IKEA Poång Setup for Reading, Listening, Writing...

The Chair

Back in May, in the middle of an organization kick, I had a KIA Nero EV rental for a few days, and used it to pick up some closet organization stuff at IKEA (KALLAX shelving units; DRÖNA inserts). I’d been thinking about getting a reading chair that would be more conducive to reading and some work, vs. the IKEA FRIHETEN that provides all my living room seating. Somewhere in my reading, I stumbled across someone raving about the Poång chair, which has a bit of a cult following and a strong pedigree:

• No Shame in the Poäng Chair Architectural Digest
• Poäng: The Little-Known History Of Ikea’s Most Famous Chair Fast Company
• The Goddamn POÄNG Chair (“[T]he famously frugal IKEA founder and billionaire Ingvar Kamprad, who died in 2018, owned the same POÄNG chair since 1978.”)

I wasn’t sure if it would fit my weird, lengthy proportions, so I decided to try one out during my IKEA visit. And, yep, it fits more or less perfectly. So I picked it up with the matching ottoman, selecting a Skiftbo grey that matches my sectional sofa sleeper. The Poång thus became my reading chair, around which the rest of the project took form.

The Desk

Poång chair with Bateman Labs desk attached

Although this is meant to be more recreational than grinding, I expect I’ll use it to write, and, my Lab likes to hang out on the cool tile when it’s warm out. Since I’m not planning on setting up another dining table workstation, the Poång can serve that role, too. Towards that end, I waited until a summer sale and bought the Bateman Labs Poång Lap Desk Workstation, which is a pretty clever piece of kit.

It holds a laptop roughly at eye level for me, and has ample space below for a Keychron Q60 Max keyboard (Gateron Jupiter Banana switches) and wireless mouse. The combination works surprisingly well, and swivels out of the way when climbing into / out of the chair. Assembly took about 3 minutes, and the whole thing detaches from the chair with minimal fuss if you want to just use the chair as a chair. It’s a bit spendy, but worth it.

Side table with tech stack

Side Table Tech Stack

I also picked up a $10 IKEA KNARREVIK side table, which I figured would hold the tech stack (it does, kinda, but it’s tight).

On the top:

• Anker Magnetic Cable Holder
  
• Headphone/phone stand
  
• Red PCB Coasters (an homage to the Schiit boards)
  
• Old iPhone 12 Pro hooked up via an Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter to the Modius via USB.
  
• Whatever I’m reading, drinking, etc. Because it’s a table.
  

On the bottom shelf:

• 2014 Mac Mini i5 8GB / 256GB SSD (used, eBay), connected via 3.5 mm / TOSlink cable to a Schiit Modius and currently running the successor to Logitech Media Server (though I also looked at MPD). This ended up being cheaper than properly building out a Raspberry Pi!

•  Schiit AKM Modius and Magnius amplifier (connected via a Snake Oil Mini-Link XLR) running whatever headphones I’m enjoying that day, connected using either a straight-through XLR4 cable (Sennheiser, HiFiMan/Meze) or a Hart Audio cable that won’t allow a channel to be shorted accidentally. Magnius review (“easily the best inexpensive headphone amp I’ve tested”). These units are held together by the Snake Oil piece, and sit on a shelf I built to hold them over the Mac Mini. 

Detail of tech stack: Mac mini, Modius, Magnius

• blafili B3 Bluetooth receiver connected to the Modius via S/PDIF coaxial cable. This is the only Bluetooth receiver I’ve found so far (though I’ve only tested 2 others) that connects to macOS machines using the AAC codec.) I actually have this hanging under the lower shelf of the KNARREVIK using a C-clamp and some adhesive rubber strips to protect the metal surfaces, both to keep the display and multi-function button accessible, and because I simply ran out of space on the bottom shelf.
  

blafili B3 clamped under the lower shelf

• A 65W USB-C Charging Station with AC Outlets connected to:
• 110V No. 1: The Schiit 14-16V AC adapter (wall wart) for the Magnius
• 110V No. 2: The Mac Mini via a short (1') 90-Degree Angle Polarized NEMA 1-15P to 90-Degree Angle IEC320 C7 power cable
• 110V No. 3: An inexpensive Amazon Basics 24W Two-Port USB-A Wall Charger powering:
• An LED reading light clipped to the top of the Poång chair; and
• The blafili B3
• USB-C1: Connected to a UGREEN USB C Extension Cable that allows me to connect whatever I need to, to the up to 65W USB-C PD port (computer via a USB-C charging cable or MagSafe cable; phone via Apple’s MagSafe puck...) (With both USB-A ports used, this port delivers 30W max, and USB-C2 tops out at 20W.)
  
• USB-C2:
  
• USB-A1: The Modius via a short (2') USB A to Micro B cable
• USB-A2: The Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter
• Nearby, an Anker 317 Charger (100W), to feed my MacBook Pros (i9 16", M1 Pro 14"), which want more than the 30W the UGREEN cube can deliver.
  

Climate Control

I picked up a rechargeable Sukadar Portable Clip on Fan, 10000mAh Rechargeable Battery Operated Fan, 24 Hours Work Time, 4 Speeds 8 Inch Personal Fan that works surprisingly well and is quiet and moves air.

Streaming SiriusXM to the Schiit stack from my old iPhone

Storage

I splurged a little bit when I saw the Labor Day sale; instead of a $17 Chinese tote, I picked up this $65 Portable Art Tote for like $48. It’s perfect. Slides under the IKEA side table, organizes everything I want to have at my fingertips in that space. Wireless mouse (re-using an old Logitech M535), Q60 Max keyboard, laptop, various charging cables not in current use, a couple of magazines / whatever book(s) I’m reading, eReader... There are end pockets at both ends that perfectly fit my 32 oz. Hydro Flask.