I’ve been using a Varidesk for over a year now and I love it. I have the older model without the dedicated keyboard tray but I agree that the larger desk is definitely worth it. I’ve got dual 22" monitors and it raises/lowers with ease. Another must have is a wireless keyboard/mouse combo.
When I was first starting out, I had it in my mind that standing for longer is better - so I worked to increase my standing intervals to the point where I can go for an hour or more at a time. Lately though I’ve found that shorter durations more frequently actually make me feel better without tiring out. Now I do one 15 minute standing period every hour and it works much better.
The Varidesk may seem expensive but it’s soooo much better than any DIY option I’ve found and much, much less than others. A perfect option for us cubicle dwellers once you get past the awkwardness of prairie-dogging above your cube mates.
Does it come with any kind of cable guides or anything? While this kind of thing interests me, the site’s promotional pictures completely omit any cables. I have an ATX case under my desk, to which I connect a wired mechanical keyboard, a 27" monitor (with separately wired USB hub), a wired mouse, and desktop speakers. That’s a lot of cabling to be shifting up and down those distances. And that’s assuming that I disconnect my beloved Gamecube, which is hooked up to my PC monitor and speakers as well.
Legit question: Does sitting on a stool not work for people?
Somewhat less-legit question: Does anyone make a desk that converts from a standing desk to a sitting-on-the-floor desk? This is bound to be the next trend in workplace posture.
There’s no integrated cable management - it’s basically a big surface that raise and lowers to about 2 ft above your existing desk height. The upper surface sits atop a lower surface with a spring loaded arm mechanism in between. It’s weighted in order to counter-balance the top-heaviness when fully extended. I use long HDMI and usb cables to my laptop docking station and the slack just goes out of sight behind the desk when lowered. A wireless keyboard/mouse combo is what I use.
No reason you can’t stick some cable guides onto the back underside surface for better cable management though. Just have to make sure it has enough slack using longer cords or extenders and keep them out of the spring mechanisms or from being pinched when lowered.
I’m tempted to get one of these. I’ve been using a simplified version of the ol’ $31 Ikea Hack, but since I’m 6’2", I needed a little extra altitude for the monitor, so I have the monitor shelf resting on a few empty G-Drive boxes.
(Please excuse the mess.)
And when I get tired of standing, I unplug the upper monitor and stick my laptop underneath the tables, like so:
Works fine for my purposes, but not the most elegant solution. A cheap one, though. Anyway, once my next show starts, I think I might have to get the Varidesk. Looks great, though I expect I will have to jack the monitor up higher. Luckily I still have those G-Drive boxes! 
One of my co-workers has his Avid set up on a standing desk, but since it consists of three monitors, two speakers, a keyboard, and a mixing console, an adjustable desk is kinda out of the question. But he uses a fairly high-end drafting stool for when he needs to sit.
One guy here has got some flashy motorized desk that goes between sitting and standing. I should investigate how he wangled that.
That is hilarious, horrific, and wonderful all at once. I love it.
I like this… I’ve been looking for a simple standing desk option – so have several other people in my company because they can’t believe that I am still using an ancient 1990’s chipboard piece-o-crap computer desk (the whole keyboard shelf drops if one doesn’t knock the sides in a couple times a day). Getting a new desk usually involves our facilities group, which can be an unpleasant experience, so I keep on putting it off – this I can do on my own.
I was the first in my office to get a standing desk and so far 3 others have since joined in. While I paid for my Varidesk out of pocket, the office has started buying them for anyone wanting one. A typical cube modification thru the office supply folks can go for thousands of $. These are a bargain in comparison.
The head honcho even got a standing desk - although his is super fancy and horribly expensive - the whole thing raises up and it’s motorized.
I love this, Donald. You found a solution that meets your needs. Bravo!
I guess I’ll have to shoot some pix to show y’all how easy it is to beat this. Four extendable legs from Ikea ($30 each) and one $225 chair that is tall enough for a standing desk (I’m 5’11"), on casters, and 90% as comfortable as the $250 desk chair I had to part ways with.
I don’t take time to adjust the height of my desk. I don’t have to worry about travel on my cables. I don’t have a silly cutout for my keyboard. I get to the office and stand at my desk. When I want to sit, I pull over my chair and sit. When I want to stand, I stand. When I want to stand and lean on my chair, I do that.
I agonized for a couple of years before making the move on this, and I’m so glad I took the time to find this solution. I can’t imagine opting for a desk that goes up and down, even if it was given to me for free. This is just SO much easier.
The one drawback is that with four tall post legs, the desk is a little wobbly. Luckily, the right side of my desk is up against a wall, so a couple of L brackets and I’m solid. I imagine I could have rigged up some anti-parallelagramming cables, if need be, but this happy accident did the trick.
Mark,
I love the review. I’ve been using boxes. that I can slip out when I want to sit. I can definitely see a varidesk in my future (it’ll require a new desk though.)
Your one hour limit is probably due to some ergonomics and posture issues. You might want to check out Dr. Starrett at mobilitywod.com. He has a strong DIY mentality to personal health. (Not affiliated, just a fan) Might help with the headaches, lumbar and foot pain I am guessing you get.
That’s basically what I do. For the desk, I use a coffee table on top of the desk (I’ve found the Habitat Kilo table just about perfect for 6’ me on any desk I’ve tried), then put the monitor on a long arm stand. Unfortunately, the long arm stand is not long enough, so it goes on top of an aerobics step - this sort of thing. It works wonderfully - I slide the table back over the step when I need to sit and if I use another booster (a block of wood) on the coffee table, I can stand on a wobble board.
I wish I had a crawl space to build a trap door to stand in. That would be the most elegant solution. Leave the desk at chair height and lower your feet instead. Sweeney Todd might point out other advantages.
And the person who asked about stools is onto something. Why make the desk adjustable in height when a fixed height high chair can simply be rolled away from a high desk. Sliding beats raising.
Mark,
I recommend getting some supportive footwear. I like to shuffle around my office either barefoot or wearing my crocs (yeah, yeah, I know), but at my standing desk I absolutely need shoes with decent arch support. It makes a huge difference in how long I can work standing.
My employer buys motorized desks from Terra. Expensive, but excellent. I was trying to find some way to justify the same desk for home, but I think the Varidesk is exactly what I need.
That’s funny…my desk just arrived a couple days ago (same model). Since I’ve been using cardboard boxes to stand at my desk for the past two months, this is a HUGE improvement. I’m still working on getting the height right, but that’s an easy thing to do.
I built my own standing desk at home, from two heavy-duty adjustable sawhorses, a couple of 1x6 boards, some MDF sheets and the under-desk keyboard drawer/tray salvaged from my previous desk. Plus a couple of largish speaker stands to raise them to ear level and store things beneath them.
It’s tall enough to be a standing desk, wide enough to accomodate two monitors, my music keyboard, drum machine, a printer and miscellaneous detritus, and it cost me about $80 total. It’s not pretty, but is very functional.
