What are the best desk setup ideas for automotive fans?

Whether or not a person is a ‘car nut’ there are many Americans who enjoy and appreciate automobiles. Approximately 43% of American adults are considered to be car enthusiasts and would most likely put their car enthusiasm on hold during the 8 plus hours that they are at their desk at the office each day. Even a virtual representations of your favorite cars or information about your cars would not receive much admiration from others at the workplace. However having a version of your favorite car in miniaturized form as models of cars sitting on your desk in front of you or on a shelf behind you at your office could help to ‘liven up’ your very mundane days at the office.

Strategic model car placement drives visual hierarchy

When displaying a large collection of model cars it is best to add depth to the room and display the models in ways that draw the eye to each individual model. Rather than displaying a large number of models in a pyramid on a shelf it is best to choose your favorites to display. For me the most interesting models are my most detailed models and those that hold the best memories for me. I prefer to display my model cars at eye level on a floating shelf or on a monitor riser. For example, my favorite model car is my 1:18 scale Ford GT40. This model car is a lot more attention grabbing than a display of six die cast cars of different cars.

How do you intend to light your models? Be aware that overhead lighting is generally poor for showcasing detailed miniatures, as it tends to flatten out and obscure fine details. Instead, utilize a desk lamp positioned to the side of your miniature, casting light up from the work surface. This will highlight all of the minute details on the model including fine panel lines and surface textures. Chrome or metallic parts will also get a good amount of shine from side lighting.

Rotation keeps the display fresh.

Racing posters require purposeful positioning

This artwork would look best behind your monitor, as this is one of the better uses for wall space for automotive themed artwork. Instead of the usual sports poster, consider a vintage racing poster from Le Mans, Monaco or classic American circuits. These would give a more sophisticated look to a room. A single large poster would work better than multiple smaller prints, and mounting and matting the prints professionally, even if they are reproductions, will help to give them a more polished look.

A single very large poster will always be more impressive than a set of small prints, provided they have been mounted and matted professionally to fit behind your monitor. If you have chosen vintage racing posters for your walls then the chances are that they will not be as brightly or highly colored as many modern artworks, and will be easily combined with modern office furniture and equipment of a contrasting high contrast to provide a very sophisticated looking room.

Surprisingly, one piece of artwork can make a huge impact on your space. Large vintage-style racing posters from places like Le Mans, Monaco and classic American racing circuits are perfect for the wall space behind your monitor. This type of art immediately conveys the feeling of high-performance automotive passion. One large poster typically trumps a collection of smaller posters because it creates a singular focal point as opposed to breaking up the visual into smaller pieces.

Keyboard customization reflects automotive aesthetics

Another item to look at is to use your work to create a connection to cars. For instance, using a mechanical keyboard for your typing needs. There are automotive themed keycap sets available for many different keyboards, and they can be a great way to add some personal touches to your workspace. Even more so if you have chosen a particular set of high quality keycaps and a well engineered ergonomic keyboard and workplace.

Cables are probably the most obvious thing to buy in racing livery and in truth they are best used in a reined in fashion. A bank of long colored cables of differing sizes all strewn higgledy piggledy about the place is a child’s play thing and not suitable for the office. A simple pair of coiled cables, possibly in the livery of a particular racing team, coiled neatly on the floor or on a shelf is the best way to go with these items.

Function follows form here. The primary use of a keyboard is for typing and if you are going to be using it lots for work, you will want to look for a very comfortable model. Even the most beautifully designed and finished keyboard with all with automotive themed keys and switches could be cast aside in favor of comfort after just a few hours of use if it feels uncomfortable to type on.

Surface selection anchors the entire aesthetic

To really make your desktop theme pop, it’s a good idea to anchor it all to your desk surface. By using a high quality vehicle themed desk mat, you can really tie all of the different elements of your desktop together, and create a really unified look and feel. Items to consider for your themed desk mat would be large format printed circuit maps, copies of automotive technical drawings, vintage automotive advertising posters, and so on.

While there are so many work surfaces to choose from these days, the surface of your work space is nothing more than the backdrop to the ‘items of interest’ that you will place upon it. As such, there are some incredibly cool work spaces that you can create with laptop stands that are of the space age design that will absolutely draw your eye, however if your mouse does not track properly on it, then that simply defeats the purpose. I’ve had the chance to review a lot of different desk mats in high end fabric in the last year or so, and I can tell you that these types of mats simply always look the best – and in many cases they will even look better with time, much like that expensive leather auto trim.

Similarly the size of your work surface should be comparable to the size of your desk mat. If your desk mat covers the whole of your work surface then the overall effect of the mat will be one of unity and visual interest.

Lighting design amplifies automotive elements

If you are model maker, then an adjustable color temperature LED light strip could be just what you need. Such a flexible tool will allow you to work in the best possible conditions on your models throughout the day and night, for example, work on your model in the morning and afternoon with a light that brings out the metal parts to their best and then switch to a warm colored light in the evening for relaxing and reading a book.

By positioning the background lighting under your work surface any shadows that fall on your work will be minimized whilst creating a great looking background for you to work against. By placing an accent light so that it draws attention is drawn to the desired feature of your automotive model the models details are really highlighted and it gives the model a lot of character.

Integration strategies for professional environments

Needless to say, an enthousiast is also going to work, and in the corporate world there are often limits to the amount of passion one is allowed to show. Therefore, in such an environment, one has to come up with more subtle ways of expressing one’s passion for cars. In my experience, high quality leather trim or metal crafted pen holders and other similar desk gadgets already are enough to make your working space special. Adding one color accent (e.g. red) to other design elements already is enough to clearly bring in the theme of Formula 1 or touring cars. Such design elements clearly make your working space special and clearly show the viewer your personality, without being too lovable for the.

When working in an office that you will be sharing with other people then a modular work surface is your best bet. This style of workspace can be easily set up to be working space as required and then just as easily torn down to transform the area to more of a traditional setting should a formal presentation or meeting with a client become necessary. A pen holder, for example, could be a beautifully machined, single piece of aluminum which looks fantastic in your work space showing your passion for cars but can be easily removed to transform the look of your workspace. Your workspace is part of your work place and you must make sure that you treat the area with the same respect as you would for your workplace and work.