Sitting pretty
Now that you’ve got all these pieces picked out, what are you going to put them on? Desks are an area where you may have the most flexibility, as long as it’s comfortable, any will work. Sure, there are some with more bells and whistles, like motorized standing desks, built-in cable management, extra charging ports, and more. But any solid, stable surface will hold your computer just as well when it comes down to it.
Similarly, you don’t specifically need a gaming chair: they’re often overstuffed and over-hot, with faux leather covers that just trap sweat. Consider, instead, a high quality office chair. They’re just as comfortable, and tend to have better support in ways that will help your long term health thanks to OSHA accountability. I’m particularly a fan of Herman Miller Sayl, with its striking mesh design that does a stellar job of keeping you cool.
As unique as you are
The final touch is arguably the most important for making the space feel truly yours. And that’s the decor: art from artists you like, collectibles from your favorite games, purposeful task lighting or ambient colors to set the mood. Even something as small as coordinating your accessories can make you feel more at home.
Programmable colored smart lighting is easier than ever to set up with the OMEN Light Studio, which can link to dozens of different peripherals, including Philips Hue and Twinkly Lights. With Light Studio, your room and accessory lighting becomes part of your games, changing brightness and color in response to things happening in-game and on-screen. Or you can set them to calm and mellow, if you just want to vibe out and play “Stardew Valley.” The lights become a conversation piece if you’re streaming or on a meeting, a way of focusing more on the action during intense gaming sessions, or a way of just making your space feel more yours.
Mechanical keyboards also (mostly) allow you to replace the keycaps with ones that express your personal tastes. Add one or two as an accent, like swapping out your escape key for “Coco the Cozy Cat,” a 3D-printed character from HyperX; or you can go deep on swapping out the entire set with different shapes and colors.
If all else fails, take inspiration from the pros. HP’s Moran says, “Very few of the pro and popular streamers have what I'd call ‘boring’ set-ups.”
In other words, you’ll always find hints of what kind of player persona they bring to their game, Moran explains. Like a carefully-chosen avatar, “there's always something that represents their personality in the games they play.”
