THE DESK SETUP GUIDE
You're not alone. Most people buy a monitor, a chair, a desk — and end up with a space that's expensive but soulless. This is everything I've learned in six years of building setups for over half a million people, distilled into one guide. Read it once, and you'll have the knowledge and the tools to build the setup of your dreams — without wasting money getting there.
00 — The problem
Why most desk setups fail
Most people build their setup backwards. They start with a product — a monitor they saw on YouTube, a chair a friend recommended — and work from there. They end up with a pile of things that don't speak to each other, and a space that's expensive but not intentional.
It's not a budget problem. It's a problem of having no plan, no vision, and no understanding of how everything fits together. The right approach starts with a vision, works through the space, and arrives at products last.
That's the exact method behind every setup I've built and photographed for an audience of over half a million people. This guide is that method — written down, in order, with nothing left out.
"You don't build the setup of your dreams in one purchase. You build it brick by brick — the first desk, then the monitor, then the lighting. Each decision made with intention gets you closer to the space you've been imagining."
— Mattia Di Lisio · matdilisio.com
01 — The outcome
No more guessing, no more endless browsing, no more buying things you'll replace in three months. You'll walk away with a plan and the tools to execute it.
Mood, theme, palette, and a redesign of your real room — defined before you buy anything.
How to research, compare, and choose well — plus every product I personally recommend, linked.
Money saved on regrets
The mistakes I made so you don't have to. Where to spend, where to skip, and what's an upsell.
A plan for your exact space
Dimensions, lighting, and 3D planning so what you imagine actually fits the room you have.
02 — The guide
From a blank room to a setup you're proud of — the exact process I use for every build, in order.
01 — Why most desk setups fail
From a sticky pine table to the setup of my dreams.
02 — Build your vision
Mood boards, themes, and AI-powered redesigns of your real room.
03 — Know your space
Dimensions, lighting, and 3D planning — the step that saves you the most money.
04 — The desk
Your anchor piece — get this right and everything has a foundation.
05 — The chair
The one element in the entire setup that touches your body for eight hours a day.
06 — The monitor
The object you stare at for eight or more hours a day — the shape of the screen shapes the work.
07 — Desk essentials
The accessories I can't work without — and what each one is actually for.
08 — Light, walls, and the room
The thinking that turns a collection of products into a designed space.
09 — Build your product list
How to research, compare, and choose well.
10 — Budget builds
Three complete builds at €500, €1,500, and €3,000+
11 — Your setup, your identity
A setup is never truly finished. It evolves with you.
+ Resources
Every template, file, and free guide referenced across The Desk Setup Guide — in one place.
03 — What's included
It's not just words to read. It's the actual tools, templates and frameworks I use — so you can start the moment you finish reading.
11 chapters, 53 min 50 sec of reading. A beautiful, interactive web format — not a PDF.
Describe your real room and the skill writes a detailed, ready-to-use prompt for redesigning it — built on the exact method in the guide. Paste it into your AI image tool of choice to visualise the result.
Notion template
A moodboard to define your vision, plus the tracker I use to plan, score, and budget every purchase in one place — duplicate it and start immediately.
Lifetime updates
New chapters and updated recommendations arrive free. Buy once, keep forever.
04 — The smart-money part
This isn't only about making your desk look good. A handful of the tips inside will save you far more than €29 — by stopping you from buying the wrong desk, the over-priced monitor arm, the chair that wrecks your back in a month.
You'll learn how to spend money wisely, where it actually matters, and where you're quietly being upsold. Most readers save the price of the guide several times over on their first purchase decision.
TYPICAL FIRST-BUILD SAVINGS
Skipping one wrong desk
€150+
The right monitor, first time
€100+
No over-priced accessories
€80+
Guide cost
– €29
05 — Who is this for
Anyone who works from a desk and wants to love the space they do it in.
Remote workers
Spending 8 hours a day somewhere uninspiring and ready to change that.
Students
Making the study space they actually want to sit at — without overspending.
Content creators
Building their first real setup, or levelling up what they already have.
Enthusiasts
Already have a setup but know it could be better — and want to know why.
06 — One price
No subscription, no tiers, no upsells. Pay once and access everything — including all future updates.
one-time
Less than a single accessory you'd have bought wrong
11 chapters — from vision to complete build
3 complete budget builds with all products linked
Notion template — moodboard + product & budget tracker
Claude skill — generates a redesign prompt for your room
Lifetime access + all future chapter updates
Get instant access — €29,99
Instant digital access · Secure checkout
07 — Questions
Who is this guide for?
I don't have much to spend. Is this still for me?
How does it actually save me money?
What's the Claude skill and Notion template?
How is the guide structured?
Is it a one-time payment?
Mattia Di Lisio
@matdilisio · Tenerife, Spain
I started this with a waiter's salary and a borrowed €3,000 camera. Six years later, I create desk setup content full-time for an audience of over half a million people across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
This guide is everything I've learned — compressed into a methodology anyone can follow. It's not a list of products. It's a way of thinking about space — how to make decisions you won't regret, build a setup that looks like you, and spend your money where it actually matters.
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Everything I know about beautiful, intentional desk setups — and how to build one without wasting money — in one guide.
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