5 essentials for an instant home office

1. Avantree Adjustable Laptop Bed Table ($55)

Make a bed a productive workspace with this tilting, fold-away table. At its full height, it's tall enough to work at while cross-legged, and it can also create a makeshift standing desk when you set it atop a table. Buy it at Amazon.

2. Anker Soundcore Life Q20 ($60)

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

No, they can't compare with a $400 Bose headset. But Anker's noise-canceling headphones are among the best under $100, delivering decent sound clarity and balance, plus noise canceling that's "acceptably effective." Buy it at Amazon.

3. LoveHome Lumbar Support Cushion ($30)

For anyone whose back aches from working at a kitchen table all day, this memory foam cushion "provides tremendous relief." It straps onto any chair and transforms it. "Truly anyone can benefit from this product," writes Rachel Moskowitz at Reviewed. Buy it at Amazon.

4. Brother MFC-J895W ($130)

If you need to print photos, look at a higher price range, but this fast, comparatively reliable inkjet printer delivers good text and graphics quality, and because it wastes little ink, "it won't wreck your budget in the long term, either." Buy it at Office Max.

5. Ikea Forsa Lamp ($27)

For a practical and affordable desk lamp that you won't mind having around for years, you can't beat this adjustable ­architect-style task light from Ikea. It's available nickel-plated or in a handful of powder-coated colors. Buy it at Ikea.

Editor's note: Every week The Week's editors survey product reviews and articles in websites, newspapers, and magazines, to find cool and useful new items we think you'll like. We're now making it easier to purchase these selections through affiliate partnerships with certain retailers. The Week may get a share of the revenue from these purchases.