Even cheaper standing desk at IKEA

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. ForΒ 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:

Ikea's latest standing desk: the Skarsta
Ikea’s latest standing desk: the Skarsta

What’s the catch, you may be wondering? Well the catch is that the Skarsta requires manual, eh, cranking? to adjust the position:

SKARSTA Bureau zit/sta IKEA
You crank that desk, boy!

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 πŸ˜‰ Cam Dore just shared this useful link to the manual in the comments. Thanks!

33 comments

  1. 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?

  2. 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 ?

    1. Dear Ruby,
      The underneath frame is not adjustable and there is no netting. This is really the cheaper alternative to the Bekant πŸ™‚

  3. 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?

    1. 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.

  4. 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

          1. 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 πŸ™‚

          2. Thank you! I think it will be fine with a monitor clamp too πŸ™‚ I hope you enjoy your new desk!

  5. 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. πŸ˜‰ 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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!

  8. 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

  9. 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?

  10. 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.

    1. Hi Shandi,
      Thanks for your help! It’s been crazy busy over here with little time to blog and to answer questions πŸ™‚ I’m glad you are enjoying your Skarsta as well!
      Kind regards,
      Noeska

    2. 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?

  11. 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.

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