How to get an minimalist and aesthetic office: Part 7 – Charging station + Docks + Portable chargers

Now onto one of the most used items on anyone’s desk – the charging station or dock. I have been looking for cute yet functional charging docks for such a long time that I will not say I have found the perfect items, but I am pretty close to it.

I value functionality over looks though, so that is something to keep in mind!

Psst! If you have missed the first of the series, I fell down a literal rabbit hole a month ago, and am gathering all my insights into multiple part posts, with examples and actual product links, plus my take on them.

• Series: Cosy + Minimalist Aesthetic Desk Setups

I will give you what I see repeatedly pop up over and over again and what has endured through their hundreds of videos. I sometimes see paid partnerships or sponsorships from brands for certain things, but by the next video it is gone.

So I am also looking out for longevity in choice. I will also note afterwards, what I personally use / do and why.

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Charging stations

You need a place to dock your phone, amirite? Why does it have to be ugly? That’s all I am sayin’….

Here are the nicest charging docks available on the market:

I actually really like this CozyLeigh Studios one, but they never seem to have enough stock…

magsafe shell STATIONS

By this, I mean you need a Magsafe wireless charging circle thingy already like this.

What they sell is only the SHELL to put over that charging circle cable thingy, to make it look better or be super functional. That is why these stations are so much cheaper; the Magsafe part isn’t built into it or included.

They typically ONLY charge phones and don’t include charging for Airpods and Apple watches, but some do.

 

• Native Union Magsafe Rise Dock – All in gunmetal and very practical
• Elago Retro Nintendo – HOW ADORABLE IS THIS. I am lowkey thinking of getting it even though I am not that much of a gamer.
• Elago Retro Mac – Again. ADORBS. It says ‘Hello’…!
• Elago Slanted Block – I have this in Stone and Pink, because I only want to charge my phone and use it as a stand when I am working. It even comes as a fat pebble style.

CHARGING DOCKS FOR ALL-3 DEVICES

This is when you have all the products possible and want them to charge at the same time. I only have two products – the phone and the headphones, so I never go for these types of chargers unless the watch portion is able to be tucked away, or not used at all.

• 3-in-1 wireless tray. This is the nicest looking tray for your charging needs. I am more into the beige+sand+pink silicone vibe, but this is pretty stylish. The only thing I see is if you have a 3D silicone case on your Airpods, it won’t fit in the snug little indentation they made for your Airpods.
• OK everyone loves this Belkin charger, but even though I find it super cute (like a pebble!) I cannot get over the fact that the back silver piece for the Apple watch sticks out like a sore thumb (you can’t even push it back in or anything; so those of us without Apple watches hate this), and I cannot even use it to recharge my Airpods (even taking them OUT of the case). That said, without that sore thumb sticking out, I would have 100% loved it for its pebble aesthetic, but the Elago Slanted Block does the trick for far less (even taking into account you have to buy the Magsafe charging cable).
• The most elegant 3-in-one dock that I have seen. The part for the watch doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb and it looks quite sleek. Want a wooden version? Here it is.
• A nice wooden box style station if you don’t mind the part that sticks out to hold the watch. It looks nice, like a house.

PORTABLE CHARGING DOCKS

If you want something that does double-duty…. and can travel with you in a pinch (somewhat?), these ones are pretty compact. I will say my favourite is the Native Union one at the bottom-right, as it folds down and is super sleek and easy to travel with.

• Not gonna lie, this Anker Cube is hideous. HIDEOUS. But it is low profile because the (useless for me) Apple Watch tray slides into the device (THANK GOODNESS), and I can charge my Airpods at the back without having to remove their 3D silicone cases. It also folds up neatly into a cube for traveling (yes I really do bring it), and works great as a stand, as ugly as it is.
• The less ugly version of the Anker Cube, made into an aesthetic pebble block instead.
• This tray-style charger lays down flat, and doesn’t look that bad. I do wish it came without the Apple Watch option however. At least the Airpods in a 3D case would charge just fine.
• Native Union comes out with a super chic tile looking, folding flat charger but it is only for horizontal charging. If you want something taller so you can watch in portrait mode, they have the Rise version of it but don’t forget you also need a 30W charger for it to work as well.

JUST WANT A SIMPLE DESK CHARGER?

If you only want a very simple desk station that charges and doesn’t need to be on a tilted angle or a stand, then this Native Union one is perfect.

It is a magnetic snap-to-charge meaning you don’t need to wiggle it around to find out where it will start charging, and you can even pick it up to use it while it charges!

My take on charging docks

Can’t live without them, I use them to hold up my phone and charge while I use the display to work on the phone if need be. I currently have all my time zones always on display so I don’t lose track of time.

I actually use charging docks as a way to hold my phone in various areas of my room.

I don’t always have my phone wallet-stand attached to it, so when I am doing something in the kitchen, I have a charging dock with the cable detached (or tucked underneath into the stand itself), and I use it as a magnetic phone holder that is easy to use, looks good, and works great.

I work on both sides of my desk, so I have one charger plugged in that constantly charges my phone, and another on the other side that is simply the Magsafe cable + stand (this one specifically – Elago Slanted Block) and I tuck the Magsafe cable inside and use it as a simple magnetic stand, no charging required.

I even have one in my closet so when I do things and am listening or watching something at the same time, the stand is there to hold my phone up.

PORTABLE CHARGERS

The main purpose of these are to be able to charge while you are out of the home, but you can use them quite often at home as well.

The very best portable chargers, are the ones that are light, slim, and don’t annoy you, or have built-in functionality like ALL the cables possible (because our tech industry is so proprietary and stupid, that we have only started moving to USB-C because the government ordered ONE charging cable type to be the accepted standard).

• Lofree Glow Power Bank – If you only need to charge with USB-C (mostly your phone), then this is a STUNNING power charger. If only it came with multiple cables because I would 100% snap this up
• Native Union Magnetic Power Bank – My phone is the main thing that runs out of battery power, so it makes sense to have a magnetic charger you can snap on the back of the phone & not have to worry about it. It comes in a few colours too.
• Veektomx Portable charger with 2 recharge options – This one can charge with a wall plug OR via USB-C
• Veektomx Portable charger (here is another aesthetic beige, red, aqua, charcoal or navy blue option). There is also this fun option in many colours that is mostly for phones as it is with a Lightning cable or USB-C.

My take on PoRTABLE CHARGERS

Before I had portable chargers, I don’t even know how I did it.

I was always tethered to my charging dock if my phone was dying, but now I can just pick one up and pop it in, walk around, use it in the kitchen while it is charging, and not worry about it at all.

Unfortunately, even though everything comes as USB-C right now, I have lots of old devices that I still use like my e-reader that runs on mini-USB (Kindle Oasis ftw), my old Apple Airpods that run on the Lightning port, etc. So when I am reading and my book is about to die, I don’t want to stop, it is handy to have multiple plugs so I can use this power bank for all sorts of things.

Therefore, I can ONLY buy power banks that have multiple cables, unless I want to carry a case of cords.

CORD COVERS

The last part I want to bring up is sometimes the cables are necessary, but hideous. Enter: Cable protectors.

Wrap those suckers!

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WANT MORE?

This is the series that has all of the posts: Cosy + Minimalist Aesthetic Desk Setups.