Hunker down in a perfectly equipped work-from-home hub this winter

What follows is the ultimate package of the latest work from home essentials, a selection of kit with which to create the best equipped home office or even a small but stylish start-up.

From furniture and fittings through to thumb drives and keyboards, displays, diversions and even hot and cold air, read on for solutions for sitting, speaking, typing, heating, jotting, scribbling, watching, backing up and charging. Whatever your working methods, we hope you’ll find something here that fits the bill.

The Big Kit

SecretLab Magnus Evo Sit-to-Stand Desk

The jury might be out on whether standing desks offer quite the epic health benefit they originally implied, but there’s little doubt that changing it up every now and again does wonders for your posture. That’s the thinking behind SecretLab’s new Magnus Evo, a sit-to-stand desk that offers three (adjustable) pre-set positions as well as seamless cable management.

An integrated power supply column ensures that a single cable needs to reach from desk to socket, with a concealed cable management tray at the rear. Special magnetic zones and moveable accessories allow you to place stands, charge points and other components where they’re needed most, while the slender front edge contains an LED control panel to make the adjustments.

Secretlab Magnus Evo Sit-to-Stand Desk, US$749/£599/€699, SecretLab.co.uk

‘Velo’ chair by Andreu World

Benjamin Hubert’s design studio Layer has collaborated with the Spanish furniture manufacturer Andreu World to create the ‘Velo’ chair, which it describes as a next-generation task chair. The key components here are flexibility and low environmental impact, as well as a unique weight-activated mechanism designed to enhance posture and ergonomics.

The frame is made from recycled thermopolymers – and you can also select recyclable upholstery options – making the ‘Velo’ a simple, unfussy choice for a home office. The new chair, which follows on from Layer’s earlier ‘Calma’ chair, has a lightweight frame and can be specified with either a breathable mesh or upholstered fabric surfaces.

‘Velo’ chair, price on request from Andreu World, designed by LayerDesign.com, available from Andreu World stores worldwide

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat

A space-saving, ultra-efficient way of moderating your work environment, the newly launched Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat combines a fan and heater in a single package. A slender column that can be easily stashed out of sight when not needed, the TurboBlade is intended to smooth out climactic peaks and troughs, with the ability to distribute hot or cold air as required.

The blades rotate into the horizontal position to maximise air flow – handy for layering an invisible blanket or breeze across a bed or sofa, for example.

The column unit provides pivoting and oscillating functions, while a thermostatic mode will maintain temperature automatically. Control is via a compact remote control (not an app, which must be a first for a modern device), and in use, the TurboBlade is quiet and unobtrusive.

It makes an excellent alternative to cumbersome air-conditioning units, and may even stave off the need to turn on the central heating – perfect for when working in just a small part of your space.

Shark TurboBlade Cool + Heat, £349.99, SharkClean.co.uk

Computing power

Asus ProArt P16 Laptop

Aficionados of fully loaded creative laptops – the kind that spend most of their life on a desk with only the occasional foray off in a backpack – will appreciate the Asus ProArt P16. The company’s current flagship, the ProArt P16 is built around a dedicated graphic chip, the GeForce RTX 40 Series, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor.

Hardware includes a 16-inch OLED 4K touchscreen and the DialPad, Asus’ enhanced trackpad system. A plethora of ports includes an SD card reader, handy for digital cameras, and harmon/kardon audio with Dolby Atmos onboard. There’s up to 2TB of storage and 64GB of memory.

An alternative for the defiantly desktop-focused comes in the shape of the company’s expanded ProArt PC case range, which now includes wood finishes for the first time. Featuring FSC-certified woods, the new cases include onboard fans, built-in USB ports and glass side panels that offer easy access for maintenance and upgrades.

Asus ProArt P16, from £1,999, Asus.com

Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED Monitor

If you’re going down the laptop route you can replace or supplement your on-screen real estate with an additional monitor. Dell’s new 31.6-inch QD-OLED has a 3840 x 2160 display, as well as onboard 3D spatial audio with five integral speakers providing a total output of 25W. The monitor includes a host of additional connectors, including a neat pop-out forward-facing USB charge point for mobiles and other devices.

Dell 32 Plus 4K QD-OLED Monitor, £535, Dell.com

Kuxiu X53 Hub Multifunctional Laptop Stand

Pair this laptop stand with a separate keyboard and you’ll have the best of both worlds. Kuxiu’s X53 multifunctional hub stand attempts to be all things to everyone with a feature-packed specification that makes it so much more than a mere place to stash your device.

The angled rear arm includes no less than eight slots for a variety of devices, ranging from SD readers (micro and standard), a headphone socket and USB A and C ports, along with HDMI.

Kuxiu X53 Hub Multifunctional Laptop Stand, £66, Kuxiu.co

Apple Mac Studio

We’d be remiss if we didn’t flag the Apple Mac Studio up as a serious option. Now powered by Apple’s own M3 Ultra processor alongside the M4 Max, Mac Studio remains the de facto choice for contemporary creative work. A synthesis of all that makes Apple so user-friendly and design driven, Mac Studio is more compact and powerful than ever before.

Apple Mac Studio, from £2,099, Apple.com

All the gear

Maono PD200W wireless dynamic podcast microphone

An increasingly important part of the office worker’s arsenal, the desktop microphone has evolved into multi-functional tool that’s handy for calls but essential for podcasts and presentations. First up is the Maono PD200W, which bills itself as the world’s first wireless dynamic podcast microphone. You can connect this device via USB, wireless or a regular XLR cable, with an onboard battery that’s good for 60 hours of use.

Sound quality is excellent, and the mic allows secondary devices to be plugged in for dual-channel stereo recording; add another conventional mic and you have an instant podcasting studio. The PD200W can also be connected directly to cameras and phones to boost signal quality for all kinds of content creation.

Three-stage noise cancellation helps focus on the voice, cutting out unwanted background noise. Available with a boom arm or regular desktop stand, this is a low-cost way of getting into higher-end audio.

Maono PD200W, from $99.99, Maono.com, Amazon.co.uk

Shure MV7i Smart Microphone & Interface

Shure’s MV7i is a step up in terms of quality. The well-established American manufacturer, which celebrates its centenary in 2025, is venturing into the all-in-one era with this new combination microphone and audio interface. The inclusion of a Combo XLR and ¼-inch input enables an instrument to be plugged in, sending two signal paths to a computer over the USB-C connection.

Shure provides their own (hefty) MOTIV app to manage recordings, although the app (both mobile and desktop) favours those with a simple set-up as the presence of other audio gear will soon get you into a tangle of cables and drivers. Nevertheless, this is a quality item, with sturdy all-metal construction and the undeniable support of decades of microphone expertise.

Shure MV7i, £359, Shure.com

Boox Note Air5 C

Boox continues its relentless assault on the e-ink market with yet another device. The new Note Air5 C brings colour ePaper to a 10.3-inch Android tablet, running version 15 of the OS in 6GB of RAM and with 64GB of storage. The optional keyboard cover (available as a bundle with the main tablet) transforms the slender tablet into a Chromebook with all the added benefits of the Google app eco-system.

Also new is an upgraded Pen3 stylus, which cleverly integrates storage of the consumable tips within the barrel and has a clip to keep it on hand. Pen3 further refines the handwriting experience, bringing e-ink and e-paper ever closer to the feel of writing on a traditional surface. It’s not there yet, but Boox’s big screen provides a fine place for scribbling, note-taking and reading.

Boox Note Air5 C, €529.99, Euroshop.Boox.com

Avolt Square 1 extension plug

Don’t neglect the wiring. While items like the Magnus Evo desk promise to contain the explosion of digital spaghetti, Murphy’s Law dictates there will always be a paucity of power sockets when you need to come to plug something in. Enter the Square 1 from Avolt.

An ultra-minimal extension socket, it packs three standard plug sockets and two USB-C sockets into a magnetised square cube. Available in a variety of colours, this is a simple solution to a perennial problem.

Square 1, £55, Avolt.com, @Avoltofficial

Cords power cables

The new Swedish design brand Cords wants to make technical accessories that are a cut above the usual disposable, cost-engineered rubbish. The company’s first collection, launched in November 2025, includes three power strips in five matching colours. Along with extension and USB cords and a cylindrical power bank.

The Circular C2, Cubical C1, and Squared S1 power strips all come with four sockets, as well as braided cables that can be adjusted in length. All use recycled plastic and the five core colours – Sand, Jet Black, Pale Pink, Electric Orange and Mist White – were inspired by Le Corbusier’s Architectural Polychromy, a palette of 63 unifying colours.

The power strips are joined by the E1 extension cord, the high-power capability of the A-1 USB-C power cable and the UX1, a cylindrical power bank that accommodates fast charging of 100W per port.

More information at Cords.com, @Cords

Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive

When you absolutely need to take your data with you and nothing else, you need a brand and a product you can trust. Enter Sandisk, which has been in the business of data storage for decades.

The new Extreme Fit USB-C flash drive is a marvel of miniaturisation, even to those jaded by the relentless compression of data capacity into smaller and smaller devices. A tiny flash drive designed to be left in a lap, the Extreme Fit combines ultra-fast transfer speeds with up to 1TB of storage.

Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C Flash Drive, from £12.99 for 64GB to £99.99 for 1TB, Shop.Sandisk.com and Amazon.co.uk

Diversions and distractions

InkPoster frame

We’re now digressing to explore diversions and distractions – call them inspiration if you like. InkPoster’s mission statement is to transform the delivery of artworks into your home, with a high-definition colour e-ink display screen that’ll shuffle your favourite artworks whilst acting like a standard picture frame. It’s taken years for the tech to mature to meet the company’s vision, and the low-power screen system will last for up to 12 months before it needs to be recharged.

While the company offers a curation service, you can also upload any image you like, sourcing collections from galleries, auction houses and image libraries would be half the fun. Available in three screen sizes – 13.3-inch, 28.5-inch and 31.5-inch – the InkPoster is controlled and updated via an app and can be hung either portrait or landscape.

InkPoster, from $499/£527, InkPoster.com, @InkPoster_official

POP Phone by Native Union

Colourful, curious and unashamedly old-fashioned, POP is Native Union’s playful attempt to bring back the old-fashioned art of talking to each other on the phone, rather than rely on voice messages or WhatsApp. The idea is simplicity itself – a traditional rotary phone handset that plugs into your mobile, laptop or tablet via USB-C and provides a high-quality microphone and speaker for a conventional call (or video call, if you must).

Live out your Mad Men/Dr Strangelove fantasies with the red unit, or choose from a kaleidoscope of candy colours.

POP Phone, £34.99, Native Union, NativeUnion.com, @NativeUnion