If you worked in an office before the pandemic, chances are you walked out one day in March 2020 hoping to return in a couple of weeks or, at the very worst, a couple of months. But now, almost 18 months later, you still may not have returned — and given how many companies are pivoting to a remote-first culture, you may not for a while longer (or, maybe, ever). Even though many of us have had time to adjust to working from home, the sheer unpredictability of the last year might have led you to wait before investing in things that can turn our largely comfort-focused homes into efficient professional workspaces. To help in that endeavor, we asked a bunch of professionals who regularly worked from home before COVID-19 and folks who have since put together proper workplaces in their homes about the things they used to do so effectively. Then we combed through our archives for other stuff that work-from-homers told us they use to get their jobs done each day.

Bestseller #1

Nova Microdermabrasion Adjustable Tabletop Drafting Table and Dra…

$83.98

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Elise Yeo-Donaldson, who works from home for a London–based educational-tech start-up, recommends this desk that she says is both affordable and quite user-friendly. “It’s originally an architecture table, but I use it for normal work with a laptop and notebook,” she says. “I didn’t expect how useful being able to change the angle of the desk would be, and the glass top is incredibly easy to clean.”

Bestseller #1

ZINUS Jennifer 47 Inch Black Frame Desk, Computer Workstation, Of…

$72.99

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When Kim needed to get a desk he could work from home at, he told us he was “drawn more to design” than solely function, especially because he was going to have to look at it even when he wasn’t working. He landed on a simple desk from Muji that cost him $175 but is currently unavailable. An equally streamlined — and even-less-expensive — option would be this desk 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.”

Bestseller #1

Ergonomic Office Chair – Adjustable High-Back Desk Chair with Lum…

$329.99

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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.

Bestseller #1

Lite Source LS-306BLK Halotech 29-Inch 8W LED Desk Lamp,Metal, Bl…

$105.82

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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.

Bestseller #1

Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad: Wireless, Bluetooth, Re…

$128.39

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If you’re planning to work from home on an Apple computer, writer Emma Grillo told us she bought this keyboard with a gift card she won for good performance at her 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,” she says.