I get asked a lot about making your own DIY sit- stand, standing, or stand up desks including the electric powered sit- stand desk. I do not recommend trying to make one even if you are good at building things because the expense of the materials you are going to need far outweigh the cost of buying one already made.
Now, there are some hacks that you can use that will work at least for a while.
Stay away from the sit-stand desks that comes with the electric lift, the air-powered lift or even the manual hand crank. I think you would be better off saving your money for the desks that I recommended here. ( add link to standing desk resource page)
DIY Sit-Stand Desk
The easiest way to make a sit-stand desk for your work space is to buy a standing desk. The standing desk is a desk that is at the height that you stand at.
Then buy a stool that you can use that is the right height to sit in at the same desk. Here is my Standing desk guide where I go over the kind of stool you will need.
Easy peasy… you just made your own sit-stand desk on a very tight budget.
Another option and this one is even easier is to buy the standing desk that does not go up and down and stand to do your work.
Then when you need to sit, use your current desk to sit and work. Or sit at the kitchen table or on a sofa. I sit on a sofa to do my writing. I like to be in a more relaxed position when I am creatively writing. Then I stand at a standing desk to do my other work tasks.
DIY Converter Desk and Desk Risers
If you want to have a sturdy desk riser, this may be an option:
Go to Tuesday Morning, or T.J. Max, and buy a $39 ( around that price) end table. I saw some the other day that had one drawer in each of them. This would create a more sturdy desk riser.
Measure how high you want your desk riser to be so that your laptop will be at eye level.
Cut the bottom of the end table off making sure you have some of the legs left.
Sand the bottom of the legs and add felt to the bottom to keep them from scratching your desk.
Then put it on your desk. Check the balance with something that won’t break if it falls off before you put your laptop or other things on the top of the table.
You can use your imagination like I just did to create your own version of a desk riser or converter desk.
You may have to try out different ideas before you find one you really like and will work for you.
I have black storage boxes that snap together, see my photo below. I made sure they had weight inside of them. Then I stacked two up and put those on my desk. You can check the current pricing on Amazon by clicking here.
This created a really good height for me to be able to work on my laptop standing up.
I also like to use counters that are high enough. That is a free and super easy way to stand and work:).
When I visit my one of my daughters, she has the perfect counter height for me to use standing and working on my laptop.
We have a store here in Florida called Bealls Outlet. They carry very pretty box containers which would also make nice desk risers as long as they have weight in them. Here are what mine look like:
More ideas for converter desks and desk risers
I found this desk riser. If you are good at wood-working or even just starting to create some of your own furniture, this looks very easy to make. You most likely can even find scrap wood to use to make this desk riser.
Unless you just really love to do woodworking and making your own furniture I do not recommend building a standing desk, a stand up desk, a riser or a sit-stand desk on your own. Financially, it is going to be way less expensive to buy a desk already made.
Click here to see some of your options – this link takes you to the desk page on Amazon.