As I previously mentioned, IKEA used to sell reasonably priced automatically adjustable standing desks in the IKEA Bekant series. They recently introduced a new series though, that is even more affordable. For 200 euro, you can now get a Skarsta adjustable sitting / standing desk. You can also upgrade to a slightly larger version for 30 euros more. I think this is the smaller version shown here:
What’s the catch, you may be wondering? Well the catch is that the Skarsta requires manual, eh, cranking? to adjust the position:
We have tested the desk for about two weeks now here at home, and it’s working like a charm! Bonus points for the arm workout involved ^^.
Update: For those wanting more tech details on this table (which seems to be a lot of you, judging by the comments section 😉 Cam Dore just shared this useful link to the manual in the comments. Thanks!
Max Height is only 120cm, which is slightly annoying as I am 188cm tall. Just wondering if you could post some data on your height and whether you set it to max height for the desk?
Sorry for the late reply 🙂
I am 178 cm, and it works fine for me. My boyfriend is around 185 cm and he also does not need to set it to the max height. Maybe measure the distance from your elbow to the floor while standing and see how much that is? Because the table height needs to be slightly below that (http://tinkeringwoodworker.com/wp-content/gallery/standing-desk/standing-desk-ergonomics-v2.jpg)
Where can I get it. I looked on the site. They don’t sale it. I looked in the store. They don’t sale it. So where?
Hello 🙂 What country are you in? It could be that the name is different or they don’t sell it yet? I bought it in the Netherlands, but for instance they also have in the US: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=skarsta. Maybe contact your local store to ask if they will stock it and when?
I see it is for sale in Canada… I am curious if the underneath frame is adjustable in width ? Also does it come with the cable management netting that the bekant one comes in ?
Dear Ruby,
The underneath frame is not adjustable and there is no netting. This is really the cheaper alternative to the Bekant 🙂
The under frame is adjustable as can be seen from the instructions at http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/assembly_instructions/skarsta-underframe-sit-stand-f-table-top__AA-1294384-6_pub.pdf It adjusts for wider tops
Thank you for the helpful links! I will add them to the post above 🙂
Hi Noeska, thanks for the review — it’s the only online review I’ve been able to find of the Skarsta, so very useful.
I’d just like to ask if you have any comments on the stability. I know it’s rated to support 50kg, but I’m a little concerned as to how it would behave at high extension, supporting ~20kg of monitor, computer, and peripherals. Not that I expect it to collapse, but even a slight vibration or wobble can be annoying when typing. Do you know how solid it is under heavy loads?
Hi Gerbil,
You’re welcome! So we also have ours fully loaded, a big desktop PC on one side, two screens and then a pile of books on the other side.
Of course the higher you position it, the less stable (I mean, can move more) it becomes, but for us it does not feel like annoyingly wobble at all. The demo one we saw in the store was less stable, because I think they did not assemble/position it correctly.
Sounds perfect for me! I’ve just moved into a new apartment and this is definitely going onto the Ikea shopping list :).
Great to hear! Congratulations and I hope you enjoy your new desk 🙂
There is no problem with stability. I have included photos of my Skarsta base (the base and top can be purchased separately) and a laminated pine top holding 3 monitors, a laser printer and a hanging CPU, plus another laptop. It is surprisingly stable. The base is heavy metal construction and expands for the larger top. Photos at https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B9iNsA8wvmdDbW16Q0llVGR4ZEE&usp=sharing
Hi Noeska,
Again, thank you for your online review & replies which are helping to convince me that Skarsta will be my best choice of desk. I hope to put at least one narrow set of drawers underneath (something like the green one in the photo above), plus my chair when the desk is at sitting height. I believe the overall width of the desktop is 120cm; may I ask what the measurement is between the desk legs? Best regards & thanks, janie4319
Hi Janie,
Thank you for your kind words 🙂 Does this help: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7wo4sx99ydeyfq/skarsta.png?dl=0 This is our desk modeled by my boyfriend. We got the biggest option and it easily fits a small cabinet. I will measure the distance for you tonight!
Kind regards,
Noeska
I’d love to view the png your boyfriend drew. Can you share it again? Thanks Noeska.
Yes, sorry about that! Here it is: https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9gmxsk9ou9v4gq/skarsta.png?dl=0
I would be interested in knowing the measurement between the legs in the 160×80 model. Can anybody help me? Thanks in advance.
Thanks Noeska for this helpful setup now i’m convinced it will work with my dual monitor setup! Hopefully it works out for monitor clamp 🙂
Thank you! I think it will be fine with a monitor clamp too 🙂 I hope you enjoy your new desk!
I just bought Skarsta legs today (150 EUR in Slovakia) and put my old 160×80 cm desktop on it as I felt no need to replace that one. Of course I had to prepare holes into it (those are premade in Skarsta desktop I guess). My previous gray frame/legs (also from IKEA, cca 2002 or so) was a bit more clever however. Just like Skarsta it has one main leg on both sides, but it was positioned more to the back of the desk. Skarsta is symmetric, I actually mounted it a bit (just a couple of cm) to the back, but the whole desk leans towards the back anyway. The difference is around 2 cm from front to the back, so if you put AA battery on the desk, it starts rolling on its own. 😉 I have two monitors (~17kg total?) on a shelf (2kg), and pair of speakers (7kg) plus other stuff that can’t have more than 30 kg total. But – as expected – most of it is on the further side of the desk of course.
It doesn’t feel bad at all, but when I want to use the handle it is difficult to get it out. I actually have to lean on the front side a bit, otherwise it seems to be kinda blocked there as the desk leans back. I hope it will work for me long enough, as I don’t want to change the position very often. Otherwise I’d probably went for Bekant right away. Seems much more solid (and specs say it can carry much more) and the height change is faster.
Still I appreciate IKEA offers this for this cost. Anything else that would allow me to stand at the desk (and sit when I reconsider) is much more pricey.
Thanks for your update and the additional information! I hope it serves you well 🙂
Hi,
I have a question about changing position using that manual handle. How much time it take to raise / drop the top (from sitting to standing position and vice versa)? I’m very interested in buying that desk but If it takes >= 5 minutes to change it’s height I’m not sure if it’s convenient.
Hi Lucas, I would say less than a minute depending on your cranking speed ^^
Hi,
Thanks for review. How much tame it takes to change height of the top?
Thanks for this post, Noeska! I’m wondering about how the mechanism works (how it’s geared). I.e. how many turns to move it from its lowest to its highest level. Secondly, how does the weight of your computer, stationery, house plant, etc, affect the ease with which you can move it.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Hi Noeska,
thank you for your review. What is the width of the Skarsta underframe? I’m thinking about using a different table top and want to know how narrow a table top I can use. And after using the Skarsta for some time, how well does the crank work? Do you wish you had the motorized version?
Thanks
Hi, thanks for the review. I’m wondering how much you have to turn the crank to adjust the height of the desk? I.e. how many turns to go from standing to sitting? Also, how difficult is it to turn when raising the desk?
I just got my skarsta and also love it, so thought I’d help answer some questions. I went with the smaller desktop size, which gives me a bit over 38″ (98cm) between the legs. So, I just barely have room for a small set of drawers or shelves underneath besides space to sit if I want.
I counted 50 turns of the crank to raise the desk about 10 inches, which took me 35 seconds. If I hadn’t been counting, I would have guessed much fewer turns. It’s really easy and quick.
I notice no change in the difficulty of raising the desk once it’s loaded up. It’s almost effortless. I much prefer this to messing with a plug-in motor.
Hi Shandi,
Thanks for your help! It’s been crazy busy over here with little time to blog and to answer questions 🙂 I’m glad you are enjoying your Skarsta as well!
Kind regards,
Noeska
Hi Shandi, what is the size of the top you used? I was hoping I could fit this into a space that is about 41″ wide, so I’d need to be max about 40.5″ Are the legs already wider than that from end to end?
Hi there! Great blog and comment thread going on. I’m doing some research. Am thinking of getting the larger Skarsta frame for a to use with my existing Gerton tabletop. Trying to save some dough by making my own bar height breakfast table. Do you think it would be wobbly at bar height? Especially if we were cutting into steaks. Lol.
Hey I’m planning to do the same. How did it go?