The Best Standing Desks For Your Home Office That Will Rise To The Occasion

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Many of us have finally settled into a social distancing routine by now, doing things like quick at-home workouts, finding a fuss-free makeup look and experimenting in the kitchen.

What some of us still haven’t figure out, however, is how to set up a comfortable and ergonomic home office. Sitting at your dining table during your 9-to-5 might not have bothered you at first, but after a few months of it, you might be experiencing some lower back pain, soreness or worse.

As companies continue to keep their offices closed and expand their work-from-home policies, it might be worth investing in a more long-term solution for your home office ― one that won’t leave you reaching for the heating pad in the evening.

A simple solution could be practicing better posture and standing more throughout the day. Standing desks can help you alternate between sitting and standing throughout the workday.

But are standing desks actually good for you?

There are plenty of benefits of using a standing desk, including reduced risk of shoulder and back pain, and even increased productivity, according to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Research is nascent on how long you should stand at a standing desk, but preliminary studies indicate that you should try to alternate between sitting and standing, spending an hour standing for every one to two hours sitting.

But if finding a desk for your small space is already hard enough, there are compact standing desks ― and, better yet, standing desk converters ― that you can use to transform any surface into an elevated workspace.

Some fancy standing desks come with customized heights, electronic lifts and plenty of ergonomic bells and whistles, but they can set you back half a grand.

We found some simpler, more budget-friendly options, like this tiny standing desk converter riser for under $60, which is less expensive than a trip to the chiropractor or the spa for a massage. Most adjustable standing desks we’ve spotted will cost you between $150 to $200.

There’s also an IKEA hack to making your own standing desk for under $15 using an affordable mix of IKEA products, including the LACK Side Table ($10), EKBY STÖDIS brackets ($0.75 each) and a BURHULT shelf ($2.49). Follow these assembly instructions. (Some of the original products mentioned in the hack are no longer carried by IKEA, so we’ve included substitutions above.)

If you’re not interested in DIY-ing your way to a standing desk, there are plenty of assembled solution for your workspace. With all of that in mind, we rounded up a few traditional sit-stand desks and tabletop standing desk converters that’ll elevate your work-from-home space. (And they’re all under $300.)

Take a look: