This slightly less-expensive desk comes from our list of the top-reviewed home-office desks on Amazon, where buyers raved about its minimalist look, simple set-up, and surface area. One happy shopper praised its height in particular, noting that their “desk-chair arms fit underneath without getting stuck, so I can roll around freely.”

If you’ll be using your home workspace to do more than fire off an email or two, our sources say you might also want a proper desk chair. When a reader wrote in to us about finding the best home-office chair, we spoke to a professional about it (Marc Schwartzberg, a three-decade veteran of the office-furniture industry and the owner of Office Furniture Heaven), who told us that you should think of your office chair like you would your mattress. Specifically, it needs to be comfortable, as chances are you’re going to spend around eight hours in it every day.

This reasonably priced chair comes from our list of the best-reviewed office chairs on Amazon, with commenters praising it for its soft cushion and arch support. According to one reviewer who “wanted something that looked good and functioned well, not a cheap piece of junk,” the chair achieves the magic trifecta or being “functional, aesthetically pleasing and a great price.”

If your home is going to be your primary office for years to come, you might consider investing in a chair that not only looks nice, but has been designed with long-term desk working in mind. The Herman Miller Aeron Chair is the “the Ferrari of desk chairs,” according to Chris Black, and versions of it (if not the original) can be found in a wide range of offices. It’s also the chair that Boyd Steemson, the work-from-home CEO of TotalRock radio, has sat on five days a week for years. “This assemblage of poly-carbon, leather and chrome is perfectly contrived to keep its occupant poised and powerful,” says Steemson, adding that the chair feels like “a hammock you can sit in, ping forward, rock backward, and scoot effortlessly over the carpet on. It’s a triumph.”

If you’re interested in purchasing a pre-owned version of the Ferrari of desk chairs, Black pointed us to this slightly less expensive “renewed” version of the chair when a reader asked him to help find a new desk chair. According to Amazon, renewed products look like new and come with a 90-day guarantee if they do not work or arrive as expected.

Maybe you already have an office chair like those above, but would like to make it a bit more comfortable. For that, contributor Maureen O’Connor says this $15 arch support is a great way to upgrade the one you own. She explained that the attachable support borrows its design from the Aeron chair and told us that “before Easy Posture, at the end of the day, I felt as though I was two inches shorter than when I started. But like a classic before-and-after, now I’m standing taller and feeling great.”

If you don’t have the space (or the need) to invest in an entirely new office chair, but would like to make any chair that you already own a bit more comfortable, consider this seat cushion that Strategist newsletter editor Mia Leimkuhler uses when she works from her Philadelphia home instead of our New York City HQ (which she has done several days a week for the last three years). Leimkuhler wrote that the cushion is work-from-home insider secret that makes it pleasant to sit “for eight hours in a chair that is not designed to be sat in for eight hours.”

Another architect-recommended desk lamp, this is the one that New York City–based Scott Oliver told us he’s used while working at home since the days he was in grad school. “I bought a version of this halogen model 30-plus years ago,” he says, “and lo and behold, it is still around.” While it’s a bit more expensive, based on Oliver’s experience, it could very well last until you retire.

Because free office coffee isn’t a luxury work-from-homers can take advantage of, many of our sources say having an at home coffee maker is essential to jolt themselves awake in the morning and throughout the day. Arsenault told us she uses a fancy Le Creuset French press to start her morning, calling it her “go-to French press for everyday use,” but if you’re just looking for something that gets the job done, this less expensive option (that’s still fun to look at) comes from our list of the best French press coffee makers (for all budgets).

When it comes to brewing coffee at home, Jamie McCormick, the co-owner of East Village coffee shop Abraço, let us in on a little secret: You really don’t need more than a simple Mr. Coffee drip machine. “People make a big ‘to do’ over a lot of nothing” when it comes to brewing equipment, McCormick told us when we asked him and other baristas about the best coffee machines to use at home, adding that the Mr. Coffee is a great choice for any “amateur coffee roaster who wants to flatter their grounds.”

There are, of course, fancier options. Film and television producer Steve Abbott (Monty Python, A Fish Called Wanda) — who has worked from a home office for the last three years — likes a top of the line De’Longhi bean-to-cup machine, which he reports does “everything from grind your beans to foam your cappucino and steam your milk,” and says it hasn’t broken down in the more than seven years he’s owned it. Arsenault also has a fancier at-home coffee maker she uses when she doesn’t want to futz with her French press, and while hers is not bean-to-cup one like Abbott’s, it is a De’Longhi (for Nespresso) and just as convenient, she says. “I know these aren’t particularly environmentally sound,” she admits of her pod-based Inissia, “but I can’t function without coffee and this is so easy and efficient to use. It lives on my counter all year round.”

“It’s important to me to have a cool, classy mug that I can fill to the brim,” Arsenault adds. Her go-to cool mug is one of these from Matte Mavis, which come in a set of four — and having extras can come in handy, Arsenault notes, should any impromptu (or scheduled) visitors show up. “I love having a set if someone comes by for a coffee, and I also feel calmer when surrounded by things I find aesthetically pleasing.” For more design-y mugs (recommended by creative directors) head here.

If your home is on a busy street — or filled with busy roommates — you’ll likely be after some headphones soon enough, say many of our people who work from home. For a relatively affordable (if not fully noise-cancelling) corded option, Arsenault recommended these basic in-ear headphones from Master & Dynamic, a brand we’ve written about before (Chris Black, Michael Strahan, and hotelier Marie Louise Scio are also fans.) “My boyfriend and I both work from home,” Arsenault told us, “in a one-bedroom flat (yes, I am convinced that is the very definition of true love). If I need to watch something or if I am transcribing an interview, then I just pop in these headphones.”

For a truly noise-canceling pair of headphones, two of our panelists — fashion photographer Jacqueline Harriet, who conducts her entire business from home, and Blackburn — recommend Apple’s AirPods Pro. Strategist writer Sarah Wexler also praised these larger AirPods, which she says stay in place better than any wireless headphones she’s used before. And, according to Harriet, their Bluetooth connectivity gives them an added benefit while working from home: “I like them because you can dance and do your chores while making conference calls with clients.”

For an over-ear option, these noise-cancelling Sony headphones have established themselves as the cans to beat, at least according to former tech columnist and Strategist contributor David Pogue, who called them the “best wireless headphones he’s over owned.” Pogue says these have “pillowy ear-cup padding and just the right amount of head-grip,” as well as impeccable sound quality and a 30-hour battery life. For more noise-cancelling headphones at a range of prices, check out our list of the top-reviewed pairs on Amazon.

This less expensive speaker is what Sophia Kardonski, the co-founder of Miami’s Sobremesa dancing supper club (who runs her business from her home five days a week) uses during her workdays. “The battery life lasts forever,” she says, adding that it’s called the Revolve for a reason: “The sound really does revolve around the room, it’s like a portable surround sound system.” While Bose makes a top of the line portable speaker, we’ve written about other well-regarded ones at varying price points here.

If you’re planning to work from home on an Apple computer, Eric Lawton, a freelance designer who works from home five days a week, told us he bought this keyboard with a gift card he won for good performance at his first internship. “I work off of a really small laptop, and typing all day is so much easier on this portable keyboard, which is bigger and easier to use than my laptop,” he says. Lawton adds that because it connects via Bluetooth, “often when I’m working on first drafts I’ll turn my computer to face the wall and type on the keyboard so I don’t get as easily distracted and bogged down by early-draft sentences.”

Kardonski told us that she tends to work most often from her couch, with her computer on her lap. She says after being “sketched out by my laptop sitting on my ovaries for hours, and feeling like it’s zapping my insides” she bought this DefenderPad shield, which slides right under the laptop, and uses EMF shielding technology to combat radiation. It might cost a lot for a tech accessory, she says, “but considering a laptop case can easily be over $60, the portability and peace of mind this pad gives me is definitely worth it.” For more (lower tech) lap desks to consider, we’ve listed the best-reviewed ones on Amazon here.

Strategist contributor Liz Carey — a television writer who works a lot from home — praised this affordable, adjustable table as an essential piece of gear, saying it helps her to maintain a better posture when she spends hours working from the desk in her bedroom. “The tabletop can be tilted, and you adjust its height via two buttons on either of its legs,” she writes. “If I put it on top of the regular desk I work from in my bedroom, the setup affords me enough height that you could call it a makeshift standing desk.” It also allows her to work from her bed (which more than one of our sources say they will do from time to time). ”Perched on my mattress, the table stands tall enough that I can extend my legs beneath it or sit cross-legged,” Carey says.

If working from home means you’re also working on a personal computer, you might want to invest in a back-up program, according to Lawton. “Don’t learn the hard way like I did and procrastinate about backing up your files,” he told us, adding that Blackblaze software provides a simple way to get unlimited storage for your computer, as well as any external hard drives attached to it. “It’s a must have for any freelancer whose files are their livelihood.”

Grillo adds that she always keeps a “chunk” of purple amethyst crystal on her desk, because as well as being aesthetically pleasing, a former meditation professor told her it prevents harmful rays from electronics. “I even brought a chunk with me every day to an internship when I was 21, which I think thoroughly freaked out my boss,” she adds.

“Taking breaks is necessary” when working from home, Chris Black wrote when a reader asked him for things that could make an office of one more enjoyable. Black added that it helps to “walk around the block, or do something physical to keep the blood flowing.” If you can’t walk around the block, he recommends these handles you can use to get a few push-ups in (and perfect your technique) at home. As he puts it: “You don’t get pecs from writing emails!”

“If you’re used to working in an office every day, your routine likely includes stepping out for lunch or having it delivered, and making your own can be a big adjustment,” says Leimkuhler. She says this rice cooker (which is also a favorite of cool florist Elle Jaime and Bon Appetit’s Brad Leone) gets used every other day, at least. “In the morning when I make my coffee, I wash and prepare 2–3 cups of rice, then set it to cook. When the rice is done, the cooker keeps it warm all day, so when I’m ready for lunch (or dinner) I have perfectly cooked, hot rice ready to top with anything.” Leimkuhler adds that her model, which she purchased nine years ago, is still going strong — and that the Zojirushi is the preferred rice cooker of the Bon Appetit test kitchen (did we mention it’s a favorite of Brad Leone?)