I've been wanting to try working at a standing / stand-up desk for a couple of months now but didn't want to buy a nice expensive one before knowing if I'd even like it or not. So I made this one.That's my regular desk beneath with the legs extended as high as possible. The white boards holding the monitor and laptop are Lack wall shelves from Ikea (about $20 each). And the stuff elevating them is floral foam ($12 for 12 bricks), which I had no idea existed until today. I think it's used to make flower arrangements -- you stick a bunch of flower stems into it so each flower can be positioned how you like.
I'll be trying this bad boy out for the first time tomorrow. I bought that stool so I wouldn't have to stand all day, which I believe is just as bad for your back as sitting all day. I've got some running shoes to wear and soon hope to have one of those soft pads that cashiers stand on.
The shelf that the laptop is sitting on is 42 inches off the ground which may be an inch low for me (I'm 5'10" or 5'11" tall). We'll see.
This was a pretty cheap and easy way to make a stand-up desk. It looks nicer and seems more stable than some of the other homemade ones I saw on the internet. The only weak part is that the floral foam crumbles if you touch it. If I had known I would have tried to find another type of foam.
To my two blog readers (hi Jay and Annette), this post was long and boring because I want to help generate ideas for anyone looking to build their own desk. It helped me a lot to read other people's blog posts about it. Go see the movie Pay it Forward and you might* understand what I'm getting at.
* I haven't seen that movie but the trailer made things pretty clear.
16 comments:
And when you get thirsty you can suck on that floral foam and be refreshed.
http://sona.oasisfloral.com/flower_care/flowercare/designing_with_oasis_floral_foam
A standard block holds two liters of water. It doesn't say if it will hold a shelf.
This is incredible!!!! Very helpful. You must let us know how this bad boy turns out!
I wouldn't have thought about the cashier soft pad. That seems like a great idea. In keeping with your theme of trying things out before buying them, maybe you could fold up a towel and stand on it to see how that goes. Then progress to the cashiers soft pad if you're a fan of standing on soft things.
How did you come across floral foam? Do you plan on sticking flowers into the floral foam to spruce things up?
I haven't seen Pay it Forward, but I remember enjoying the trailer. I skipped watching the movie because I didn't want to get Haley Joel Osment overload.
The top Amazon review of Pay it Forward calls it a "FIVE HANKY TEARJEARKER". I'm not sure what that means in practice. People also bought Simon Birch, which is more highly rated.
Just bear in mind that Donald Rumsfeld insists on standing all day and look how HE turned out. Take plenty of stool breaks (the seat, not the bodily function) and you should retain your sweet personality.
OMG! You blindsided me with the floral foam and I missed the most extraordinary thing about this... you're buying furniture!?
Oh oh oh... and I once had a standing desk. Unlike you it wasn't because I wanted a standup desk, it was just because I was poor and only had a bookcase and a stool. Oh and a computer. I had no cashier mat, running shoes or floral foam. I didn't even know having a standing desk was ok, I thought it was substandard. Foolish.
That is not a Hackintosh though. So I am assuming your next blog post would be your Hackkintosh?
@suzie: by the time I am 50 I will have a full furniture set! I sleep on a bed now btw, although it's not my bed. I'll leave the interpretation of that to the readers.
@jay: this standing thing is going ok so far. It's a three hanky tearjerker -- tears due to body aches. I think it's making me stronger though, and if there is an emergency situation in which standing helps, I will be ready. Haley J.O.'s dad didn't use baby talk with him as a child. I'm not sure why that's worth putting in wikipedia. Baby talk stinks. Doesn't it? Doesn't it?! Ohhhh, yeeeess, it does! Booboobooboo.
@annette: I actually did take many in the bodily function sense. Maybe it was coincidence, but maybe it was gravity doing its work. Or maybe it was my body finding any possible way to force me to sit.
@phoenix: I no longer need one of those. Also I have a low guilt threshold and might feel bad using one. My programming and blog writing efforts would suffer.
@all: I'd love to stay and chat but Clijsters is playing.
A few things here
1) I also read this blog pretty regularly so not being in that list is a slap in the face
2) You describe your standing-desk as stand-up but you hadn't used it at the time of posting, a little premature I think
3) Space Baby Enterprises offices look less futuristic than I had imagined
@Ian: You are a stand-up person and I'm very happy to learn that you are a regular reader. As for the office not being futuristic enough, I only work here. I'm not sure the higher-ups would like it if I put glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls (would that help, though?)
More please
still waiting
Does the crew at bay wants a bottle have any thoughts about http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org?
Inpugnito
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That’s hilarious.
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