Successful men say these luxury items make their lives easier, from a $516 alarm clock to a $6,000 couch

If there’s one thing that most people on your holiday shopping list would like, it’s a gift that would make their lives easier.

For some, that might look like skincare products or a spa package. Others might prefer a new smartwatch or a fancy alarm clock.

It’s safe to say, there’s a wide variety of options out there. So B-17 asked some of the busiest people — from brand founders and engineers to a dermatologist —what items optimize their lives.

These are the most luxurious, helpful items that make a daily difference to them.

Before tech professional Sasha Bratyshkin sleeps, he reads a few chapters on his Sol Reader glasses.

A pair of Sol Reader glasses.

Sasha Bratyshkin, a 28-year-old engineer who’s the chief technology officer of Housing.Cloud, a platform he cofounded to help students find housing, told B-17 that after he leaves work, he loves to read.

Still, Bratyshkin works late hours and doesn’t want to wake his partner with a reading light or glowing Kindle.

So the former Facebook employee uses $400 glasses from Sol Reader that privately display book pages in each lens.

“It’s the most gadgety gadget of all time — but it’s how I get most of my reading done these days,” Bratyshkin said.

In the morning, Bratyshkin relies on his Joy Resolve Barisieur alarm clock.

A Barisieur alarm clock from Joy Resolve.

“It’s amazing to wake up to a cup of coffee,” Bratyshkin said of his Joy Resolve Barisieur, a gadget that makes a cup of coffee timed to your alarm. “You just program it and then wake up to the fresh scent. It also looks really cool. Even when I’m not using it, I’m like, look at that thing. It looks so cute.”

The $516 Barisieur machine can make up to two cups of coffee or tea, depending on the model. It has storage for grounds, a built-in mini fridge to keep milk cold, multiple alarm settings, and solid-wood detailing.

The engineer sits on his Herman Miller chair when he works from home.

An Eames lounge chair from Herman Miller.

Eames lounge chairs from Herman Miller have been a staple of the designer brand since 1956 and one of the most popular home status symbols for men throughout 2024.

The expensive furniture pieces are made from wood and leather. They cost between $6,895 and $10,000 each.

Bratyshkin, who sits at his desk for up to 12 hours daily, said the back support the luxury item provides “is indispensable.”

Bryce Grandison, a real-estate entrepreneur, winds down by watching sports on his 85-inch TV.

An 85-inch Sony TV at Costco.

When he’s not studying or working, Bryce Grandison, a 27-year-old former real-estate analyst now studying to become a licensed real-estate agent in Georgia, relaxes with his biggest splurge of the year: an 85-inch television from Sony.

“My wife and I love to catch up, watch TV shows, and hang out on the couch,” he said, adding that he also loves to watch football and basketball on the massive screen. “As much as work and business are important, it’s also really important for you to take care of yourself, relax, and have a good balance,” he said.

Sony sells a wide variety of 85-inch TVs that cost between $1,500 and $8,000.

He said a Peloton bike and Hatch alarm clock have also improved his wellness routines.

A Hatch alarm clock.

When Grandison, who was previously named one of B-17 rising stars of the real-estate industry, wakes up each morning, he does so with the help of his Hatch.

The $170 alarm clocks can be customized (via an app) to mimic a sunrise each morning, display different colors, and play various nature-inspired sounds to help you sleep.

“Our evening routine starts off with our Hatch playing waves with red light, setting a good atmosphere to go to sleep,” he said. “When we wake up, we’ve programmed the Hatch to have ambient lighting and birds chirping.”

He said he prefers the calm, slow wake-up routine the clock provides, especially as opposed to a normal phone alarm that jolts you out of bed.

Art-tech professional Paul Hill says his Sony headphones are key to a relaxing commute to work.

A pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones.

Paul Hill, the 25-year-old founder of the art-tech company Strada, enjoys Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones.

He told B-17 music is deeply important to him. He often listens to it via Sony’s $400 over-the-ear headphones, which are said to have a 30-hour battery life and noise-canceling capabilities.

“I am very, very passionate about and tied to these headphones,” he said with a laugh.

Dermatologist Reid Waldman says his Humanscale chair and Lovesac couch are major parts of his daily work routine.

A Humanscale chair.

Reid Waldman, a 30-year-old dermatologist and the CEO of the biopharmaceutical company Veradermics, told B-17 comfortable seating is essential to his daily routine.

Waldman is a fan of Humanscale chairs. They might look like basic office furniture, but they’re actually ergonomic seats that cost between $260 and $5,062 each.

“For someone who sits in a chair 14 hours a day, it’s totally worth it,” he said. “And then I do an astounding amount of work sitting on my Lovesac Sactional.”

The famously fluffy pieces cost over $2,700 and can be customized to your living space.