I know no one has commented on this thread, but I;d like to share a few things:
I made a workbench when I was 10 YO and it's still standing, I was only allowed to use a jig saw. What I did, was place 4 duplex outlets along the front surface individually controlled by duplex switches. There was also back mounted wire mold for outlets for test equipment.
Some stuff needs to stay on all the time. In any event, I was easily able to assure that everything that needed to be off was off when I left. Space heater, soldering iron in my case.
Stuff that I was working on had an isolation transformer and variac wired in a wierd way. I know at work, I wished 240 was available at the bench.
So, you can have power coming from the ceiling, the front of the bench and the back of the bench, All have strengths and drawbacks. In front of the bench, you can easily pull it with your foot and something goes flying, At the back, I used to risk cord burns.
A lot of times, there's a risk in what is unplugged, The metered Variac (I,V) I had, had a 15A isolation xformer and the box, could bypass the variac for a full 1500 W isolated, but not variable. Most of the time (I was mostly working on audio amps) bringing the amp up on a 3A Variac was sufficient.
Sencore suggests having two fuses. One on the AC line and one for the DUT in case you need to change that. I did that too,
I also provided a set of binding posts for the AC as well. I was 10 YO and I didn;t think it out as well as I could now, but the biggest improvement would be an indicator that says the DUT is on, no matter the voltage.
I also didn't think the grounds, Most of the stuff was two prong at the time, but I did use a grounding receptacle, but it might defeat the isolation.
An overhead retractable cord makes a lot of sense for that drill/grinder or whatever is needed. It I was more active, I would not mind a coiled cord above as an additional DUT outlet.
My bench was about 3' x 8' with a replaceable 1/8 masonite top. It's never been replaced,
Height was chosen to be comfortable to stand and comfortable to sit with a stool. Computers didn't exist at the time, so i didn;t have that issue to deal with.
My bench at work was pretty standard. Formica top and metal drawers on either side to the floor. A shelf for instruments and two side mounted mult-outlet strips built-in,
These features are really worth considering:
1. A single place to plug in a DUT
2. At least one retractable ceiling mounted cord.
3. Replaceable top.
4. Height suitable for standing/sitting with the proper chair.