Working from home, or at least hybrid working, is well and truly here to stay.

That means by now you should be way past making do with a laptop perched on the kitchen counter. There's no point trying to improve your productivity by staying home if your work environment is less comfortable and no more user-friendly than the resources you have available back at the office.

A small investment in the right accessories can make all the difference.

As usual, Twelve South and Satechi are here to help.

The first step most of us will take when setting up our home office is adding an external monitor - probably a mouse and keyboard too. This is especially helpful for hybrid workers who want to keep using the same laptop wherever they go, yet prefer a larger display and the more ergonomic control offered by a separate keyboard and mouse.

Adding those peripherals is easy - however, to truly simulate a desktop experience, you'll want to tuck your laptop out of the way. That's where the BookArc Flex from Twelve South comes in.

How often have I said, the key to great design is simplicity? The BookArc Flex encapsulates this philosophy perfectly.

Available in black, white or chrome, this is a modern-looking stand with which to store your laptop vertically, so you can tuck it tidily out of the way - even behind your monitor if you wish.

The true genius of the BookArc Flex is the way it "flexes" to fit snugly against your laptop, holding it securely in place, regardless of its size. Twelve South claims it can accommodate any laptop -from those with a 16-inch screen right down to the very slimmest. Even laptops less than an inch thick will happily sit in place, held in position by rubberised pads on each side that won't damage the surface of your device in any way.

Then, when it's time to head back to the office, you can just lift your laptop out - no knobs, screws, clamps or straps required. Elegant. Simple. Brilliant.

So now you've created all this extra space by stashing your laptop away on its side, let's make your tabletop look more like a desktop, with the Twelve South DeskPad.

This is a vegan leather mat specifically sized to be wide enough to accommodate an extended keyboard with touchpad or mouse, yet shallow enough to fit in front of your monitor. This is important because the DeskPad has a soft, padded backing which makes it very comfortable to use, but potentially not so stable for standing a heavy screen on.

The leather-like material really does feel quite luxurious and it has a practical aspect too - it's a far more responsive surface to operate a mouse on than say, a glass-topped desk or a polished stone benchtop.

What's more, DeskPad comes in both black and dove grey, so there should be an option to either blend in or contrast with your existing colour scheme.

However, this newly spruced-up workspace isn't much use unless you can make the most of the latest technology when it comes time to add storage, transfer files and connect other accessories. Enter the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro.

I don't know about you but I find I never seem to have enough USB ports - especially if I'm trying to use my laptop as a WFH workstation.

By connecting the Slim Hub Pro via a single cable, not only will you keep your laptop fully charged, you'll also have instant access to a full-sized USB 3.2 Gen 2 data port - capable of transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps - and three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports which can run at a sizzling 40Gbps.

This is all wrapped up in a very stylish - and compact - little box, with friendly-looking chamfered edges.

Because the Slim Hub Pro is so small, it's a great option to carry around with your laptop - although it does come with a separate, external 21W mains power supply, which bulks things up a little.

The advantage to that is not only will you get up to 96W of Power Delivery to your host device, but this doubles as a 150WGaN charger - with each of the three Thunderbolt 4 ports capable of a 15W charge.

The latest Thunderbolt protocol means incredibly fast data transfer - ideal for backing up to external storage or importing large files from devices like phones, card readers and cameras. Importantly, it also means high-definition video output. The Slim Pro Hub will support two 4K displays or one 8K monitor - so although there's no HDMI port, you'll still be able connect a nice, big screen, no problem.

There's also a 28-inch Thunderbolt 4 cable included in the box, which should be plenty long enough to reach from wherever you've stashed your laptop.

Altogether, these three accessories are a great way to instantly make your WFH space feel more professional. The DeskPad provides a more comfortable and responsive surface. The Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro brings a host of ultra-fast ports and charging options into the frame while the BookArc Flex keeps your laptop out of the way.

At this rate, you may never go back to the office.

 

 

    

Click here for more information on the Twelve South BookArc Flex.

 

Click here for more information on the Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Slim Hub Pro.

 

Click here for more information on the Twelve South DeskPad.