Budget Study Desk Setup in Manila, Philippines
Name: Aliza Ceralde
Location: Manila, Philippines
Occupation: Visual Communication Major (Student)
Room size: 10,9 m2 (117,8 ft2)
Cost of the setup: ₱61,138 ($1195)
Social media: Instagram
Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself
Hey there! I’m Ali! I’m a Fine Arts student majoring in Visual Communication at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Metro Manila, Philippines.
I do a lot of graphic-intensive work for uni. In my free time, I like to watch setup or organisation videos on YouTube and dabble a bit on playing life-sim games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons on my Nintendo Switch lite.
I also do film photography and write poetry from time to time. On creative block days (aka when you’re too uninspired as an artist), I try to learn other people’s talents and create passion projects.
I guess you could say that I collect hobbies like they’re infinity stones and I’m Thanos.
There’s just so much this life has to offer. I’d like to take it all in!
Take us through your setup
| Item | Model |
|---|---|
| Monitor | BEZEL 32” 144HZ 2K Gaming Monitor | Monitor mount | BigLion Aluminum Vesa Monitor Mount |
| Monitor light bar | Baseus i-wok Series Screen Light |
| Speakers | Bose Companion® 20 |
| Keyboard | AKKO MOD007 + Glorious Panda™ Mechanical Switches |
| Mouse | Apple Magic Mouse 2 |
| Chair | SIHOO M57 |
| Web camera | Elgato EpocCam app on an iPhone 12 Pro Max |
| Tablet | iPad Air 3 + Apple Pencil 1 |
| PC case | NZXT H510 Mid Tower |
| Keycaps | Honey Milk Keycaps in English |
| Desk mat | FIVERS Trading Two Tone Desk Mat |
| Desk | IKEA Lagkapten / Alex + Adils |
| Docking station | USB 3.0 Superspeed 4 Ports Hub |
| Audio interface | Behringer U-phoria UM2 |
| Wall clock | 3D Digital LED Wall Clock |
| Pegboard | IKEA Skadis |
| Figurine | Funko POP! Pusheen: Super Pusheeinicorn |
| Microphone | Razer Seiren Mini |
My setup took about four months to get right.
Since I’m a fine arts student, I’d like to think that I am detail-oriented. It took a lot of trial and error to figure things out, specifically my desk mat, PC case, and peripherals.
They were originally all black, but I realised that having a bright, clean workspace aids in boosting my productivity and motivation.
My setup, I would say, is simple and monochromatic.
It may seem like I stuck with white and silver as my central colour scheme since it was the most accessible, and overall it costs less to maintain. Yet, that’s not the case.
I actually chose those because I am a very indecisive person.
Picking actual colours is hard for me.
What if I wake up and my brain decides I’m tired of yellow and wanted red instead? An absolute nightmare.
Dividing such a small space was also a struggle. My bed is so close that it’s hard to focus and it’s always tempting to fall asleep.
To solve that, I positioned the table against the opposite wall so that I would be facing away.