Build Your Own Standing Desk for $350.00

Alright first off if you’re in the market for an electric standing desk, you’ll notice to take ownership of this flagship of technological innovation that is a “standing desk” you’ll need to shell out five Benjamins (or more!). That just wasn’t a price that screamed “value” to me. So I set out on the digital trail to see what could be pieced together with help from the Amazon and Ikea overlords of furniture and retail. Heres the journey…and the desk!

These desks aren’t exactly rocket science and once you take a good 10-minute look at any model you’ll realize just how large the profit margin must be for the retailers when selling these desks for $550, $700, $1000+ dollars. I quickly hatched the idea to search online to see if there was any way to skirt these shysters by purchasing my desk piece-by-piece and lo-and-behold I found just the thing! Where you might ask? It’s a not so well known online retailer called Amazon, but don’t tell anyone alright?!

The best bang for your buck desk frame I could find is the Vivo Electric Standing Desk Frame. This can be found and purchased online with free Prime shipping. I purchased a black finish with my base, but Vivo also has a silver finish available as well. Now to the table top, the business-only surface where you’re sure to create the next Facebook, compose a platinum-selling record, or even spill your coffee. In my opinion, the top you should get is the Ovraryd Table Top from Ikea. It’s a full size 59″ x 30′ x 3/4″ solid bamboo beauty sold by Ikea. Yes, it looks just like the high priced retailers’ tops and yes it’s legit and not a PVC plastic wanna-be veneer cop-out. Don’t buy that!!

To get the top however you’ll need to live near an Ikea store or take a road trip. Ikea locations here. I didn’t realize until I began browsing their website that Ikea didn’t have a very robust online shopping experience. They do ship, but you’ll pay more for shipping the Ovraryd than the top itself costs. There is no option for ship-to-store available from Ikea at the moment either. Bummer. Anyway, those of you still reading are likely near an Ikea where you can pick up the top, that’s great. Now it’s time to get a bit technical with the desk.

To assemble the top which was not originally made for the Vivo base you’ll have to improvise a bit. My method was simple, easy, and thus far functional without fault. I simply purchased a pack of small wood screws from the local home improvement store. I used size #8 x 1/2″ to be sure the screws didn’t penetrate through the board. There are more elegant ways to assemble these two pieces I’m sure, but for ease and simplicity, you will only need wood screws.

Below is a pic of the exact screws I used. They’re available at any Home Depot and Lowe’s also.

To center the board onto the stand, I placed the top on the stand and measured from the end of each support to the outer edge of the top adjusting the board to make the measurement the same for each side. This is a very simple way to center the board onto the base. Once the measurements are the same for each opposing side, you’ll need to mark the hole for the screws with a pencil. Next, start the wood screws into the bottom of the table top by putting moderate pressure when turning the screws. The wood screws will self-start into the board without many turns. Repeat this for 4-6 times to attach the top to the base. That’s it! It’s very simple and my desk has performed flawlessly for over a month now. I’ll post a video of the speed of raising and lowering below as well as the tools I used and plenty of pics!

A must for the newly assembled desk would be this really sleek and highly adjustable yet affordable desk lamp. I love mine, and really enjoy being able to change the light temperature (color) based on the activity it’s labeled for. Give it a try with your new and very affordable standing desk.

That’s it! It’s very simple and my desk has performed flawlessly for over a month now. Below you’ll find a video of the desk raising so you’ll have an idea of the speed.

 


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8 thoughts to “Build Your Own Standing Desk for $350.00”

  1. Thanks for the review/guide. I have been looking into buying or building my own standing desk and the mark ups on most of these desks out there is crazy

      1. I ended up buying a Jarvis base and got an Ikea top, planning on buying a bigger 72 x 30 Bamboo top possibly also from Jarvis

  2. Just wanted to say thanks for posting this. This is exactly what I’m doing now (vivo frame + Ovraryd Table Top). Literally sitting here at home trying to install the same frame and the same table top, and realized the ovraryd holes don’t line up with the frame. Great suggestion on the wood screws.

    Still seems like a solid option 2 years later!

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