By admin 
Setting up a home office is something you want to ease into because if not, you could end up spending quite a bit on furniture and equipment that you may not necessarily need or even want.
Whether it is one of the best office chairs or one of the best standing desksit is wise to start small and then work your way up. For example, you can choose one of the best budget office chairs first before upgrading to a mid-range seat before finally getting a premium seat Steel cupboard or Herman Molenaar. This way you know exactly what you like, what works for your body and your workflow and whether or not a certain function is important or even worth spending extra on.
I have been working exclusively from home for the past six years and, like most people, I first furnished my home office with furniture from Ikea. My first desk in my new home office basically consisted of a drawer unit on one side, a pair of legs on the other side, and a cheap tabletop connecting the two. It wasn’t until I started reviewing standing desks a few years ago that I finally switched to using an inexpensive, DIY desk.
Even now when I select agencies for reviews, I usually opt for the cheapest desktop option. These usually consist of laminate desktops in black or white. The thing is, when designing a desk or standing desk, choosing a solid wood option can get expensive very quickly. And unlike any of the best phones or laptops, you really can’t go and see your new desktop in person to see what it’s like, let alone take it home to get an idea of how it will fit (or not) with the rest of your furnishing a home office.
Luckily, though, I’ve found a way to try before you buy, and even if you’re not happy with the end result, you still get a headphone stand out. If you’re considering upgrading to a premium desk from Uplift Desk, you might want to give it a shot before going all the way.
An easy way to try before you buy
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
When I got the Increase V2 Before joining Tom’s Guide, I strayed a bit from my typical black or white laminated desktop and opted for their whiteboard desktop. While it’s still laminate and only costs an extra $10, it was the first standing desk I found that allowed you to take notes directly on it.
One of my favorite things about the Uplift V2 is how customizable it is. For example, when configuring your desk, you can choose from 31 different desktop styles and materials. Uplift also sells desktop samples starting at $9, but for a little more you can end up with a unique headphone stand that’s long enough to hold two pairs of the headphones. best over-ear headphones or even two gaming headsets.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
I went down a bit of a rabbit hole earlier this year after experiencing the Turtle Beach Atlas Air gaming headset and decided that this one I wouldn’t hang it on a headphone hook on the side of my desk where it was easily accessible to my toddler. By the way, he loves headphones and has already managed to destroy a cheaper pair I had. Because of this, I’ve purchased a number of different headphone stands online, but after testing Uplift’s, I’d recommend this one over almost any other I’ve tried.
The Headphone stand up is a little more expensive as it starts at $45 and can go up to $52 depending on the type of wood you get. The stand itself is made of extruded aluminum and unlike the cheaper ones I’ve tried, it isn’t easily knocked over and won’t end up on your desk. Uplift sent me a few samples to try, but in the end I chose the pheasant wood live edge one.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
More and more standing desks are now equipped with a rounded edge like this one. The idea behind this is that instead of using a wrist rest, your desk has one built in. As you can see in the image above, this rounded or live edge gives the desktop a premium look. Likewise, the Uplift V2 with a pheasant wood desktop looks absolutely beautiful as you can see the grain of the wood and their darker color contrasts very well with the brown.
It’s worth noting that you don’t need this particular desk to use this desktop. For the most part, standing desk desktops are interchangeable – as long as you get the right dimensions – but you may need to drill a few holes to make it work with your desk frame. Likewise, you can always start with a cheaper laminate top and later upgrade to a more expensive all-wood top.
Don’t get me wrong, a desktop like this isn’t something you should purchase if you’re starting to work from home for the first time. Instead, think of it as an upgrade that can really tie the entire room together once you know you’re not going back to the office for good.
Sturdy yet simple
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Assembling the Uplift Headphone Stand was incredibly easy. The base has a piece of double-sided tape pre-applied to it and before you drop your solid wood block on top, all you have to do is peel off the one layer of plastic. Honestly, assembly takes less than five minutes, but you shouldn’t rush things if you want to make sure your log is perfectly aligned.
However, there is a bit of wiggle room here and I actually had it a bit off the first time. Since the wood wasn’t completely stuck to the double-sided tape, I was able to peel it off and start over, but for best results I’d say take your time and do it the right way from the start.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Once one end of the double-sided tape was off, all I had to do was line up the wood block and drop it in. I let it sit for a while before I started hanging headphones on it just to be sure. From there it was just a matter of adding it to my desk setup.
If you already have a standing desk with an all-wood top from Uplift, you can also retrofit one of the company’s headphone stands. I no longer have my Uplift V2 because I’m constantly switching desks for my reviews, but I think a matching headphone stand and desktop would look great together.
In addition to this Uplift headphone stand that I put together for these photos, I also have an all black one with a painted wood block. I am currently using it as part of the special gaming setup I built around the Secretlab Magnus Pro. It looks great there because I have a white gaming headset on it on the right side of my desk with the new white Xbox Series on the left.
A unique look with built-in storage space
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
Even if you don’t want to upgrade to an all-wood desk from Uplift, this is still one of the best headphone stands I’ve tried yet. Besides the fact that you can hang two large over-ear headphones on it, I really like the raised sides.
It can be tricky to find a spot for all your little home decor work, but the elevated nature of this headphone stand means you’ll have room for pens, USB sticks or other small items. You can also use it as a headphone/phone stand. Alternatively, if you are wearing your headphones, you can rotate them around and use them as a stand for one of the best tablets or even as a portable monitor.
If you’re looking for a unique gift for a family member or friend who has everything, this headphone stand might surprise them. If not, I still think this is the perfect way to actually get started with a much more expensive all-wood desktop before investing in one.