Work From Home Setup Contest - Best Use of What I've Got Category [Voting]

After 8 months of working from home, it was time for Adam Lawless, Vistaprint’s North American Public Relations Lead, to give himself a little home office upgrade. He used the only space available in his one-bedroom apartment... his front closet. Using items he already had, we’d say this $0 renovation will make Remote-First work a bit more fun and a lot more balanced.

Adam Lawless - North American PR Lead at Vistaprint

Making it work and working out, this small space has a whole lotta screen. This small space not only functions, but has *aesthetic*. Along with an alternative desk-bike, or what my HR Rep (Pup) sees as my human hampster wheel. Who needs windows when you have a mood light?

Alyssa Noble - Recruiter at Klaviyo

Confined OHS nightmare with 4K HD 50 inch, yes I'm overcompensating :)

Sonja Blackburn - Global Lead, Technical Support at JRNI

This is my corner of the world of work when I'm not lying down on the couch with my feet up or sitting at my Dining Room Table on a Zoom Call. 

*  Shared Office Suite - Respectful officemates allowing each other to occupy the office one at a time - Eve Pappas alone in the "office"
*  Sometimes your office needs to function as your office, workout room, and spa - Elaine Pappas in her "alone time"
*  After a good workout + emails, time for a coffee break, calls, and a foot bath - just don't drop the phone in the foot bath (!)
*  It's not all work and no play - jammed next to the two chairs is a card table for "puzzling" - here is a 1000 piece Edward Gorey doozy!

Elaine Pappas - Talent Acquisition Consultant

I think I would call my space, cramped productivity with a LARGE dose of dysfunctional. It's a hodgepodge of pieces given to me, and some pieces I purchased. Is it the best use of space, no, can I work yes, but it's tight at times. As you can see there is not an ounce of space that doesn't have some type of technology on it. From my wireless keyboard and mouse, my 5 port hub,my external hard drive and router, my speakers, my docking station, 30" monitor, laptop cooler and my printer with other desk supplies there is an inch of space that is open to put anything else in it. Am I using the space efficiently, no but I am not sure how best to set it up more efficiently. And what I can use to make it more efficient.

Patrick Hagerty - IT Director at Capodimonte USA

I moved to Florida for the covid Winter and have my son and future daughter-in-law (also, Boston-based) working out of my home. Between us we have 4 dogs. Elon Boms and I, along with the Pritzker Vlock Family Office, have been raising a SPAC and since it was so loud in the house I did 40+ investor calls from my bathroom.

Woody Benson, Investor & COO

Due to a lack of space in my apartment, I turned a storage closet into a work-in closet. I've spent the last 7 months using a virtual Zoom background to hide the mess that is behind me. My space includes a fake window poster to pretend I have a great view and a sunlamp to make sure I get some Vitamin D while sitting in a closet all day.

Jim Tuite - Senior Accountant, Klaviyo

Not as bad as it looks! But am I ready to get the displaced set of golf clubs out of my bathroom? Yes.

Abby Gettys - Enablement Program Manager at Klaviyo

One small apartment, two wfh people. My partner uses the big desk in our office space while I make the most of the living room corner. The window sill serves as extra 'table' space, I even have a standing desk accessory, and the lamp is great lighting for zoom calls. Big plus, I get all the sunshine during the work day.

Esteban Yepez - People Operations Coordinator at Ellevation Education

The picture attached is how I transform my bedroom when it's time to get on a live demo with a customer to showcase our GroundControl product for iOS devices. The image looks like a catastrophe, but it produces a pretty good customer facing demo!

https://youtu.be/xQFFXtYWDkQ - A couple of minutes of it in action can be seen there between the 25-35 minute mark. I've made some virtual adjustments and added more lights recently, but the concept remains the same. And the frame rate is much better over Zoom/Teams than that video makes it seem.

Anthony Tedesco - Senior Sales Engineer, Imprivata

Perfect setup for multi-tasking parent!

Zac Biesiada - Controller at connectRN

I love my office space and I think I created the perfect atmosphere for me to work in. My office is upstairs in my loft and the vibe I was going for was zen and meditation. Key details are as follows:

* 5 Monitors open at one time to help me go faster the more screens the better.
* A cute little daybed to take quick power naps when needed so I can get back to it;
* A shelving unit that houses all my supplies and stores gadgets like my google hub and echo dot;
* A vision board to help me set realistic goals and stay positive.

Nicole McWilliams - Event Specialist at Rapid7

I built a garage and office away from my house about 7 years ago. Given what has happened in recent months it has turned out to be a good investment. My space is small so easy heat, away from house so nice and quiet and is well connected with two 1Gb Ethernet connections back to main house.

Darragh Delaney - Senior Product Manager, Network Data at Rapid7

Emilia’s Boxland Paradise - Not the most original monitor risers, but I finally used the shoe boxes that I refused to throw away because they were “nice” (my husband had insisted for quite a while to get rid of them until COVID-19). Since the boxes have different sizes, they create a sort shelves that I use to display Rick and Snowball (my old desk buddies that go with me to every job), and also things like pens, my water bottle, the cloth to clean my glasses and so on. Anything that I need is on those shelves. I use the black fabric case for my headphones to store cables. My actual headphones hang from a chair when not in use. The boxes also hold between them the paper instructions I got with my laptop when I joined Rapid7, with useful info like how to change my password. Finally, I use the pile of books I usually consult for my work as a throne to King Roberto Mooseland II, the mute king (a stuff moose that I got in a game for new hires, my team helped me choose a name for it). Again, not the most original use of boxes, but they do have a meaning: one of the boxes has the world (I am a migrant and I love to travel) and there are two that have descriptions in Spanish (I work as a UX and I am Argentinian). The boxes are, ironically, empty :)

Emilia Lugo - User Experience Writer II - D&R at Rapid7

My Grampy made my desk for my birthday when I was a little kid and I finally have a reason to use it. When he built it there were no personal computers so I had to improvise to be able to use it. I recently obtained a tv tray to give me extra workspace and my next task is to look into better wire management. My office is small already, so I have limited amount of space to work with.

Kelly Hanson - Accountant at Piaggio Fast Forward

Dysfunction meets function!

Andrew Tsang, Help Desk Engineer at Buildium