This Adjustable Desk Lets Me Work on the Floor and I’ve Never Felt Better
I will do anything in my power to not work in a chair. As a kid, I’d tuck my feet up onto my classroom seat to find a comfortable position, but nothing felt as good as sprawling out on the ground. It clicked when I learned that I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective-tissue disorder that causes, among other things, floppy joints and poor circulation that make it painful to hold an upright posture for too long. A couple of months ago, I wrote about using a set of sex wedge pillows as an office chair, which proved controversial with the Strategist commentariat. I stand by it — the Liberator furniture is still my go-to when I’m having a bad body day — but it made me curious what else was available to laptop laborers who prefer to remain close to the ground.
That’s how I found the Lowdesk. It uses the same technology as a motorized standing desk, modified to lower all the way down to 15 inches, the point at which you start losing amateurs in a limbo contest. I tested it out in my office for a month to see how it worked.
It was time-consuming but not difficult to assemble.
The Lowdesk arrived in two shipments, one for the base and one for the top. You put together the metal frame yourself, a process with the moderate tedium I expect from assembling flat-pack furniture. The few problems that slowed me down I was able to troubleshoot with help from the customer-support line. The desk is fairly heavy, so you’ll need an extra set of hands to carry the packages into your home and to flip the desk upright once it’s assembled. Other than that, it’s a manageable one-person job: I was able to do most of the work solo in a couple of hours.
The lowest setting is perfect (with a floor cushion).
I’ve mostly been using the desk on its lowest setting, 15 inches high. If I’m sitting flat on the rug, it’s a hair too high, but with a floor cushion, my eyes align precisely with the center of my laptop screen, keeping my neck out of forward head posture and reducing strain. I work best when I can move freely, and there’s ample space underneath the desk to stretch out my legs, kick one knee up and then the other, or sit crisscross. I can even combine it with the Liberator pillow to work semi-reclined.
I was surprised to notice how much the Lowdesk changed the vibe of my office. Before trying it, I used it for meetings and not much else; I’d scurry back to the couch as soon as possible. I didn’t realize how physically uncomfortable my previous setup made me until I had an alternative. Being in less pain and having greater freedom of movement has made my days smoother and a creative headspace more accessible.
I don’t use the higher settings often (a blessing of writing these articles is that no one is surprised to see me sitting on the floor during a Zoom meeting, so I rarely raise the desk to chair height for the sake of appearances), but I have found the standing height surprisingly useful for tasks that involve my hands, like crafts or DIYs.
It’s slightly louder than other standing desks.
After testing the Lowdesk, I compared it against my partner’s Fully Jarvis standing desk, a more traditional model found in the Strategist Office 100. I noticed that the Lowdesk moves a bit less smoothly and makes more noise than the Jarvis as it telescopes up and down, a sound that is comparable to a printer in both gratingness and decibel level. I didn’t mind it, with the caveat that I mostly kept the desk at a low height and didn’t adjust it frequently throughout the day. If you want your desk to move around a lot and are sensitive to noise, a more traditional standing desk may be preferable.
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More low desks
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Another motorized floor-sit-to-stand desk, this one with an X-shaped frame.
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A cantilevered activity desk for kids.
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A low table designed as a nightstand for tatami mat sleepers that could also serve as a compact low desk.
More ways to elevate your work station
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