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A desk for a laptop that leaves every evening
Arrange the stand, keyboard and cables around what travels, and what can stay on the desk.
Choose what stays
Start by separating the objects that travel from the ones that belong to the desk. If the laptop leaves each evening but the keyboard can stay, a fixed stand has a clear purpose. Place the computer down in the morning, connect the leads, and the working arrangement is already there.
Rain Design mStand suits that arrangement. If the table must become a dining table every night, consider where the stand itself will go. Its open shape provides useful space beneath the laptop, but the whole object still needs a shelf or cupboard when removed.
Mark out the working area
Cut a piece of paper to the stand's 253 by 190 mm footprint and place it on the desk. Add the keyboard in front, the pointing device to the side and the laptop's larger outline above. This reveals whether a small table has enough room for your hands as well as the hardware.
Set the screen position
Sit in the chair you use and open the screen to its usual angle. A fixed stand gives one height. Settle that position before routing everything behind it. For a shared desk used by people who want different screen heights, an adjustable stand offers another way to arrange the computer.
Leave the connections easy to reach
Route the desk cables through the rear opening, with enough slack for each plug to reach its port without pulling. Keep their ends where you can see them after the laptop leaves. The opening groups cables, but it does not hold a loose connector in place.
Give small maintenance items a place too. An OXO Sweep & Swipe can stay beside the keyboard for loose crumbs before packing. When you leave, slide the keyboard beneath the stand if it fits and take only the equipment needed at the next desk.
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