You will need two or three stacks: one to two for the keyboard and mouse, and another for the laptop or monitor. If you just want to see what standing while you work entails, a decent temporary solution is to grab several textbooks and stack them up.
Diy standing desk converter upgrade#
Plus, if it doesn't work out or you decide to upgrade to an actual standing desk later on, you will have a new, albeit probably slightly scratched, coffee table for your living space. But at least it takes care of the hard part: raising the working surface. This can raise the height of your desk anywhere from one to two feet, which will still require you to slightly raise the height of the monitor. However, what you can do is place the entire desk on top of a coffee table with roughly the same dimensions as your desk. Considering a kick to any one of the jacks could bring the whole desk down, it isn't a very advisable way to go about things. I've seen some very precarious solutions offered by people on the Internet, such as raising the height of a sitting desk by simply resting each of the legs on a car jack. This is probably the least sturdy of all the options.Ī different approach to convert to a standing desk is to raise the height of your workspace, not by lifting your computer, but by raising the entire desk.You will have to use something else to raise your keyboard and mouse.At roughly $35 to $60, it's still more affordable than many commercial standing desk conversion options, and far more affordable than a dedicated standing desk.The range of height and angle adjustments is better than other solutions.An adjustable lap desk is easily packed away and even portable, just in case you want to take it on business trips or to the coffee shop.One drawback to this method is that there is not a good way to raise your keyboard and mouse without using textbooks or purchasing yet another stand for your keyboard and mouse or trackpad. It will work much like the IKEA hack method, but you can quickly adjust the height and angle of your workstation. It may be difficult to store when not in use.Īnother method of raising your laptop to standing height is to use an adjustable lap desk. To adjust this, you would need to place textbooks under the legs or shorten the legs with a saw. The height of the shelf (for your keyboard and mouse) is adjustable, but the height of the side table is fixed.Once assembled, it's very quick and easy to add to or remove from your existing desk.It's sturdier than a stack of books, but may still wobble.
At as little as $22, it's one of the most affordable standing desk conversions available.It worked flawlessly for me for two years, until I upgraded to a much more rigid and permanent standing desk. I built something very similar, albeit much larger and more expensive, back in 2012. Assemble the table, bolt the shelf onto the legs using the wall bracket, and sit it on top of your existing desk. The desk consists of the Lack side table, Viktor shelf, and the Ekby Valter bracket from IKEA, which together cost around $22 USD before tax.
One of the oldest and affordable conversions originates from Colin Nederkoorn, which he calls the Standesk 2200. Piecing together some affordable odds and ends from IKEA is a very popular and affordable way to convert traditional desks to standing ones. If you're not willing or capable of spending thousands of dollars on an adjustable desk, you might want to consider the idea of a temporary, stand-up conversion for your existing desk. Even if you consider everything that goes into switching from your traditional desk, there's no guarantee you're going to love standing, especially all the time. Standing desks can be quite an investment - upwards of $6,000 for top-tier, adjustable models.