Leaning Standing Desk

leaning standing desk
Difficulty
Intermediate
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How to build a standing desk, leaning desk style. Free plans by ana-white.com

standing desk

It's been about a year now since I made my leaning desk wall system.

It really has been the perfect desk for my small space and storage needs.

I've tried different desk and storage combinations, but this one really seems to work for me.  I don't have the luxury of a dedicated office - rather a wall in the bedroom - to do all of my work at.  So the compactness, the open storage of various depths - it has been a life saver for keeping stuff somewhat organized and comfortable to work at.

Well, sort of.  Comfortable that is.

Since our son was born a couple of years ago, rarely do I ever get time to just sit at my desk.  It's more like work for 10 minutes, help him get on the potty, work for 5 minutes, help him get a drink of water, work for 15 minutes, let the dog in, work for 3 minutes, let the dog back in, work for 10 more minutes, and the phone (which only gets a signal on the kitchen counter) rings.  

And then there is after work hours when I get an email I have to take care of, or want to post something to social media.  I might just have three minutes when the kids are occupied to run into my office and take care of it.

My chair was getting in the way.  I needed to be able to just run over to my desk, work when I can, then run back over and take care of family.  No getting up from a chair, no sitting down at a chair and adjusting it.  

My guess is most people move to a standing desk to be more active.  Mine, well, it's just laziness.  I got tired of getting in and out of a chair.

So I modified my desk into a standing desk.

I've had it for a couple of weeks now and noticed a few things -

- It is easy to run over and do work really quickly

- It is easy to transition from working on the computer to taking care of family needs, and then back to work

- I don't waste time on dumb internet distractions or unnecessary online shopping.  If I'm standing at my desk, I'm working, finding inspiration, or supporting other bloggers and youtubers.

To be fair, I also feel I need to share that I have been more tired at the end of the day.  I believe it's because I just don't sit at all anymore, all day long.  Instead, I'm working (standing) and being more efficient working because of the standing desk, and then when not working, running around doing projects, building tiny houses, and chasing toddlers and running errands for my preteen.

I also have been experiencing some lower back pain.  Not sure if it has to do with the standing desk, or because my husband made me go halvsies on lifting the huge generator out of the back of the truck, or because I sleep with two kids on my head.  Regardless, I've decided to get a memory foam comfort mat and see if that helps while I'm standing.

Not sure if I've connvinced you that you need this desk (plans below) or the sitting desk (plans here).  And you can find the bookshelf plans here.

What do you think?  Standing desk or not?  

XO Ana

PS - The stain on this baby is Rustoleum Early American

Dimensions
build step standing desk plan
Dimensions shown above. The desktop is small for a keyboard and monitor, you may wish to modify to raise monitor up.

Preparation

Shopping List

4 - 1x3 @ 8 feet long

1 - 1x8 @ 6 feet long

1 - 1x4 @ 3 feet long

Common Materials
1 1/4 inch screws
1 1/4 inch finish nails
Cut List

2 - 1x3 @ 76-1/4" both ends cut at 5 degrees off square, ends are parallel to each other

2 - 1x3 @ 32-1/2" (top and desktop support)

2 - 1x3 @ 14-1/8" - long point to long point, one end cut at 45 degrees and the other at 40 off square (see diagrams)

1- 1x4 @ 32-1/2" (desktop support) SHELVES/DESKTOP

2 - 1x8 @ 31"

1 - 1x6 @ 31"

2 - 1x3 @ 31"

2 - 1x3 @ 6-1/4"

2 - 1x3 @ 15-1/4"

Tools
Tape Measure
Speed Square
Pencil
Safety Glasses
Hearing Protection
Kreg Jig
Drill
Circular Saw
Miter Saw
Brad Nailer
Power Sander
Level

Instructions

Step 1

Cut the top backs of the legs off at a 90 degree angle from the top cut to create a flat space at the backs of the tops of the legs for the desk to lean against the wall. Tool of choice here for me would be a circular saw, but a jigsaw could do the trick too.

Step 2

Drill two 3/4" pocket hole screws on each end of the top back support board and attach to the legs, with pocket holes on the back side, using 1-1/4" pocket hole screws and wood glue.

Step 3

Build the desk and shelf. For the desk, I recommend a couple of pocket holes on the joint of the 1x8 boards. For heavier loads on shelves and desktop, consider attaching sides with pocket holes as well.

Step 4

Build the shelf support. Use a 3/4" pocket hole and 1-1/4" pocket hole screw on the underside. This will be a little tricky with the angle of the cross support piece, just adjust the location of the hole to fit. You could also nail and glue this joint as structurally the weight will be pressing down on it.

Step 5

Step 6

Place shelves in frame and attach with 1-1/4" screws. Also locate studs in wall and attach to studs.

Comments

dakotatransplant

Thu, 04/14/2016 - 08:40

I love when you read my mind! You are simply a genius Ana! I built the two shelves a couple weeks ago and stained and cut the sides for the middle desk but use a different desk from you currently so couldn't decide. Plus I forgot to make shelves according to the size of my printer and couldn't decide if I wanted two seated desks. So anyway, this is a perfect solution! I will have to tag you on IG until I can get some brags uploaded!