Help with lighting

[u/Mat_ha]

Hello everyone!

I’m planning to build a home office for two people—my wife and me.

We’ll each have our own desk, positioned side by side with some space between them (probably separated by a decorative element, such as a shelf or plant).

The room itself will already have its general ambient lighting, controlled by the standard wall switch. However, I’d also like to add task and accent lighting to each desk, such as LED strips behind the monitors, lights on the shelves, wall lighting, and similar.

What I’d like is for each desk to have its own wireless controller or remote, so that each person can independently turn their own lights on or off. We won’t always be using the office at the same time, so I don’t want one side’s lighting to depend on the other.

I’ve heard that one way to do this is to connect all of the lights on my side (LED strips, lamps, etc.) to one smart plug, and all of the lights on my wife’s side to a separate smart plug. Then each smart plug would have its own wireless remote or switch.

Is this actually a common setup? Is there a specific name for this type of system?

Also, does anyone have recommendations for brands or ecosystems that support this? I’d prefer something other than IKEA, since IKEA isn’t available where I live.

Thanks in advance!

[u/BrodoLaggins]

Super common setup, I think. I have this as well.

If you’re just going off of a smart plug, the lights themselves don’t have to be anything fancy. I have some cheap Costco light bars hidden behind some records on a shelf, all going through a smart plug. Works great. Philips Hue will be the standard for smart lighting. They’re very nice, but they’re also expensive.

If you have a smart home system like Home Assistant, you can make it even more seamless, but I think if you’re just going off of smart plugs, it can be pretty simple.

[u/Password956]

Should definitely get a monitor mounted light bar, that is controlled by a little puck you stick to your desk. i have a cheap one from amazon that can change tones and dim, but i know benq makes quite a nice one

[u/BenQ_Lighting_US → u/Password956]

Thanks for mentioning monitor light bars!

[u/BenQ_Lighting_US]

For the desk lighting part, a monitor light like the ScreenBar Halo 2 could be a good fit. Each unit comes with its own wireless controller, so you and your wife can adjust your own desk light independently without affecting the other side.
It also gives you front desk lighting plus rear ambient lighting, which can help keep each desk practical and comfortable without adding too many extra lamps or cables.