The Complete Guide to DIY Standing Desks

Matthew Rowan, BS - Updated on July 12th, 2023

If you're interested in a standing desk, chances are you’ve discovered they aren’t exactly cheap. While some options like standing desk converters that rest on an existing desk can be less than $150, most standing desk products start at $200 and go up, with full standalone desks often costing between $400 and $1000. Although standing desks are getting less expensive, there are some DIY options that will save you money without much compromise.


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Why Build Your Own?

There are a variety of reasons to take on a project yourself, but most DIYers will build their standing desks solutions to reduce costs. However, as you will see from our list, some options will end up costing much more than the alternatives available to buy. Besides costs, some people opt to build their desk to add a touch of personalization. Building your own desk enables you to choose your own materials, colors, and finish. You may also have a unique situation with your work or home office that rules out a lot of products due to their size.

Considerations for a DIY standing desk

Before you start looking for ideas for your DIY standing desk, it's important to consider a few factors about standing desks, costs, ergonomics, and the ability to adjust the height:

  • Costs - Bear in mind that standing desks are becoming cheaper and cheaper, especially standing desk converters. Depending on the supplies needed to build your own, you can easily exceed the cost of simply buying a standing desk converter.
  • Ergonomics - Many standing desk companies invest considerable research and development into understanding ergonomics and ensuring their products are comfortable and help maintain good posture. When building your own, it can be easy to overlook these features.
  • Height Adjustment - Transitioning from sitting to standing is an important consideration when building your own standing desk. Many options we’ve discovered are not adjustable. While standing all the time is possible for some, it is usually not very sustainable. Transitioning back and forth between sitting and standing also offers extra movement variability, an important practice for standing.
  • Consider Your Ideal Desk Height - If you are considering a DIY standing desk, make sure you brush up on proper workplace ergonomics. In short, you'll want the height of the typing surface to be just under the bend in your elbows.

The Dresser

Cost: Low
Difficulty: Low
Ergonomics: Medium
Value for Money: High

The Dresser - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found On: Simplehomesimplelife.com

While a dresser may not appear to be a good standing desk, it can work pretty well depending on the dresser's height in relation to your height. Pictured above is a great execution of this DIY. The creator of this desk even considered their own ergonomic height for typing and installed boards to raise the desk surface. This solution may not work if you are short with a taller dresser or tall with a shorter dresser. If you have a dresser, it’s worth considering it if you are on a tight budget and want to stand while you work.

The IKEA Converter

Cost: Low to Medium
Difficulty: Low
Ergonomics: Medium
Value for Money: High

The IKEA Converter - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on: Teaforewe.com

The DIY solution coined the “IKEA Converter” is an extremely creative and simple idea. By combining a cheap IKEA side table with a shelf, you get an ergonomic two-level standing desk converter. The best part of this approach is being able to adjust the height of the shelf/keyboard tray to your height and ideal posture. While this solution doesn’t allow you to sit down easily, it does allow you to stand with good ergonomics on a very tight budget.

Buy the Frame and Source Your own Top

Cost: Medium to High
Difficulty: Medium
Ergonomics: High
Value for Money: Low

Buy the Frame and Source Your own top - Guide to DIY standing desks

Buying a standing desk frame and sourcing your own desk is a good compromise. You get the benefits of electric adjustment, memory settings, and stability, with the potential to save money building or sourcing your tabletop surface. This method also allows you to size the tabletop appropriately to the area. We will admit from first-hand experience, that building the tabletop yourself eats up most of the cost savings, even with a cheap wood like pine. However, if you have an existing desktop surface or a cheap way of acquiring one, this can be among the least expensive full-standing desk solutions we’ve seen. For this project, we used the Titan Fitness frame, which you can find on Amazon. It's still one of the cheapest frames we've come across and great value for the Do-It-Yourselfer.

Tall Fixed Desk with Drafting Chair

Cost: Medium to High
Difficulty: Low
Ergonomics: High

Tall Fixed Desk with Drafting Chair - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on: Bluezoowriters.com

We had an “ah-ha” moment when we found this standing desk idea. By pairing a drafting chair with a tall fixed height desk, you simply hop on and off your chair whenever you want to sit or stand. We consider this one of the best DIY solutions out there, especially for those with tall desktop surfaces like a kitchen island, dresser, or console table. While getting on and off a drafting chair may be harder than a normal sitting height desk, this solution doesn’t require many compromises compared to a fully adjustable standing desk or converter. Some drafting chairs can even be used at normal chair height, doubling for use with any normal desk surface in your home or office. The chair pictured above is from Flash Furniture, and they have launched an updated version on Amazon.

Raise Your Existing Desk

Cost: Low
Difficulty: Low
Ergonomics: Medium
Value for Money: Medium to High

Raise Your Existing Desk - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on: Dannickerson.com

Want to stand but your desk is too short? Make it taller by adding something below the feet. In most cases, your standing desk height is only 12” to 14” taller than your sitting desk height. If you have a way to raise your desk, this can be a great way to try standing. This isn’t the most graceful looking solution, but it does work and doesn’t reduce the desk surface area like other solutions that go on top of your desk.

Engineer Your Own Desk (on a budget)

Cost: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Ergonomics: High
Value for Money: Medium

Engineer Your Own Desk (on a budget) - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on YouTube.com

We love this fully adjustable electric standing desk. It’s made of affordable materials and would likely save you some money over buying a full standing desk with similar features. While it would take a lot of skill (as evidenced by the video on YouTube), it would be doable for someone with the right tools, patience, and attention to detail.

Engineer Your Own Hardwood Standing Desk

Cost: Very High
Difficulty: Very High
Ergonomics: Very High
Value for Money: Low

Engineer Your Own Hardwood Standing Desk - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on: YouTube.com

This is quite possibly the most impressive handcrafted standing desk we’ve seen. It rivals the finish, function, looks, and durability of the most expensive manufactured standing desks we’ve reviewed. While this is a desk you can buy on liftbridgefurniture.com, this is also something you could attempt yourself - if you’re an expert woodworker. As you can see in the video, building this desk to this level of finish requires experience and a full woodworking shop. Plans for building this desk are also for sale if you’re up to the challenge!

Engineer Your Own Standing Desk - Counterweight Operation

Cost: High
Difficulty: High
Ergonomics: High
Value for Money: Low

Engineer Your Own Standing Desk - Counterweight Operation - Guide to DIY standing desks

Found on: YouTube.com

This cantilever-operated standing desk is one of the most unique solutions we’ve seen, and we love it. Not only is it free of motors, cables, or actuators, but it also has built-in memory settings by design. The user can always return to the perfect sitting and standing position. Manually-operated standing desks often lack this ability. Building this would obviously be very difficult but extremely useful and likely to last a lifetime. Woodworking plans for this desk are available at mechanicallumber.com.

Build a Mobile Workstation

Cost: Medium
Difficulty: Medium
Ergonomics: High
Value for Money: High

Build a Mobile Workstation - Guide to DIY standing desks

Source: YouTube.com

Mobile workstations offer great utility for anyone who spends a lot of time on their feet. What you sacrifice in desk space, you gain in mobility. This handmade mobile workstation is amazing, and it is something that you can tackle yourself. Like some of the other handmade wood desks on our list, plans are available to build this, but the design is simple enough to create your own interpretation.

DIY Standing Desk Frequently Asked Questions

Here are our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about building your own standing desk.

How can I turn my regular desk into a standing desk?


You can either add height under the feet of the desk or add a platform on top of your desk. Be sure to test the stability surface space of both options before settling in.

Why should you build your own standing desk?


The main reason people choose to build their own is to save money. Other benefits of DIY methods include the ability to personalize the details and to experience the fun of creating something new.

Is it cheaper to make your own standing desk?


It is generally much less expensive to make your own standing desk or desk converter. That said, some builds that are adjustable or have premium materials can be more expensive.

How tall should a standing desk be?


For sitting and standing, the top of the table of your desk should be immediately at or slightly below the height of your elbow. The top portion of your screen should be at eye level.

Are DIY standing desks ergonomic?


DIY standing desks allow for excellent ergonomics. We recommend that you have a desk that comfortably allows you to maintain straight posture whether sitting or standing.

Comments

  1. I have used cut pieces of black plastic water pipe as leg extenders on my folding plastic table and it works well and is much neater looking than overturned trash baskets and books. The bend in the table leg keeps the extenders from moving up the leg.

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