I Moved My 24″ iMac to the Kitchen and It Changed Everything

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Hands up – you got me (or, rather, I got you). Guilty as charged. Call the Internet Police and have them send a warrant my way.

The title you read – and clicked on – is unashamedly clickbait.

However, if the title was ‘Moving My iMac Into the Kitchen: My Experience’, you wouldn’t have clicked it. In fact, you’d probably have made a mental note to skip any content I publish in the future.

But there’s a point I want to make today which I think will interest most tech-heads and anyone who’s been struggling with working consistently from home.

The lost 24” iMac

I’ve got far too many Macs.

It’s inevitable, really, when you run an Apple-focused tech review brand and have a habit of keeping the review units you buy.

But it does come with its problems.

Take the 24” iMac, for instance. I’m publishing another video on it tomorrow, where I reveal why it’s the perfect all-in-one desktop computer for most people. I absolutely love it, and, up until October last year, it was the main computer on which I ran this business.

Then, I began renting a studio space, and the 24” iMac remained at home, looking rather forlorn in my rapidly depleting old home studio.

I felt sorry for it but, equally, couldn’t really work out where to place it in the new studio. I was also using my M1 MacBook Air more than ever during my increasingly fleeting moments at home, which rendered the 24” iMac somewhat redundant.

I hated that. And, upon discovering its dust-covered screen in the old studio after December’s festivities, I decided to do something about it.

A change of environment

Remember when Apple introduced the 24” iMac during their Spring Loaded event? In the promotional footage that showed various people using it in situ, there was an awful lot of kitchen-based computing going on.

I scoffed at the idea of someone lugging their 24” iMac (not that it’s particularly heavy or cumbersome) into the kitchen for a Zoom call. What would they do with it when they needed to chop that onion later on?

But that’s exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago (moving the iMac, not the onion chopping), and you know what? I absolutely love its new location.

There are two reasons for this:

• it finally looks amazing; and
• there are some nice productivity benefits to be had.

Let me explain both.

Finally – I can see the back!

The 24″ iMac is a damn sexy computer.

There’s just one issue: the best part of it won’t be seen by most users once they’ve unboxed and placed their iMac in its intended location.

I opted for the blue version, and I’m glad I did. The colour Apple has gone for is deep, rich, and makes me feel a little bit better about dropping yet another boatload of cash on a computer I don’t need.

However, when the iMac was in the home studio, I couldn’t see that lovely blue colour, bar the presence of it on the sides of the device. Like most people, I had no choice but to stuff my 24” iMac up against a wall, rendering Apple’s lovely work on the aesthetics of the thing practically pointless.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad looking computer from the front, but you’re only treated to a much lighter hue of your chosen colour on the iMac’s chin. It’s not as sexy.

In the kitchen, it’s a different story. The iMac is currently placed on our little breakfast bar, which leaves the rear of the device on display whenever I make an about-turn at the sink.

I know – this is completely superficial. It has nothing to do with the performance of the 24” iMac, nor its ability to make you more productive, but it does have a significantly positive impact on the ownership experience. When you’re an Apple Person, that matters. A lot.

Productivity benefits

I began renting my new studio space because I have huge ambitions for this brand, but that wasn’t the only reason.

I’ve been working from home since 2015. It has many benefits (no commute, no office rent, no need to put your proper trousers on until 1PM), but the longer I’ve done it, the more I’ve craved variety during my working day.

I’ve never been the kind of person to sit in the same room for eight hours, ploughing through my to-do list. I have to leave the house and work elsewhere, be it at the local coffee shop or the gym cafe. I find that doing so refreshes the mind, keeps me focused, and prevents me from wanting to climb into the fridge, Joker-style, when things get tough.

Now that I have my own studio-come-office, I’ve found working from home even tougher. This is odd because I’m here far less. But moving that iMac to the kitchen has had a compelling effect. It has renewed that particular workspace for me.

Using the iMac rather than a laptop has made the kitchen a more interesting place in which to work.

There’s probably some science going on here. I have lots of readers who are far smarter than me (all of you, to be honest), therefore if you know what the psychological element of this shift in mindset is, please let me know in the comments. But the change in the form factor of the computer I’m using within a space I’ve worked countless hours has actually made me more productive – and happier.

I’ve used the kitchen-based iMac for Teams calls, YouTube channel management, and writing. It feels so different to using a MacBook, iPad, or even the Mac mini.

While I know I’m in an extremely fortunate position to have so many Macs, I’m keen to ensure I’m putting each one to as much use as possible, and I think I’ve found the ideal role for my 24” iMac.

Will it remain there?

“Don’t worry, it’ll head to the studio soon,” I’ve told the boss on numerous occasions.

Alas, there have been no prompts to actually come good on that promise.

So, I think we might be safe.