You Raise 'My Computer' Up

With my new desk setup i have been noticing myself slouching and my neck getting sore because my computer screen is too low.

If i had an adjustable chair i could probably just lower it, but i just use an ordinary dinning chair so that wasn't really an option.

Instead of going to route of telephone books to prop it up (well i couldn't find telephone books anyway) i thought that I ( I meaning Lewis) could build a little platform with a shelf.

But Lewis had the genius idea of using the table that i used to use as a desk, and just cutting it down.

This was a much cheaper option, well a free option, instead of going out and buying wood.

I was a little bit scared to cut down a piece of furniture as you cant really re-attach the legs, but i thought that it wasn't been used as is and that i needed something to raise my computer up, so why not.

Here is Lewis tightening the screws so its all nice and sturdy.

P.S. We are in the shed or as i like to call it "The Man Cave" (Lewis doesn't like this name as he thinks it makes the shed sound lame)

I estimated that i wanted the computer to be about 200mm higher than it was so Lewis said lets cut it at 250mm because we can always take more off.

Here he is meauring 200mm from the lip, which made it 240mm all together.

And now the cutting!!

After taking off all 4 legs and we came and tested it out (sorry didn't take any pictures of that) but it was too high, it needs to be at eye level and i was titling my head up so we decided just to chop the whole leg off. We thought about removing the whole leg peice but i like the kind of architecture the wood on the sides give it. So Lewis cut the remainder of the legs off to make it flush with the bottom of the shelf/draw thing.

Then he sanded all the legs flush against the bottom for a nice level base.

He also cut a whole in the back of the shelf for me so i could put my hard drive on the shelf and have the cables running through the back.

Then it was done!

Drum roll please...

Ta Da!

It is now the perfect height!

So my neck should be happy with that.

Plus i looks cute, so i'm happy with that.

My handy dandy trestle table

Yesterday i finally cracked and got sick of sitting at my too small desk, that i could even get my legs under, and decided to re-arrange.

As per usual i get so caught up in wanting to change things and 'do it now', that i forgot to take before pictures. But i had a little look through my photos and managed to find these pictures from a post about the images above my desk, which should give you a bit of an idea of what things looked like before i changed it all up.

I also found an image that our friend Adam took one night, while having some drinks and playing games.

My desk did and still does reside in a corner of the lounge room. I used to have it in Lyle's current room when it was a spare room, but since deciding to rent out that room the computer has lived in the lounge room. 

Tara & Lyle both have laptops so having a desk isn't as necessary to them, tho they are both at Uni, go figure! No actually Lyle has a desk. But because Lewis & I share a room (obviously), there is not a heap of room for a computer in there and we do have a pretty big lounge room.

My previous desk arrangement consisted of one 'table' that i found in council collection, propped up on bricks to try and make it taller, flanked by two 'billy' bookcases.

It was an okay arrangement if you just wanted to jump on the computer to look something up, but if you actually wanted to sit there and do some work or even just a decent amount of typing it was very uncomfortable, i couldn't get my legs under properly, couldn't cross my legs, and couldn't even push in the chair without having to maneuver it over the bricks.

So to remedy this i decided to bring in my wooden trestle table. I have used this table for many things over the years. When i was younger it was a Lego table for my brother and I, it was a kitchen table for a long time at my parents house and most recently it was my sewing table when we had the spare room.

I debated placing the table along the back wall of the lounge room, adjacent to where the table previously was, but when i placed it there it took up more space than i wanted it too and it just didn't look right.

So it now takes the place of the little table and both the bookshelves, with one of the book shelves being relocated to the other side of the lounge room to display at sorts of pretty things and the other book shelve is now in our very wide hallway, opposite Lyle's room carrying all the useful sort of things. eg sewing kit, sewing machine, computer stuff, stationary etc.

(Please excuse the not so great hall picture, my camera was running out of battery and the hall light is broken)

I also placed a little orange table, which was actually one of my first ever junking finds, under the desk to put my printer on and placed a spare box under the table to wrangle all the computer cables.

I am so happy with the new set up and have been so much more productive. Its amazing how such little change in your environment can make such a difference to your motivation. 

And luckily everyone else in the house seems to like the re-arrangement it too!