Cosy Bedroom Desk Setup with Plants in Canada

Name: Brenda To

Location: Vancouver, Canada

Occupation: Phlebotomist and Lab Technician transitioning into a career in UX/UI design and freelance photography

Room size: 11 m² (120 ft²)

Cost of setup: ~$7K (10K CAD)

Social media: Instagram

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I’m Brenda 💁🏻‍♀️

I’ve been working hard to pursue a career in UX/UI design.

I decided to switch fields after working in healthcare for the past five years.

Two to three years into my career, I felt like I was capable of doing something more and that this wasn’t the endgame for me.

I’ve been in and out of college/university for the same amount of time a doctor would’ve been in school — eight years!

During the time when I was focused on healthcare, I wanted to pursue one of four different fields.

I definitely wasted a lot of time and was indecisive.

I kept changing my mind.

When I finally decided on one programme, I stuck with it, graduated, worked for years, yet I was still unhappy.

Let’s just say that whatever I decided on wasn’t my decision — it was my parents’.

I definitely feel bad. I’m heading closer to 30 years old, and here I am changing my mind again.

But I know that this is for a better, happier future ✨

I keep reminding myself every day to stay optimistic.

It’s always been a saying that I’ve focused on since I was a kid and have written everywhere to make sure that I keep striving forward to achieve my goals.

I am now doing things that I want to be doing.

I learned UX/UI design in a non-traditional way — by studying and practicing online. I’ve been working on three different portfolios, doing lots of photography side gigs, collaborating with brands, and really focusing on my social media page that I started at the beginning of this year.

I didn’t expect people to enjoy my setup, photography, and lifestyle page. It started as a fun space where I could share my creativity.

I’m so glad that I am able to share my space and my creative thoughts with everyone!

Take us through your setup

My desk — a place of comfort, peace, and happiness — is my favourite area of my bedroom.

Yes, my desk is in my bedroom.

It’s definitely not ideal to have your work area in the same room as your sleeping space.

However, I set it up in a way where I’m able to separate the two spaces, even though they’re right next to each other.

By ‘separate,’ I mean that when I work, I’m not distracted by my bed, and when I sleep, I’m not distracted by my desk.

I noticed that when people combine their bedroom and workspace, they tend to put their desk directly next to their bed.

This makes it easier to get distracted by your bed, as it’s always in sight and within reach.

Being reminded that your bed is right next to you because you can see it causes you to lose focus and feel drowsy, which disrupts your workflow.

I prefer a clear separation of my bed from my desk space.

Whether that’s through the use of a physical divider (screen, curtain, dresser, shelf, etc.) or simply facing your back towards your sleeping space, separation helps.

Since my room is smaller, I don’t have space for a divider, so by facing my back towards the bed and strategically lining up furniture to create a walkway, I’ve created an invisible divider.

In feng shui, creating division between your sleeping and working areas helps you stay focused while working and improves sleep quality.

I also believe that the colour scheme and choice of decor in my two areas create an even stronger division of space.

For my sleeping area, I chose beige, white, and neutral soothing tones and decor.

Whereas in my workspace, there’s more greenery, life, and colour to indicate energy.

Despite these differences, my whole room still ties together.

When initially creating this space, I imagined how I wanted it to look, sketched out some designs, and executed them!

Believe it or not, I didn’t take inspiration from anywhere.

Everything I’ve designed, drawn, or created has always come straight from my own mind.

I like to be original with my work, the way I arrange things, and maintaining balance in my space.

Years later, I found out my type of interior design actually has a name I’d never heard of before — Japandi.

That’s when I started looking at pictures of the style and became even more obsessed with it.

I positioned my desk setup in front of my window because I love how open and freeing it feels.

It gives me a nice breath of fresh air when I crack the window open 24/7.

I have asthma, so it’s hard to breathe in a tight, restricted space.

Looking out into the open sky helps me focus, brainstorm, and have deep thoughts.

The live plants give me a sense of life. They energise me when I see them thriving all around me.

They don’t distract me, but they do make me feel happy when I glance at them.

I’m glad I replaced most of my fake plants with live ones — it does improve my mood.

Another thing I love about my setup is my ambient lighting.

When it gets gloomy or dark, I turn on all three of my lights to add a warm glow to my space.

It makes my setup feel even cosier with the warm lights all around me. I feel at peace.

The one thing I’d love to replace is the fake palm tree plant next to my desk.

I’d love to have a big, live money tree or even a smaller under-desk storage space.

I’m pretty much satisfied with the space but would still love to make small alterations, add little touches, and upgrade some of my current things.

Backstory of my room/setup

Someone asked me a couple of months back, “Wow, your room is so beautiful. Is the rest of your house the same way?”

I thought about it deeply, and no — the rest of the house isn’t the same.

My room is the only part of my parents’ house that looks this way.

Then I realised it’s because I’ve dealt with so much stress, verbal and mental abuse at work and at home, and taken on so many roles within the household.

I play the role of eldest daughter, sister, owner, worker, caretaker, etc.

I literally do everything.

Even with all these stresses and negative energy, I always try to put on a positive face.

A normal person might work, feel stressed, and then come home to relax and recharge.

I wish I had that luxury.

But instead of dwelling on the negative, I try to stay positive.

So, to answer the question, my room is peaceful, warm, and cosy because it’s the only place where I feel happy, calm, and unbothered.

I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not.

I can be myself here.

What’s your favourite item on your desk?

My favourite tech item on my desk is my 32″ Samsung M8 white monitor.

At first, it was hard to get used to the user experience because it’s a smart monitor.

However, over time, I’ve gotten used to its many features. What drew me to this purchase was the fact that:

• It’s white.
• It’s huge — big enough for my needs.
• It will act as a TV for my room one day if I decide to upgrade my monitor to something better.

I bought it online during Samsung’s sale and ended up paying $700 instead of $900 before taxes.

Prior to getting this monitor, I borrowed someone else’s small Dell monitor for about eight months.

I was actually in need of a bigger monitor because of the schoolwork and portfolio projects I was working on.