One-third of our lives is spent at work and so as you progress and grow, your workspace should grow with you.
Over the last year, I’ve outgrown my current space and decided to purchase a new condo space to convert into a dedicated home office and creative studio.
My previous setup was a simple, small room in my apartment, but it was also where it all began.
It’s where I spent years working from home and growing a small online business and team.
“Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.”
Welcome to the first episode of the Redesigned Makeover Series. I’m excited to take you on this journey and into this new space.
Backstory
I bought the place brand new a few years ago with the income I had from my eCommerce business, and I’ve been renting it out to tenants ever since.
It’s a one-bedroom condo with about 700 square feet, so I think there’s enough space for what I’m planning to do: turn it into a dream home office setup and multipurpose creative studio, where I can do my best work, grow within this space, and potentially, in the future, expand into an even bigger in-person team, who knows!
I’ve outgrown my previous home office space, which was featured in the majority of my desk setup videos, and have received millions of views, which is incredible.
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been renovating and transforming this condo. I asked for advice on design elements such as floorboards and furnishings, and I appreciate everyone who responded.
I’ll discuss the design philosophy for this new space and the renovations, give you an initial walkthrough, and show you all of the latest technology and furniture.
Anyway, let’s start with the design inspiration and how I got started planning this move.
Design Inspiration
The interior design options for this new space are virtually limitless. To get started on a large project, I usually start by mapping it out using two specific digital tools.
The first is Figma, a collaborative design tool that I used to brainstorm and visualize how I wanted this new space to look before purchasing all of the furniture, technology, and renovation decisions.
I’ve divided the floor plan into different use cases, such as a filming studio, multiple desk areas, and a larger home office area, each with its own purpose.
I also planned out all of the interior styling and furniture inside Figma ahead of time.
As you can see, the theme I’ve chosen for this new space is light mode – I’m usually a dark-mode person, so the change is jarring.
But I chose this light-mode aesthetic because the new space receives a lot of natural light throughout the day, as opposed to the previous space, which was quite dark. I wanted to emphasize the warm natural lighting, so I used a lot of light oak wood, off-white walls, lighter-tone furniture, and technology.
The goal is to keep this space feeling minimal, bright, and airy, while also serving as a breeding ground for creativity and deep thought.
monday.com
Following that, I used monday.com to visualize and organize all of the moving parts.
If you’ve ever moved or renovated, you know there are a lot of moving parts and headaches, especially since we’re working with brands, suppliers, and creating content.
So getting the entire workflow and process onto a work operating system like Monday.com was beneficial so we could keep track of everything smoothly.
After I invited the team and got them on the platform, we began building out the various workflows using the library of quickstart templates, which saved us a lot of time, and I was able to start managing, assigning, and scheduling just about any task.
The workflow center on Monday.com, which is essentially automation for apps we already use, is another huge time saver. We also created a custom dashboard for the entire team to track the most important aspects of the move and project.
The best thing about Monday.com is how flexible and adaptive it is.
Renovations
Renovations have, predictably, been a nightmare of delays.
This new space will serve as a company office and investment property in the future, so I won’t be able to go overboard with renovations.
But I still think it’s important to refresh the foundation because I want this office to feel more like a home and a creative studio. Sterile environments rarely inspire creativity.
I renovated a few areas, including the kitchen, bathroom, and especially the filthy-looking carpet – which looked like an expired, melted pancake.
After some consideration, I chose this light oak wood laminate floorboard.
It looks fantastic and perfectly complements the light mode aesthetic. Laminate floorboards are a long-lasting, water- and scratch-resistant solution, which is essential with all of the equipment and creative work that will be going on here. Also, another reason I didn’t go with hardwood.
One thing I don’t care for is the scotias that I didn’t request in the first place. I would have preferred that the flooring be installed beneath the timber skirting for a cleaner finish, but you live and you learn.
We also updated the bathroom to have a polished reconstituted stone vanity shelf, a newly installed polished chrome towel rail, and vitrified porcelain and ceramic tiles.
Current Furnishings & Tech
Now for my favorite part, the furniture and tech!
Govee
The first cool piece of technology I’d like to share in this space is the Govee Glide Hexa Pro, which is displayed on the feature wall.
I added these to add some color and creativity to an otherwise simple and light space.
They’re essentially RGBIC light panels that have 3D effects thanks to boxed lines and a slightly raised design.
When you open the box, you’ll find the manuals, ten light panels, a power block, a level, and connectors. Installation was simple enough with the app, but it’s a fairly involved process because each panel must be linked sequentially.
In the companion app, I’ve automated these lights to transition between scenes. They’re such a visually stunning piece to have in this creative space – my favorites include Ocean, Collapse, and Matrix.
Almost everyone who has come through this office has been drawn to the unique light panels – I’ll include a link to these cool panels below if you want to take a look.
Omnidesk
The desk itself is at the heart of the desk setup.
Another sit-stand desk was an obvious choice. They’re incredibly versatile, easy to build and make a lot of sense for my use case of constantly moving around.
This is the new Omnidesk Ascent desk in an extra large size of 183 x 76.2 cm.
The larger size of the desk will allow me to spread out multiple screens, laptops, shelves, and creative materials – space that I didn’t have in my previous office – and I’m excited to let my creativity run wild on this larger desk.
Suppose you have a limited amount of space, it’s critical to limit colors and tones and be intentional with them – so I chose the solid hevea wood top to complement the light woody tones in this room.
Its natural wood markings and teething are a lovely touch that adds sophistication to the desk.
The desk is currently quite bare – probably the only time I can truly call myself a minimalist – but I’m looking forward to making this desk my home. I cannot say the same for cable management though.
Sonos
To bring it to life musically, I’m equipping it with my favorite sound system: Sonos.
To tie each room together, I’ve brought in the Sonos One Smart Speaker, the Move, and an extra portable Roam.
High-fidelity audio floods the 700 square feet of space through these speakers, providing a luxurious listening experience that inspires the creativity I require to do my best work.
I also like how the Sonos speakers are beautifully designed to blend in. Going the extra mile with what you choose to adorn your personal spaces is definitely worthwhile.
Logitech
Now focusing on the desk, I’ve brought over this massive 40″ 5K Ultrawide monitor, which is perfect for multitasking.
On top of the monitor is Logitech’s new Brio 500, which was kindly provided by Logitech.
It’s an excellent, reasonably priced full HD webcam, and given that I frequently work from home and attend a lot of virtual meetings, a good webcam ensures that I can bring my best self to every meeting.
It has AI face image and light correction, as well as Logitech’s auto-framing feature, which allows me to move around during meetings while remaining in the frame.
The also has Show Mode, which allows me to present sketches or items on my table by simply tilting the webcam down which makes my presentations more engaging.
The webcam is perfectly complemented by Logitech’s Zone Vibe 100 headset.
I now use it in the office for both work and play; with its noise-cancelling boom mic and clear voice, it’s professional enough for meetings.
Outside of meetings, the microphone is tucked away for a casual, enjoyable listening experience when I’m winding down or working in deep focus.
Herman Miller Aeron
I’ve brought over my beloved Herman Miller Aeron, which I recently purchased – this one is the newly released and remastered Aeron Onyx in jet black Onyx with ocean-bound plastics.
Yes, $2000 is a lot of money to spend on a chair, but it’s money your buttocks and back will thank you for the rest of your life.
It is truly that good, and it’s now difficult to sit in other office chairs.
Storage + Feature Shelf
Another element I’m looking forward to is the extra storage space.
I had brown boxes literally all over the place in my previous office space, and the clutter hampered productivity and mood.
I now have 3-4 large storage cupboards to house all of the technology I’m reviewing, camera production equipment, and any extra stock I might have on hand.
I’m also enjoying this feature shelf that I built, which now displays some of my favorite coffee table books, beautiful design items, and my tech – most of which was previously hidden away in storage, so it’s nice that they’re finally getting some exposure.
Sohnne HaloLux Light
Lighting will be a major project here because I’ll be working late into the night on some days. At the moment, the harsh downlighting isn’t cutting it, so I’m planning to replace it with smart lights.
Right now, I have this really lovely HaloLux light from Sohnne, which is a modern minimal Halo-shaped dimmable light.
Conclusion
I feel like there’s plenty of room to stretch my legs and mind in this new space, and if you want to see more of the setup in progress, follow me on Instagram @andrewethanzeng – I’ll be sharing progress and behind-the-scenes there.
It’s crazy to think that after quitting my 9-5 job, starting a Shopify store, and starting this YouTube channel, it would turn into a dedicated creative studio and office, but here we are, and I can’t wait to share more episodes in this redesigned makeover series – new desk setups, giveaways, and some seriously cool tech are on the way.
Tune in for more updates on this new space and all the tech that will go into it. I can’t wait to have you be a part of this entire series!