I work from home, so when I kept hearing about studies showing I was slowly killing myself by sitting, I knew I had to do something about it. But I also have a hard time spending money on myself, so the $1,000 price of a GeekDesk (once you figure tax and shipping) kept me from getting one. Things changed when I realized I could buy an Ikea Bekant Sit/Stand desk for $500.
The base comes in two boxes that aren’t big but are on the heavy side, and the top is 63″ by 31 1/2″ which is a great size in my opinion. Setup was quite easy. Since I bought the top designed to work with the base, it had pre-made holes that lined up with the base. Plastic connectors snap in to secure the top to the base. I was concerned about these at first, but they seem to do the trick. You’ll need a second person to help you flip it over at the end, but other than that, it’s a one person job.
Operation of the desk is very simple – so simple you might call it primitive. A small plastic box with up and down triangles mount to the edge of the desk. There’s no height readout or presets – just an up button and a down button. After using it for a few weeks, I have found that to be totally adequate. Not once have I wished I could get it right where it was before. A few times I’ve given it a slight adjustment.
The motors do make noise when it goes up and down. It seems similar to other sit/stand desks I’ve observed, but if you’re on a conference call, you’ll probably want to mute yourself before moving it.
One interesting fact about the desk is that it can go down to 22″, which is pretty low. It could work well as a desk for younger children who need it lower, but you can still raise it up for a full sized person when needed. Even for “normal” sized people, it makes a great regular sitting desk because you can adjust it to the exact height that feels right for you in whatever chair you happen to be in.