the length of my two desks. I ordered these in raw white oak, so I could apply the same Flat finish I used on my storage cabinets. To help me figure out where these should go, I used painter's tape to help visualize where they would land. Marking a height that would accommodate my desks at standing height.And using a laser level to align all of the brackets. The shelves are rather large and heavy, so I enlisted my dad to help me install them.

There were a lot of challenges installing these. At first, we used self-tapping screws to go into the steel studs I have on my walls. But it took a ton of work to get even a few in. Eventually, we ended up using snap toggle screws in the drywall which are just as strong but were much easier to install. Originally I wanted to line them up side by side to make each row look like a single shelf. However, because they’re made by hand, each sat slightly differently on the wall and was impossible to line up seamlessly. So I made the decision to make an intentional gap of 6 inches between them, and it looked so much better.

After the shelves were installed, I spent some time organizing and decorating the space. I got this set of shelf accessories from Artifox. Starting with these large bookends, which hold up my hardcover books. To hold some paper, I’m using these stackable mist trays. And by the window, this set of holders for my magazines and catalogs. I love the look of analog timepieces, so on the wall, I added this classic Braun clock I got from Ugmonk.

One reason I wanted overhead shelves is that they provide a sturdy surface to clamp on. Now I can use this super clamp and accessories by Falcam to mount my camera to capture overhead desktop shots. To complete the look of the space, and give Decor

it that Zen vibe, I decorated the office with a variety of plants. My parents have a massive garden and a collection of beautiful plants. So they offered to donate some of theirs and help me out. We added a few hanging plants on the shelves, and by the windows to help break up the rigid lines with organic shapes.

The most impressive plant however is this 20-year-old Monstera plant that my parents had in their front yard. It’s about 5 feet tall and has massive leaves with lots of fenestration. This is the centerpiece of the lounge area I have in the middle of the room. Here I have 2 Ottomans I bought from Bludot, that sit on this ultra-soft rug. I know you think I’m crazy for having a white rug here, but this is a unique rug from Ruggable because it’s completely washable. You just take off the top, and toss it in Roller Shades the washing machine.

As I mentioned before, the draw of this office is the large industrial windows that fill the space with a ton of natural light. But that light can be intense. To tame them, I got these motorized double roller shades by Smartwings. These were a bit tricky to install because of the 20-foot ceilings. But my brother came to the rescue and offered to install them for me. He’s an electrician that works on job sites and a rock climber, so he’s used to being in all kinds of challenging situations.

The nice thing about these shades is that they are solar-powered, so they’re always charged. They can be controlled by remote or voice assistant. And they have two rollers on each. A 5% filtering shade to drastically soften the sun coming in. And when I need complete control of the lighting, I have a second roller with a 100% blackout shade.

Lighting To light the office, I scattered a bunch of different lamps in the space to give it character, whether they’re on or off. My favorites are these beautiful lamps I got from Gantry. Not only are they unique in their design, but they are 3D printed out of plant polymers, which are biodegradable. In most of my fixtures, I installed these NanlitePavobulbs, specifically designed for filming because, unlike other bulbs, they don’t flicker on camera.

I also have a NanlitePavotube mounted underneath my shelf to light my work area. Because I didn’t want to screw directly into my shelf, I created a simple sliding rig made out of these U brackets I found at Home Depot. I cut out a strip of leftover MDF to create a long surface to mount to. Then I drilled holes and used these ¼” threaded screws to attach the light brackets to the MDF, and clipped in the Pavotube light.

This rig can easily slide on and off my shelf, without any screws. And provides a huge diffused light source above my desk. These lights are meant for filmmakers and aren’t traditional smart bulbs. But they can all be controlled using the Nanlink app, where you can adjust the color and intensity of the lights. This lighting combo works well for filming and makes it feel incredibly cozy at night. And that ends the tour of my studio desk setup. I’ve only just begun to use this space. So there will be plenty of adjustments and updates I’ll make the more I use it.

For now, it’s been an incredible place to do my creative work. This episode is part of an ongoing series I’m creating about designing, building, and working in my studio.