Redo the room for under $200
You do not need a new desk to make the room feel different. Most of the shift comes from two things: light that actually reaches the walls, and objects that finally leave the floor.
Start With the Glow
A screen in a dark corner looks like an appliance. A screen with a soft glow behind it looks like a point in the room. The light does not need to dance or flash. A steady wash behind the display adds depth to the wall and keeps your eyes from locking onto one flat rectangle for hours. It is the detail that shows up in every setup photo that feels finished, and it takes less time to install than it takes to order food. You plug it in, you stick it, the wall disappears behind the picture.
Once the back of the screen is lit, the rest of the room dims the right way. Shadows become part of the space instead of accidents in the corner.
Clear What You See Second
Furniture hides nothing. It just creates new flat surfaces for controllers, cables, and headphones to collect on. The real move is vertical. Two controllers and a headset mounted on the wall beside the display leave the TV unit empty. The nest of cables under the desk is the next target. A tray bolted to the underside collects the power strips and slack, and it is gone from sight in one afternoon. You stop kicking wires when you roll your chair back.
The floor opens up. The desk stops feeling like a storage bin. You gain back square footage you already owned.
Add One Thing That Does Not Blink
After light and order, the room still needs an anchor. A single piece of metal on the wall steadies the eye. Embossed metal with a faded orange finish, something that looks like a beetle parked under palms, reads like a memory rather than a package that arrived yesterday. It gives the space a sense of place. One sign is enough. It does not compete with the screen. It waits for the moments when you look up and need the wall to mean something.
The room changes when the light moves and the clutter leaves. Everything else is timing. Spend the budget there, and the space is ready before the launch.