How to Make a $17 Stand Up Desk

 

I’m so happy with this stand up desk we made!  It’s cheap.  It looks nice.  It’s easy to move out of the way when I want to sit down.

In short, (or tall or average), this is the perfect solution for a stand up desk.

Last week, I shared that because of my increased drive time each week, it’s hard for me to want to sit down in the desk chair to work.  I made a make-shift stand up desk one afternoon.

 

And although it worked okay, it was not an ideal solution.  But it did get me thinking about stand up desks.  A quick google search revealed several nice options in the $200 range.  Too much for me.

And there was a diy option using an Ikea table hack.  I was ready to make a trip to Ikea to buy a Lack table, when I thought of hitting up the thrift store instead.

 

$15 bought us this ugly thing.

Jim cut the legs off at the right height for me (11″ above my desk surface).  I removed the batwing handle and used black paint I had in the garage.

We also added some stick-on gripper pads on the feet, so it doesn’t scratch the desk.  Those added a couple of dollars to the total, hence the $17 cost.

 

When I want to stand to work, I scoot the chair out of the way and lift the little desk on top of my big desk.  I could add a new handle, but I probably won’t.  I don’t notice those holes at all, other than in that photo.  And it’s easy to pull out the drawer without a handle.

 

There’s plenty of space on the stand up desk surface for my laptop and a calendar too.  And there’s a lot of space left on my desk surface below for things, like my camera.

If you want to build your own stand up desk, I recommend looking for a wooden end table, so the legs can be cut off.  Also look for one with a flat top to it (no elevated edge).

We are not big DIYers, but we did make a charging station a few years ago that is still in use at our house.  We store (and charge) laptops, kindles, cell phones etc in this.