Set Up a Dual Monitor Desk Without the Cluttered Look

Decide on symmetrical or primary-and-secondary

If you use both screens equally, centre the seam between them on your body. If one is your main screen, put it straight ahead and angle the second in at roughly 30 degrees so it curves toward you.

Pick one and commit. Most cluttered-looking setups are simply two screens placed at slightly different distances and angles.

Get both screens to the same height

The top of each screen should sit at or just below eye level, with both tops on the same line. A single wide riser does this beautifully and gives you a shelf for a keyboard underneath.

If your monitors have different stand heights, a riser with a drawer under one of them levels things up and swallows pens, sticky notes and a notebook at the same time.

Hide the cables that cause the mess

Two monitors means two power bricks, two video cables and usually a hub. Gather them behind the riser, run them down one desk leg with adhesive clips, and land everything in a covered box on the floor.

A single cable to the wall is the difference between a setup that looks styled and one that looks temporary.

Style the negative space

Once the screens are aligned, resist filling the gap. One small vase or a candle at the side, a desk mat to anchor the keyboard, and nothing else on the surface is what makes it look considered.