In general, if you like basketball, you probably like football, or baseball, or soccer.  Hobbies intersect all the time, so it’s not too surprising that fans of custom keyboards would also be interested in other technology, or even just accessories to complement their builds.  In this post we’ll cover a few of these options that help people accentuate, and distinguish their keyboards – and also turn their desk into a dynamic environment rather than a drab space for work to be done.

If you are to ever build a keyboard, the first thing you should consider buying is a detachable, coiled usb-c cable, and there’s a couple reasons for that.  First, nearly everyone in the keyboard space agrees that a coiled cable simply looks better than any conventional cable.  I’ll attach a picture of one of my builds so you can see what I mean.  There just something about the cable that feels nostalgic, like the landline in your house that you stopped paying for 10 years ago.  These cables are also, usually, constructed with a 90 degree angle after the device side connector, so the cable will run parallel to your keyboard.  I say ‘usually’ because these cables can typically be ordered either way, and the standard is a 90 degree bend.  I actually think, though, that a conventional, straight cable looks better with smaller form factors, like the one in the picture below.  It also also important to note that these cables feature a connector called an aviator connector.  It’s actually pretty typical for some audio equipment and other tech, but what’s cool about this is that you can simply attach the front of one cable to the remaining slack of another by screwing the end off and screwing the new one on.  This is pretty useful, because if you need to switch your keyboard you can also switch the cable so that the colors still match.  Color coordination is actually pretty important in a setup, as it can cause the different elements of the setup to clash.  With all of that in mind, I’ll address the elephant in the room: why cant you just switch the cable?  It might not seem like a huge deal; all you have to do is unplug the cable and switch it with a different one, right?  Well, technically yes, but cable management becomes really important really quickly as you add more and more devices to your desk.  A common solution is to consolidate the slack from cables within either a trough or cable-raceway.  That means that the cables are pretty much fixed in place, so while in theory you could just switch the cable – within a more organized setup it may be difficult to access individual cables frequently.

Artisan/Custom keycaps are another great option to accentuate a custom keyboard.  These types of keycaps are sold either individually, or part of a small set.  You only need a couple because they don’t really serve any purpose besides aesthetics.  They are produced in extremely small batches by small workshops, or even individual people.  It’s also interesting that, besides a couple outliers, there’s really nothing that separates one brand or artist so much that the caps get marked up to insane prices, so if you’re not a collector, you can almost always find one you like for a reasonable price.  Mind you, some are very expensive, but you’re paying for a level of artistry similar to other crafts.  Each of these keycaps are made by hand out of materials like epoxy and resin.  They are completely unique from any other keycap in the world.  Some common places for them are usually on lesser-pressed keys, like escape, PgUp, and PgDn – and sometimes people use either the numpad or the fn row to show off entire collections.

The last element we’ll discuss is deskmats.  A deskmat is nothing more than an excessively large mousepad.  Could you get away with a smaller one, sure, but who wants a small one when you can have a big one?  Really though, there is a purpose for this style of mousepad, but it’s not really that important to be honest.  The deskmats are so large that the keyboard actually sits on top of it, not beside it, which prevents it from potentially sliding around as much.  Some people also just prefer more mouse space if their DPI is set on the lower side. (DPI stands for ‘Dots per Inch’ and is a measure of how many readings the sensor on your mouse makes per inch traveled.  A higher DPI corresponds with a higher cursor speed)  You can opt for a traditional black deskmat, but some companies sell really cool designs that you can use to match a custom keyboard.  If your keyboard is inspired by outer space, nature, a TV show, or really anything – why not get a matching deskmat?  Also, this style of mousepad just looks sleek.  I don’t really know why, but I’ll just add a picture and let you decide.

The last thing to consider is taking general steps to enhance a desktop setup, regardless of whether or not you have a custom keyboard.  We’ve already mentioned cable management and color coordination.  But there are just a few more things to consider.  You should always have enough storage at your desk; you don’t want to be fumbling around to find pens, or headphones, your keys or really anything.  Also, please invest in a good chair, and I don’t mean some gimmicky gaming chair or plastic ergonomic nonsense.  Just get a good, quality office chair and call it a day… Your back will thank you.  If your computer happens to be a laptop, buy a cooling pad for it.  Fans in laptops are, in general, just plain awful.  They also get all sorts of dust and debris trapped within them.  If your laptop has ever begun to act sluggish, or maybe even met its demise after a couple years of use, its probably due to overheating.  Lastly, you should always consider mounting options for monitors.  You certainly don’t have to, but there’s a reason that the “Floating TV” is so popular in American living rooms.  It just looks good.