What’s on your desk, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy?

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is The Verge’s smart location reviewer, and she’s mind-bogglingly awesome successful the number of devices she covers. As she says, “On immoderate fixed day, I tin beryllium evaluating thing from robot vacuums, smart locks, and lights, to smart chickenhearted coops, smart ovens, and connected java makers.”

Jennifer has been a journalist for her full career, “starting astatine The Daily Telegraph successful London, England, correct retired of university.” She’s been astatine The Verge since 2021; earlier that, she was a freelance journalist for publications including Dwell, Wirecutter, Wired, and US News.

Besides installing and testing a changeless influx of smart tech, Jennifer lives pinch her husband, 2 children, a dog, 2 cats, a rabbit, and a backyard afloat of chickens. We checked retired her agency setup and asked her really she keeps way of it all. Here’s what she told us.

That looks for illustration a comfortable, if somewhat crowded, space. Where successful your location is it?

My agency is upstairs successful our two-story location successful Charleston, South Carolina, successful what utilized to beryllium a impermanent room. For a while, I had my table successful our bedroom, which was not great, arsenic my hubby worked 24-hour shifts and sometimes liked to slumber during the day. So, we decided to person this to my agency / impermanent room (the sofa is simply a sleeper sofa).

At the time, I offered my 2 children the action to person this arsenic their room, and I would return complete 1 of theirs — some of their rooms person overmuch bigger windows, which I coveted. But this is simply a bigger room pinch a bathroom! Surprisingly, they some declined, truthful I sewage each the abstraction to myself.

And I really request it — I americium connected a first-name ground pinch my UPS, FedEx, and DHL transportation drivers, who are astatine my location aggregate times a week delivering aliases retrieving packages. I trial a lot of gear.

Could you show america a spot astir your L-shaped desk?

The table was custom-built by my very useful hubby from upcycled scraps of African purpleheart and Brazilian bubinga wood he bought from a woodworker connected Facebook Marketplace. It was primitively designed to fresh perfectly successful the area of our bedroom, but luckily, it besides useful really good successful its caller home.

While I knew that having a large table would pull much clutter, I person to look the truth that I’m a clutter lover. Also, I chiefly usage the agelong portion of the L-shape for photographing, tinkering, and mounting up a batch of the devices I test. It’s for illustration my workbench. The drawers beneath it are afloat of amazingly organized small trays pinch a assortment of batteries, screws, screwdrivers, double-sided tape, SIM tools, and different hardware I request while testing gadgets.

My hubby besides built a very useful “tech hub” into the desk: shelving nether the table connected the correct wherever I tin tuck distant things for illustration my router (currently an Eero Pro 7) and the galore smart location hubs, bridges, etc. I’m running. The wires each provender done strategically placed holes that chimney to a somewhat managed cablegram strategy nether the table — basically, a integrative crate that holds each my powerfulness strips.

And your chair?

It’s a leather La-Z-Boy. I picked it up astatine Staples while back-to-school shopping a mates of years ago. I utilized to person a very difficult agleam reddish agency chair, which looked ace cool but was not comfortable. This 1 is comfortable, if not peculiarly supportive; it’s very ample and ace plush — leaning backmost successful it makes maine consciousness for illustration an executive aliases a supervillain.

Tell america astir the various tech devices you’re using.

There’s a lot! My main machine is my work-issued MacBook Air pinch M1, connected to a Dell 4K show via a truly atrocious Anker USB-C hub, which I request to replace. The show is mounted connected an Amazon Basics adjustable show mount.

That’s an Insta360 Link PTZ 4K webcam up top, which is awesome if a small frustrating, arsenic its search characteristic tin beryllium very aggressive.

Then I person my individual computer, an ancient (2016) MacBook Pro connected a Rain Design iLevel laptop stand, which is adjustable and ace useful for moving astir the location erstwhile I want a alteration of scenery. It’s connected to a 32-inch Samsung M80C Smart Monitor pinch a Magic Trackpad and a Seagate outer difficult drive.

I request 2 screens, and my Air tin only grip one. It is annoying swapping betwixt 2 computers, though, truthful generally, I only usage the M80 erstwhile I request to support an oculus connected aggregate things astatine once, for illustration during a large event. The show has streaming built successful and is simply a smart location hub for Samsung SmartThings, truthful I besides usage it arsenic a TV — it’s easy to spot from the couch, and I’ll sometimes person tennis connected successful the inheritance connected shut up while I’m working. I can’t perceive to euphony while I write; it’s excessively distracting, but the tennis is soothing.

All the small screens you spot are smart displays. There’s the Echo Hub, which gives maine easy entree to power connected devices successful my office, specified arsenic lights, fans, and shades. Then an Echo Show 8, a Pixel Tablet, and a Google Nest Hub. They’re chiefly for testing purposes, but they besides make bully photograph frames.

The keyboard is thing I’m testing. I usually person a immense Logitech Ergo K860 keyboard, arsenic I person had immoderate wrist issues. This is my first clip utilizing a mechanical keyboard. It’s a Matter-enabled 1 by Third Reality, the Smart Mechanical Keyboard MK1. I tin group the usability keys to power my smart home; they enactment arsenic individual buttons successful Matter-supported ecosystems for illustration Apple Home, truthful I tin move disconnected each my lights pinch the changeable of a key.

The pinkish Logitech Lift rodent is my favourite rodent ever. I’ve spent a agelong clip looking for a comfortable rodent that doesn’t aggravate my wrist, and it does the job. I emotion its scroll wheel, but I group up its buttons to do thing useful erstwhile I first sewage it and person ne'er utilized them since.

Then there’s the Belkin DockKit guidelines (more connected that successful a bit) and my Ember Mug — which is 4 years aged and connected its past legs; I really request to get a caller one. But I emotion it. There’s besides an Apple HomePod connected the bookshelf adjacent to the desk; I usage it arsenic a speaker for the Apple TV, which is hooked up to the smart monitor, and it’s besides chiefly for testing smart location gear.

You person a batch of tech that you’ve reviewed aliases are successful the process of reviewing. How do you support way of it all?

I person a system; it’s not perfect, but it mostly works. I participate everything into a Notion spreadsheet erstwhile it arrives, past shop it successful various staging areas until I’m fresh to test. A batch of this worldly has to beryllium physically installed successful my house, truthful it seldom gets group up the time it arrives.

On my workbench, I person the products I’m astir to commencement testing. Currently, location are a mates of smart locks and a fewer doorbells that will beryllium going successful during my adjacent instal day. The dollhouse is my daughter’s and was built by my husband, but she doesn’t person room for it anymore. So, I’ve adopted it arsenic a thematic staging area for tech that’s adjacent successful statement for installation / reviewing. I’m astir to commencement testing immoderate caller thermostats, truthful you tin spot a fewer successful there. It besides houses devices I mightiness request to trial pinch a caller gadget aliases comparison them to; that’s why the smart displays and smart speakers are there.

Then there’s a closet successful the room (behind a curtain) wherever I shop things that either request to beryllium sent backmost aliases are further down the statement successful position of testing, on pinch a bunch of older gear. I’m not bully astatine getting free of worldly — each clip I do, I ever extremity up successful a business wherever I’m like, “Oh no, I needed that Fibaro Z-Wave sensor to trial pinch this caller hub.” So, I conscionable shop tons of things successful tons of boxes to debar that eventuality. I really request to do a large clear-out of that closet, but I didn’t person clip this week.

Of course, galore things I’m presently testing are already installed successful the location — which is besides technically my office! I person 3 exterior doors, truthful I trial aggregate locks, video doorbells, and sensors connected those, arsenic good arsenic smart lights, thermostats, room gadgets, information cameras, smart displays, smart speakers, and tons and tons of robot vacuums everyplace other successful the house. I person a twelve robot vacs downstairs correct now, arsenic good arsenic the 3 presently successful the office. When the robot gyration happens, I will beryllium the first to go.

Is location a communicative down that coating of the castle connected the seashore?

Yes! A awesome story. It’s besides not a painting; it’s a integer collage of hundreds of photos of my close-knit group of girlfriends from precocious schoolhouse (from a institution called MosaPics). They dress up the main photo, which is of a tin excavation successful a mini municipality called Rinsey successful Cornwall, England. We’ve been going connected vacation location arsenic a group since we were 15. If those ancient walls could talk…

I spot you usage an mean insubstantial notebook arsenic good arsenic your tech.

I’ve ever been a large stationery fan; I utilized to bent retired successful Smythson and Paperchases arsenic a teen (my chaotic years). I went done a slug diary shape for a fewer years, but it was difficult to support it up pinch this job.

Now, I person a bully Leuchtturm notebook for note-taking during meetings and interviews, and I usage tear-off Ramona & Ruth monthly and play table planners to support way of what I should beryllium doing each time and successful the future. Physically penning worldly down helps maine clasp accusation overmuch amended than typing.

I had to announcement the typewriter and that dial phone!

I am… not a minimalist! It’s a bully point I moved to the US successful my mid-20s, which forced maine to get free of a batch of my belongings, aliases I would astir apt person each my puerility stuffies connected that sofa.

The typewriter is an ancient portable Royal Deluxe I picked up astatine a gait waste successful Idaho years ago. It has a carrying lawsuit and is truthful cool. It was going to beryllium the commencement of my typewriter collection. However, my hubby (who is a minimalist) was not keen connected that thought and has been trying to get maine to get free of it for a while, arsenic we could ne'er find a bully spot for it. In the end, he conscionable built maine a support to put it on.

The telephone is deceptive; it’s really comparatively modern, the buttons are push buttons, and it’s from Pottery Barn. It was a wedding gift. It was functional for a agelong time, but I nary longer person a landline.

That’s a fascinating small timepiece / calendar.

It’s an iPhone successful StandBy mode connected Belkin’s Auto-Tracking Stand Pro pinch DockKit. It’s a ace useful gadget. I support it plugged successful astatine my table truthful my telephone is charging and easy to see, but it besides runs connected a built-in battery, truthful I tin return it downstairs if I’m signaling a societal video aliases connected a FaceTime call. The DockKit usability lets it travel maine astir by search my look and assemblage movement.

You’ve sewage a nice, comfortable-looking couch. And a great-looking lighting statement supra it.

Thank you! The sofa is simply a sleeper sofa. It was intended to make this double arsenic a impermanent room, but the first personification who slept connected it said it was the astir uncomfortable furniture they’d ever slept in, truthful we now person replacement arrangements for guests until we tin get a amended one.

But it’s awesome arsenic a sofa — useful for my family to beryllium connected erstwhile they want to travel successful and fuss maine aliases occasionally for relaxing during immoderate heavy work. The kitten particularly loves it.

The lighting setup is from Nanoleaf; it’s the new modular Blocks LED lights that I’m testing. When I’m done pinch them, I want to framework the Audubon prints that are sitting connected my support adjacent to the pinkish flamingo and the metallic duck and bent those there. I’m a large vertebrate fan.

There’s a chickenhearted calendar!

Of people location is! That was a gift from my hubby this Christmas; I don’t really usage analog wall calendars (I conscionable flipped it to March from January to return this picture), but I emotion to person a beautiful image of a beautiful vertebrate astatine my desk.

I person backyard chickens — a flock of beautiful ladies, including Barred Rocks, Black Copper Marans, and Starlight Green Eggers. They’re my “touch grass” clip each day. I return a break and spell retired to provender them aliases cod their eggs.

There’s truthful overmuch other that looks interesting. Is location thing we didn’t screen that you’d for illustration to add?

The brackish lamp connected the tiny aerial purifier array (it’s from SwitchBot and doubles arsenic a wireless charger) was a wedding coming from my aunt earlier brackish lamps became a point you could bargain astatine Target. It was handmade by my uncle and is simply a legit original Himalayan brackish lamp, not a knockoff; it weighs a ton and creates bully vibes successful my office!

Before we end, you must present america to your pets.

The lazy boy location is Gus, a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. The achromatic and achromatic kitten is our newest summation and bundle of energy, Boone. Not pictured but who occupies the apical spot successful the trio of beds successful beforehand of the closet is my cat, Smokey, who has already done his fair stock of modeling for The Verge, so he declined this opportunity.

Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge