New standing desk

Whoa. Haven’t written here in a while. It’s a bad sign when you can’t remember the commands to make a new post. Sorry about that.

In any event, every time I go places people ask me about my standing desk more often than anything else. It just so happens I built a new one recently, and it’s my best one yet.

work happens here sometimes
controls
white-board top
regular desk height
cable management still not my thing

Build cost: ~$510

Parts

  • Motorized height-adjustable desk frame. These are pricey. I got one on eBay shipped for $450. YMMV, but the cheapest motorized adjustable standing desk you can get will run you ~2x that price at a minimum. The frame I bought purports to be able to lift 300 pounds, and the action is fairly quiet and smooth.
  • Ikea Linnmon table top in high gloss white. With the gloss white you can use your whole desktop as a white board. $35
  • Ikea Ekby Amund shelf in white (optional to jack up your monitors). I suspect Swedish people don’t spell words like Ekby and they’re totally screwing with us. $20
  • Something for cable management if that’s your thing. I already had something. Didn’t help. I suck at cable management.
  • Wood screws.

The build itself was pretty easy - put the frame together, affix the top with wood screws. My M-Audio speakers are about the right height for where my monitors should go, so I laid the Ekby Amund plank across the top. It’ll warp with no support in the middle. Do not care.

Besides the up/down action for multiple seating positions, the desktop itself is a white board. The high gloss surface is easier to erase than most white boards I’ve used. This comes in super handy when you’re coding or designing and need to draw something out or jot down some notes.

After a number of years I still give the standing desk a big thumbs-up. Better posture, more energy, less back/neck/general pain, and in theory I’ll live a little longer (which is admittedly a mixed bag). This new desk build is my favorite yet. My next move will be more in the silicon sector - I have been eying a 4k monitor to replace my dual 1080p’s. That will have to wait until 2015.

Edit: Ikea just launched this. And damn.