With more people working with flexible work-from-home schedules, our home offices have become prime real estate in the last couple of years. You’ve probably found yourself looking into different options to make your home office set up better (while, yes, you can work from the couch, or dining table, long term it’s less than ideal)
That brings us to sit/stand desks. You may have heard, but sitting is supposed to be the new smoking, with long-term health implications for sedentary living causing most of us to reassess our desk set-up.
If you’ve heard of sit/stand desks, or you’ve been considering purchasing one, you may find yourself asking: is the hype really worth it?
This post aims to answer that question because I’ve recently become a sit/stand desk owner! I’ll be reviewing my new desk, the Everdesk+ Max in this post, and hopefully, you’ll feel a little more equipped when it comes to deciding if a sit/stand desk is right for you.
Please note: I received an Everdesk+ Max desk in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.
What Is a Sit/Stand Desk?
A sit/stand desk, as the name may indicate is a desk that (unlike a traditional desk) is height adjustable, allowing you to work at the desk in a seated, or standing, position.
They’ve been around for a while now, but with the surge in remote working, models designed to fit into your home aesthetic and price point are becoming more readily available.
Sit/Stand Desks are available in both manual adjustment options (where you adjust the height using some sort of crank, or lever), or automatic: using powered legs and digital controls to change the height with the touch of a button.
The Everdesk+ Max
If you saw my post a couple of weeks about the Ergotune chair, you’ll know I’ve been impressed by the ergonomic design and quality of the chair. So when Ergotune asked if I’d be interested in collaborating with their sister company, Everdesk, I was excited.
Both products have been created with the same aim of improving the quality of life when working from home. To further highlight this passion for thoughtful design, both the Ergotune chair and Everdesk+ are being brought under the same brand banner, Northday.
Why would you get a sit/stand desk?
I’ve been considering getting a sit/stand desk for a while. As an editor, I spend a lot of time at my desk, and back pain was beginning to be an issue for me.
It turns out it’s less than ideal to stay in the same position for too long. The advantage of a sit/stand desk is that it’s supposed to encourage you to change your position by making it easier to move between working in a seated position, or a standing position.
The Everdesk+ Max allows you to set and save custom height preferences for the desk, as well as reminders to change your position. As someone who gets very in the zone when editing and forgets to get up and move, this has been a wonderful feature.
If you’re like me and have a job that is traditionally sedentary, a sit/stand desk allows more freedom to support your body’s preferences. Many offices are adopting sit/stand desks as they’ve realised that there are benefits when compared to a traditional desk.
While most sit/stand desks claim a boost in productivity, I personally think the advantage lies more in the potential to reduce bodily discomfort when working. I can see how changing position may help to assist in boosting attention, but I think it’s more about being able to work comfortably, rather than longer, from my personal experience.
The Everdesk+ Max Review
Overall, I’ve been super impressed by the Everdesk+ Max. The desk itself is sturdy, with no shaking when moving between positions, and attractive in design (I opted for the walnut, as that matches my other office furniture, but other designs are available)
Speaking of design, there’s been a thoughtfulness applied to much of the design, including the many accessories available with the desk. From cable management (an essential in my view), shelving, and pegboards that can attach to the desk, it feels like it’s designed to be customised to your workflow.
Everdesk+ also sent me arms and attachments to support a multi-screen set-up. While I currently only use my laptop, I’m thankful to have the option to grow my set-up in the future, without sacrificing valuable space on the desk surface itself. There is also an attachment I can put my laptop into if I decide to—honestly, the possibilities are both exciting and slightly overwhelming.
The main drawback of my experience with this system was that the desk I received initially from Everdesk+ had a manufacturing fault, so was unable to be assembled. This resulted in some inconvenience with having to shuffle desks around. That being said, the customer service team was incredible and very responsive—they sent me out a replacement desk within a couple of days.
When the replacement desk came, it was easy to assemble and everything worked as it was supposed to.
Something I’ve noticed with both the Ergotune chair and Everdesk+ is that care has been taken to ensure instructions are clear and everything is well packaged—something that cannot always be said for other furniture assemblies!
The verdict on the sit/stand desk: Everdesk+ Max
The Everdesk+ Max is an impressive sit/stand desk and I feel my body is better supported in my work space. This feels like a quality product (with the exception of the manufacturing fault in the first desk) where the designers have considered what features will make the most impact on someone working from home.
I think what sets the system I received apart from others on the market is the health coach, as well as the many accessories which have given me flexibility in my workspace set-up. Previously, I used to set a timer on my phone for every 20 minutes to get up and stretch, whereas the health coach in the desk controls allows me to have the timer feature inbuilt into the desk itself (as well as set to a custom height that suits my body)
These benefits don’t come without significant investment. There is a high price point for the system I received (valued at $1500), but it feels reasonable considering the accessories included and the many customisation options available when compared with competitors.
If a sit/stand desk is something you’ve been considering, this is definitely worth checking out. Everdesk+ also offers other sit/stand desks at price points at the time of writing starting from $599. It is an investment, but if you’re working from home a lot, and disatisfied with your current set-up, I think it’s worth it. With a ten year warranty, I’m feeling confident that this desk will serve me well for many years to come.
Thanks to Everdesk+ for helping my dream office come to life!
Check out the Everdesk+ range on their website or Instagram @everdeskplus.
Steph Huddleston 