Review: Motorized IKEA Standing Desk

Summary: After six weeks of use, I declare the IKEA BEKANT sit/stand desk to be fully awesome.

A few months ago, my son and I were cruising the IKEA store in Atlanta, GA, when we came across a new, motorized standing desk for only $489.

Now, if your reaction is, "Only $489?!?!" chances are you haven't priced commercial standing desks. Up until this fine day, the cheapest manually-adjustable standing desk I had found, where you're required to crank a lever like a neanderthal, was at least $700. Motorized standing desks typically cost $1,000 or more!

I've been using standing desks for years. It was the cost of commercial desks that caused me to come up with some of my own creative solutions. Most involved the use of buckets or saw horses, and plywood. I affectionately called these my Redneck Standing Desks (RDS).

My homegrown solutions worked, but were difficult to adjust and not always very stable. Sometimes I really missed the option to sit for a while. I would end up taking the laptop to a chair where I wouldn't have my convenient accessories, like external monitors or mechanical keyboard.

About six weeks ago, I returned to the IKEA store to buy a "real" standing desk.

Highlights

• You can choose from a variety of tops in different sizes and colors.
• Very easy to put together.
• Comes with a net that attaches underneath to neatly tuck away cables.
• Very stable, doesn't jiggle while typing.
• Buttons to raise and lower table can be mounted anywhere. I've got mine mounted near the right corner.
• Raising and lowering the table is very smooth.
• The buttons to raise and lower the table can be disabled by removing a pin, effectively locking the table in place. Good if you have children or pranksters who like to mess with your stuff.

In all, this is an excellent standing desk, and an incredible value compared to others I have researched or used at other offices.