Urban Living

Four space-saving standup desks to ease working from home

by Janet Smith on April 15th, 2020 at 4:08 PM

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      Your new COVID-19 work-at-home reality may now mean squeezing your laptop onto a kitchen island amid fruit bowls and cooking implements. Or it might simply entail balancing your device on your lap while you're perched on the couch. Either way, after a few weeks of this, you may already be aching--quite literally--for a new setup.

      Here are four furnishings to fit a standup or convertible desktop into the tightest of Vancouver condos. Some are basic, sleek, and affordable; others are more deluxe. Either way, your back will thank you for the investment. 

       

      MotionGrey's standing-desk converter

      MotionGrey's Portable Height Adjustable Standing Desk Converter

      Vancouver-based MotionGrey knows ergonomics, and this quality basic-black, portable desk riser lets you move easily from sitting to standing while maintaining a firm foundation for all your key-pounding. At about 25.5 x 18.5 inches, it accommodates a full sized keyboard and computer monitor. 

      At Amazon.ca ($114.99)

       

      Staples Canada's simple white Uplite does the job.

      Uplite 40"W Height Adjustable Desktop Sit Stand Standing Desk

      Simplicity rules. We like the clean look of white with silver-grey aluminum legs. With a top surface measuring about 31 x 22 inches, it's just big enough to handle a monitor and keyboard. A spring mechanism switches easily from sitting to standing, and you can tuck it away easily when 5 o'clock hits and you're ready to use the table underneath for cocktail-making.

      At Staples.ca ($199)

       

      Wayfair's Vandoren design is barstool-friendly.

      Vandoren Height Adjustable Standing Desk

      The beechwood desktop with steel-frame legs is sturdy but light and modular, fitting snugly into a kitchen end wall or living-room corner. Added bonus: it nicely accommodates one of your mod barstools. The 48-inch width leaves ample room for a little potted succulent or that framed photo of your favourite travel destination--the one you used to escape to before the pandemic locked you at home. 

      At Wayfair.ca ($335.99)

      Pottery Barn's Pittsburgh version can take you from sitting to standing with a crank of the wheel.

      Pittsburgh Crank Sit-Stand Desk

      For those who haven't taken a financial hit during the crisis, a look to dream about at the very least: the Pittsburgh  blends the antique and the high-tech, with a handy old-school crank to adjust the "vintage-chestnut" desktop's height. The style looks a bit like something Charles Dickens might have written on, if he'd penned A Tale of Two CIties on a MacBook Air.

      At PotteryBarn.ca (on sale for $1,119).

       

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