Tiny Home Office in New Hampshire, US
Name: Peter Beardsley
Location: Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
Occupation: eCommerce Technical Architect
Room size: 3 m² (35 ft²)
Cost of setup: ~$1,5K
Social media: mastodon
Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself
I currently work as a technical architect at a web agency specialising in eCommerce site development.
I work with clients to determine their needs, document the solution, and assist devs working on the project.
I attended college in the early-to-mid nineties, just as the web was taking off. It was a fantastic time to be a student, as everything was moving so fast.
My school’s curriculum was still mostly focused on C++/Java development, but I was lucky enough to have a professor who recognised the web’s potential and allowed us to work on web-based personal projects for class credit.
At the time, email was exploding in popularity, and not many students had dial-up internet access.
You’d often need to put your name on a waiting list to use one of the school’s terminals.
The computer science department had a lab for CS students to work on assignments, but non-CS students were coming into the lab to check their email, making CS students wait for an open spot.
I implemented a sign-in app that would display a map of the lab showing who was assigned to which workstation, helping us to better manage the lab usage and reserve the workstations for the CS students who needed them.
After that, I was hooked, and have continued working on the web throughout my career (with a few detours here and there).
I did general web development throughout the aughts, working with the typical CMSes of the time (Drupal, WordPress), but the company I was working for pivoted into eCommerce.
I enjoy working in eCom because the stakes are higher when you need to take payments and do fulfilment.
It’s also rewarding to see how our work helps our clients grow their businesses.
Take us through your setup
| Item | Model |
|---|---|
| Monitor | LG 27UN880-B |
| Laptop | MacBook Pro M1 |
| Speakers | Sanyun S208 Powered Bookshelf Speakers |
| Headphones | Grado SR80 |
| Keyboard | CIY TESTER 84 |
| Mouse | Logitech Pebble |
| Desk mat | Felt desk mat from Etsy |
| Chair | Herman Miller Celle |
| Laptop stand | osseph |
| Web camera | Logitech 1080p |
| Desk lamp | AmazLit LED Desk Lamp |
| Table top | Butcher block countertop |
| Organiser | IKEA SKÅDIS pegboard |
| Standing desk legs | Monoprice |
The main feature of my workspace is that it’s fairly small, essentially a closet with a window.
I like it, because it forces me to be choosy about the stuff I keep in here.
Basically, just the stuff I need to do my job, some music to listen to, and a selection of books that have resonated with me over the years and I’ve wanted to hold onto.