What’s on your desk, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy?

1 month ago 11

A table with 2 monitors, 2 computers, a keyboard, and different items.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is The Verge’s astute location reviewer, and she’s mind-bogglingly awesome successful the fig of devices she covers. As she says, “On immoderate fixed day, I tin beryllium evaluating thing from robot vacuums, astute locks, and lights, to astute chickenhearted coops, astute ovens, and connected java makers.”

Jennifer has been a writer for her full career, “starting astatine The Daily Telegraph successful London, England, close retired of university.” She’s been astatine The Verge since 2021; earlier that, she was a freelance writer for publications including Dwell, Wirecutter, Wired, and US News.

Besides installing and investigating a changeless influx of astute tech, Jennifer lives with her husband, 2 children, a dog, 2 cats, a rabbit, and a backyard afloat of chickens. We checked retired her bureau setup and asked her however she keeps way of it all. Here’s what she told us.

That looks similar a comfortable, if somewhat crowded, space. Where successful your location is it?

My bureau is upstairs successful our two-story location successful Charleston, South Carolina, successful what utilized to beryllium a impermanent room. For a while, I had my table successful our bedroom, which was not great, arsenic my hubby worked 24-hour shifts and sometimes liked to slumber during the day. So, we decided to person this to my bureau / impermanent country (the sofa is simply a sleeper sofa).

At the time, I offered my 2 children the enactment to person this arsenic their room, and I would instrumentality implicit 1 of theirs — some of their rooms person overmuch bigger windows, which I coveted. But this is simply a bigger country with a bathroom! Surprisingly, they some declined, truthful I got each the abstraction to myself.

And I truly request it — I americium connected a first-name ground with my UPS, FedEx, and DHL transportation drivers, who are astatine my location aggregate times a week delivering oregon retrieving packages. I trial a lot of gear.

Could you archer america a spot astir your L-shaped desk?

The table was custom-built by my precise useful hubby from upcycled scraps of African purpleheart and Brazilian bubinga wood helium bought from a woodworker connected Facebook Marketplace. It was primitively designed to acceptable perfectly successful the country of our bedroom, but luckily, it besides works truly good successful its caller home.

While I knew that having a large table would pull much clutter, I person to look the information that I’m a clutter lover. Also, I chiefly usage the agelong portion of the L-shape for photographing, tinkering, and mounting up a batch of the devices I test. It’s similar my workbench. The drawers beneath it are afloat of amazingly organized small trays with a assortment of batteries, screws, screwdrivers, double-sided tape, SIM tools, and different hardware I request portion investigating gadgets.

My hubby besides built a precise utile “tech hub” into the desk: shelving nether the table connected the close wherever I tin tuck distant things similar my router (currently an Eero Pro 7) and the galore astute location hubs, bridges, etc. I’m running. The wires each provender done strategically placed holes that funnel to a somewhat managed cablegram strategy nether the table — basically, a integrative crate that holds each my powerfulness strips.

And your chair?

It’s a leather La-Z-Boy. I picked it up astatine Staples portion back-to-school buying a mates of years ago. I utilized to person a precise hard agleam reddish bureau chair, which looked ace chill but was not comfortable. This 1 is comfortable, if not peculiarly supportive; it’s precise ample and ace plush — leaning backmost successful it makes maine consciousness similar an enforcement oregon a supervillain.

Tell america astir the assorted tech devices you’re using.

There’s a lot! My main machine is my work-issued MacBook Air with M1, connected to a Dell 4K show via a truly atrocious Anker USB-C hub, which I request to replace. The show is mounted connected an Amazon Basics adjustable show mount.

That’s an Insta360 Link PTZ 4K webcam up top, which is large if a small frustrating, arsenic its tracking diagnostic tin beryllium precise aggressive.

Then I person my idiosyncratic computer, an past (2016) MacBook Pro connected a Rain Design iLevel laptop stand, which is adjustable and ace useful for moving astir the location erstwhile I privation a alteration of scenery. It’s connected to a 32-inch Samsung M80C Smart Monitor with a Magic Trackpad and a Seagate outer hard drive.

I request 2 screens, and my Air tin lone grip one. It is annoying swapping betwixt 2 computers, though, truthful generally, I lone usage the M80 erstwhile I request to support an oculus connected aggregate things astatine once, similar during a large event. The show has streaming built successful and is simply a astute location hub for Samsung SmartThings, truthful I besides usage it arsenic a TV — it’s casual to spot from the couch, and I’ll sometimes person tennis connected successful the inheritance connected mute portion I’m working. I can’t perceive to euphony portion I write; it’s excessively distracting, but the tennis is soothing.

All the small screens you spot are astute displays. There’s the Echo Hub, which gives maine casual entree to power connected devices successful my office, specified arsenic lights, fans, and shades. Then an Echo Show 8, a Pixel Tablet, and a Google Nest Hub. They’re chiefly for investigating purposes, but they besides marque bully photograph frames.

The keyboard is thing I’m testing. I usually person a immense Logitech Ergo K860 keyboard, arsenic I person had immoderate wrist issues. This is my archetypal clip utilizing a mechanical keyboard. It’s a Matter-enabled 1 by Third Reality, the Smart Mechanical Keyboard MK1. I tin acceptable the relation keys to power my astute home; they enactment arsenic idiosyncratic buttons successful Matter-supported ecosystems similar Apple Home, truthful I tin crook disconnected each my lights with the changeable of a key.

The pinkish Logitech Lift rodent is my favourite rodent ever. I’ve spent a agelong clip looking for a comfy rodent that doesn’t aggravate my wrist, and it does the job. I emotion its scroll wheel, but I acceptable up its buttons to bash thing utile erstwhile I archetypal got it and person ne'er utilized them since.

Then there’s the Belkin DockKit basal (more connected that successful a bit) and my Ember Mug — which is 4 years aged and connected its past legs; I truly request to get a caller one. But I emotion it. There’s besides an Apple HomePod connected the bookshelf adjacent to the desk; I usage it arsenic a talker for the Apple TV, which is hooked up to the astute monitor, and it’s besides chiefly for investigating astute location gear.

You person a batch of tech that you’ve reviewed oregon are successful the process of reviewing. How bash you support way of it all?

I person a system; it’s not perfect, but it mostly works. I participate everything into a Notion spreadsheet erstwhile it arrives, past store it successful assorted staging areas until I’m acceptable to test. A batch of this worldly has to beryllium physically installed successful my house, truthful it seldom gets acceptable up the time it arrives.

On my workbench, I person the products I’m astir to commencement testing. Currently, determination are a mates of astute locks and a fewer doorbells that volition beryllium going successful during my adjacent instal day. The dollhouse is my daughter’s and was built by my husband, but she doesn’t person country for it anymore. So, I’ve adopted it arsenic a thematic staging country for tech that’s adjacent successful enactment for installation / reviewing. I’m astir to commencement investigating immoderate caller thermostats, truthful you tin spot a fewer successful there. It besides houses devices I mightiness request to trial with a caller gadget oregon comparison them to; that’s wherefore the astute displays and astute speakers are there.

Then there’s a closet successful the country (behind a curtain) wherever I store things that either request to beryllium sent backmost oregon are further down the enactment successful presumption of testing, on with a clump of older gear. I’m not bully astatine getting escaped of worldly — each clip I do, I ever extremity up successful a concern wherever I’m like, “Oh no, I needed that Fibaro Z-Wave sensor to trial with this caller hub.” So, I conscionable store tons of things successful tons of boxes to debar that eventuality. I truly request to bash a large clear-out of that closet, but I didn’t person clip this week.

Of course, galore things I’m presently investigating are already installed successful the location — which is besides technically my office! I person 3 exterior doors, truthful I trial aggregate locks, video doorbells, and sensors connected those, arsenic good arsenic astute lights, thermostats, room gadgets, information cameras, astute displays, astute speakers, and tons and tons of robot vacuums everyplace other successful the house. I person a twelve robot vacs downstairs close now, arsenic good arsenic the 3 presently successful the office. When the robot gyration happens, I volition beryllium the archetypal to go.

Is determination a communicative down that coating of the castle connected the seashore?

Yes! A large story. It’s besides not a painting; it’s a integer collage of hundreds of photos of my close-knit radical of girlfriends from precocious schoolhouse (from a institution called MosaPics). They marque up the main photo, which is of a tin excavation successful a tiny municipality called Rinsey successful Cornwall, England. We’ve been going connected vacation determination arsenic a radical since we were 15. If those past walls could talk…

I spot you usage an mean insubstantial notebook arsenic good arsenic your tech.

I’ve ever been a large stationery fan; I utilized to bent retired successful Smythson and Paperchases arsenic a teen (my chaotic years). I went done a slug diary signifier for a fewer years, but it was hard to support it up with this job.

Now, I person a bully Leuchtturm notebook for note-taking during meetings and interviews, and I usage tear-off Ramona & Ruth monthly and play table planners to support way of what I should beryllium doing each time and successful the future. Physically penning worldly down helps maine clasp accusation overmuch amended than typing.

I had to announcement the typewriter and that dial phone!

I am… not a minimalist! It’s a bully happening I moved to the US successful my mid-20s, which forced maine to get escaped of a batch of my belongings, oregon I would astir apt person each my puerility stuffies connected that sofa.

The typewriter is an antique portable Royal Deluxe I picked up astatine a gait merchantability successful Idaho years ago. It has a carrying lawsuit and is truthful cool. It was going to beryllium the commencement of my typewriter collection. However, my hubby (who is a minimalist) was not keen connected that thought and has been trying to get maine to get escaped of it for a while, arsenic we could ne'er find a bully spot for it. In the end, helium conscionable built maine a support to enactment it on.

The telephone is deceptive; it’s really comparatively modern, the buttons are propulsion buttons, and it’s from Pottery Barn. It was a wedding gift. It was functional for a agelong time, but I nary longer person a landline.

That’s a fascinating small timepiece / calendar.

It’s an iPhone successful StandBy mode connected Belkin’s Auto-Tracking Stand Pro with DockKit. It’s a ace useful gadget. I support it plugged successful astatine my table truthful my telephone is charging and casual to see, but it besides runs connected a built-in battery, truthful I tin instrumentality it downstairs if I’m signaling a societal video oregon connected a FaceTime call. The DockKit relation lets it travel maine astir by tracking my look and assemblage movement.

You’ve got a nice, comfortable-looking couch. And a great-looking lighting statement supra it.

Thank you! The sofa is simply a sleeper sofa. It was intended to marque this treble arsenic a impermanent room, but the archetypal idiosyncratic who slept connected it said it was the astir uncomfortable furniture they’d ever slept in, truthful we present person alternate arrangements for guests until we tin get a amended one.

But it’s large arsenic a sofa — handy for my household to beryllium connected erstwhile they privation to travel successful and fuss maine oregon occasionally for relaxing during immoderate heavy work. The kitten particularly loves it.

The lighting setup is from Nanoleaf; it’s the new modular Blocks LED lights that I’m testing. When I’m done with them, I privation to framework the Audubon prints that are sitting connected my support adjacent to the pinkish flamingo and the metallic duck and bent those there. I’m a large vertebrate fan.

There’s a chickenhearted calendar!

Of people determination is! That was a acquisition from my hubby this Christmas; I don’t truly usage analog partition calendars (I conscionable flipped it to March from January to instrumentality this picture), but I emotion to person a beauteous representation of a beauteous vertebrate astatine my desk.

I person backyard chickens — a flock of beauteous ladies, including Barred Rocks, Black Copper Marans, and Starlight Green Eggers. They’re my “touch grass” clip each day. I instrumentality a interruption and spell retired to provender them oregon cod their eggs.

There’s truthful overmuch other that looks interesting. Is determination thing we didn’t screen that you’d similar to add?

The brackish lamp connected the cute aerial purifier array (it’s from SwitchBot and doubles arsenic a wireless charger) was a wedding contiguous from my aunt earlier brackish lamps became a happening you could bargain astatine Target. It was handmade by my uncle and is simply a legit archetypal Himalayan brackish lamp, not a knockoff; it weighs a ton and creates bully vibes successful my office!

Before we end, you indispensable present america to your pets.

The lazy lad determination is Gus, a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. The achromatic and achromatic kitten is our newest summation and bundle of energy, Boone. Not pictured but who occupies the apical spot successful the trio of beds successful beforehand of the closet is my cat, Smokey, who has already done his fair stock of modeling for The Verge, so helium declined this opportunity.