vd Brink Home Automations

Home automations with Home Assistant, ESPHome, Node-RED and more tech

Home office: Accessories


On this page, you can read about the accessories I use to decorate my office and make working there a joy for both myself and my cats, who like to keep me company during the day!

Final result Accessories and my home-company-cat

Table of Contents

Monitor light

To get enough light on my desk, I use a monitor light bar that shines in front of the screen on the desk and doesn’t reflect in my eyes. The Xiaomi Mijia monitor light desk bar is a good option. It has a remote to dim the light, and it can easily be attached to the monitor, with it contra weights.

monitor light

Desk mat

I use a very large mouse mat underneath my keyboard and mouse. The top material is soft, with a smooth surface that is perfect for sliding the mouse. The bottom material is made of rubber to keep it in place.

I use a fully black one without any distracting artwork on it.

Desk mat

The size of my mat is 400 x 900 x 3 mm. They are available in many different sizes and with different border colors. I have the all-black version.

Camera

I chose a basic camera years ago because of these features:

  • HD USB camera with a lens cover
  • 30 fps
  • Light correction
  • Good sound and microphone quality (now I use a separate microphone)
  • A mount with contra weight to place on top of a monitor

Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam

Back in the day, the Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam was a perfect match for me, and it still works fine. But it could be upgraded to a newer one with 4K resolution and an auto-follow feature. I’m open to any good suggestions!

Microphone

For an affordable basic microphone, I’ve chosen the Razer Seiren Mini black - USB condenser microphone.

Razer Seiren Mini black

Headset

For my new office, I looked for a newer and improved over-ear headset. ANC keeps improving every year, and my daily three-year-old headset was ready for an upgrade. I wanted to go for the overall best option, the Sony WH, but the price is very high for a headset. That kept me looking further. I heard and read good things about the QCY H3, and when I found out the improved 2026 H3S version had been released, I went for that one! In the past, I already had a good experience with QCY in-ear earbuds for on-the-go use.

QCY H3S over-ear headset   QCY H3S physical buttons   QCY H3S foldable with case
  • Dual device connection - can connect to two devices at the same time (laptop and phone)
  • Soft top - no hard plastic pressure on your head
  • QCY app - to set custom sound settings and the level of noise cancellation
  • Bluetooth 6 - long battery life
  • Physical buttons - to control ANC/sound/calls
  • 5 adaptive ANC noise-cancellation modes (Adaptive/Crowded/Commute/Indoor/Anti-Wind)
  • Foldable headset with a hard case for traveling


Just read the reviews!

Available in black/white/gray:


Alternative:
I’m also a fan of the Sony WH range, but the price is 10x the price of the QCY, and it isn’t 10x better. For now, I stick to the QCY.

Laptop charger

I use a Xiaomi 120W USB-C charger to charge my laptop. It’s a powerful USB-C charger with enough power to fast charge any new laptop.

Xiaomi 120W USB-c charger

Laptop stand

To keep the desk clean, I place my laptop upright in a black vertical laptop stand. This way, it takes up less space on my desk surface, and I can easily detach it and replace it with my personal laptop.

Vertical laptop stand

Alternative solutions:

Laptop case

To avoid reflections from the nearby window and distractions from the silver laptop on my desk, I put a black case around my laptop. I chose walnut or black for all items below my monitor and on my desk to make it look calm.

Macbook 16' case

Headphone stand

A basic plastic headphone stand. It just does its job: holding the headphones!

headphone stand   QCY H3S over-ear headset on stand

Alternative:

Desk clock

A basic wooden digital clock that doesn’t attract more attention than needed.

wooden clock

Alternatives:

  • Also wood-colored, with other shapes, other colors, or additional temperature and humidity display (AliExpress)
  • Wood version with a triangle shape (AliExpress)
  • Version with wireless charger (AliExpress)
    wooden clock with wireless charger

Cat tower

When I am in the office, my cats like to stay nearby. At first, I used a spare chair, but it took too much space, and we could not see each other well while I was standing. I found a compact tower where they can lie inside or on top of it.

cat tower cat tower

It is available in three colors: black, beige, and gray.

Alternative:

Smart notification light

On the corner of my desk, I have a small smart notification light that looks like a random walnut accessory when it is off. It is a walnut pencil holder with a GU10 full-color smart light hidden inside. I use it as a CO2 warning light in my office, but it can also be used for other notifications such as focus time, calendar reminders, required AI user input, or anything else that works well as a color signal.

Smart notification light

Read more about this in the Smart and stylish notification light project.

Stretch display

Next to my main monitor, I have a small stretched display that shows important office and home alerts. It is connected to a separate Raspberry Pi and displays a Home Assistant page. It boots together with the monitor. It visualizes room environment data such as office temperature, CO2 levels, and graphs for the last few hours, plus alerts for thing like when someone is detected around the house.

stretch display

Read more about this in the Stretch display project.

Retractable USB charger

Not everything can be charged wirelessly. Sometimes you need a cable to charge headphones or a keyboard. Most of the time, you do not need that cable and want to keep it out of sight. But when you do need it, you do not want to dive under the desk or use loose hanging cables to connect one.

A nice solution is a retractable USB charging cable. You can pull it out when you need it, and it automatically rolls back in when you are done.

Retractable USB charger

Alternatives:

Footrest

To support my posture and stretch my legs while sitting, I use a footrest under my desk. It can be change in different angles.

Footrest

Floor protection mat

To protect the floor from scratches and reduce chair-wheel noise, I placed a rubber protection mat underneath my chair. A carpet version also works perfect.

floor protection mat

Floor heated mat

To keep my feet warm during winter, I placed a heated floor mat under my desk where I stand. This way, I do not need to heat the whole room, and I avoid cold feet from the floor while standing at my desk.

It has a power output of 110 watts and can be controlled via an inline remote with 4 levels. Most of the time, the 4th level is already too hot. With the built-in timer, it automatically shuts off.

floor mat

  • Floor heated mat: VH Etna 40x60 cm (Bol.com)

Moss terrarium

While creating my Pinterest mood board, I found a lot of inspiration for moss terrariums (also known as mossariums), and I also wanted a small living environment like that on my desk.

Buying a fully decorated one was quite expensive, but I found a nice DIY kit that let me create my own moss terrarium for a reasonable price.
Later, my local garden center also started selling moss terrariums, so it is worth checking there too.

mossarium glass

Mug coaster

A personalized mug coaster that nobody else has is both fun and practical, and it protects your desk from spills and stains. This coaster has a walnut look. If you upload your own image, you can create a personalized mug coaster with your own design.

personalized mug coasters

Wireless phone charger

Fewer wires on a desk make it look cleaner and more organized, and wireless phone chargers are a nice solution for that. Just place your phone on the charger and it starts charging, with no cable needed.

phone charger

Walnut phone stand

I found a simple walnut-colored stand for my other phone, which is also walnut colored, so it fits perfectly with the rest of the accessories on my desk.

Walnut phone stand

Vacuum cleaner

With this small but strong vacuum cleaner for your desk (and keyboard), you can quickly remove small debris without scratching anything.
It can be charged with a USB-C cable.

mini desk vacuum cleaner


Home office:
Overview | Mood board | Virtual design with AI | Room decoration | Desk setup hardware | Accessories


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