What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn't work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver.
Need something flat to put a laptop on? Throw it on the foam. Going to be doing something that requires you to be on your knees for a while? Get the foam!
It went from stupid purchase to something I'd gladly replace if it broke.
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Monitor mounting arms that connect to the back of the desk. I have 3 times as much room on my desk now. It's amazing how much room monitor stands really take up. It's not just the actual stand but really the surrounding area because you can't really set any large objects in the vicinity. It really is a game changer to gain a lot of desk space.
Yeah I got this thinking it wouldn't work or there is a catch. Nope, the monitor arms are awesome and save so much space, easy to adjust, and also look nicer than two stands on the desk.
I've actually been considering this recently. Are you able to give me any suggestions or tips for what to look for?
What sizes are your monitors? Personally I think gas springs are the best, as any good one will allow you to adjust height and position with relative ease. Biggest thing you really have to watch for is the weight of your monitor vs the capacity of the stand, but if you're not dealing with huge monitors you likely won't run into this.
They're like two random bedroom style (ie, intergrated DVD players that don't work) flatscreen TVs so I think I would need relatively strong mounts. The smaller one is a 19 inch. I guess the other is a 22 but I'm not sure or able to check right at this moment. I guess monitors get so much bigger than that now that maybe these sets aren't actually that heavy in comparison?
Honestly, I don't think you'd have any concerns with finding some that are suitable, those are the sizes of monitor that the overwhelming majority of the stands are made for. Monitors get absurdly large now.
Check if your monitor is VESA compatible and buy a monitor with that brack if it is. Don't cheap out, you'll want to spend at least $100 for quality arms IMO.
Also, make sure your table is strong enough that it won't warp - you're going to be putting a lot of weight in a small area. It ended up warping my IKEA desk but I didn't mind since I got it second-hand. You can put a block of wood between the clamp and the table to distribute the stress and keep the clamp from leaving a mark as well.
I got a similar effect by constructing a purpose-made monitor shelf. It's not as good for having a wide area open for large items, but it allows multiple levels for stacking, which works out great. It has one low shelf inside, just high enough to fit a keyboard and hands underneath, and then the top surface to put the actual monitors on. Keeping the bottom floor clear makes it easy to slide the keyboard in to make some temporary room in front of the structure, and the inside shelf provides a large general-purpose cavity for papers, mail, snacks, or what-have-you. There's also some room on the top to pile things up next to the monitors.
The original goal was just to get the monitors up to eye level, but I ended up enjoying the extra space at least as much.
Which brand/model did you buy?
North Bayou, but only because I got a deal on them for cheap. Not sure if they are any better than any others, but they work as intended. Edit: these might be them: https://a.co/d/0MJRj7B