Standing desks have been fashionable for a while.
When I say a while I mean that they are such old news that it’s now become fashionable to migrate away from them instead.
Well, I was still in the “what’s all this fuss about” camp until last week when driving past Ikea Birmingham, on the spur of the moment popped in and bought myself one.
You might be thinking that these things cost £450 from Ikea, a price that’s hardly try before you buy, right?
Well, you see, there’s a hack that my colleague Ashley put me on to where you get a cheap Ikea table and shelf, then bolt them together for a fraction of the price. This allows you to see if you like the standing thing or not without having to spend lots of cash.
Here’s the shopping list:
- EKBY JÄRPEN shelf – £12
- EKBY VALTER bracket – £2 (x2)
- LACK side table – £6
Total price £22
It took about 10 mins to put together and I just shoved it on my desk.
Job done.
I should note that I’ve not yet bolted the brackets to the table and I’m using cable ties instead. This allows for easy height adjustment.
Also, I went with the beech colour as it was a couple of quid cheaper.
At the price I actually bought two, one for home and one for in the office.
So far I’m using the home one more. I only use it in the morning before breakfast and maybe a bit after dinner or when on my bike (if the weather is too poor for a run). I have one monitor on the table and another down lower, angled so it’s still usable standing. If I get tired I can pull the (wireless) keyboard & mouse off the shelf and use it seated instead, though I have to tilt the upper monitor downwards a bit which isn’t ideal.
It’s all a bit hacky but is definitely fit for purpose as a trial.
At work I have a separate desk I’m trying it out on. I’m using it less – I type this sitting – but am trying to get an hour or so in per day. I still feel a bit weird standing and my already very poor typing speed has reduced but I wonder whether I need to adjust the shelf height.
What’s really nice is being able to stretch & wiggle around a lot more when standing, good if the legs are particularly stiff. I also have a terrible posture when sitting so the hope is that I get to prefer standing with all the arguable health benefits that this brings.
So there you have it: a standing desk for £22 that if you don’t get on with, you can always re-use the components elsewhere within your home.
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