Does anyone have a cheap desk recommendation?
What’s your budget? If you need something new, go look around at IKEA.
Otherwise, I’d recommend hitting up your local thrift stores, checking on craigslist, etc.
Since this is the ergonomics subforum, are you looking for an adjustable-height desk, or some kind of DIY sit–stand thing? Or just a regular low desk? I find a tall desk is okay
if I have the right type of chair to go with it (specifically, one that lets me rotate my pelvis forward a bit, and sit with a more open hip angle). I really appreciate having an adjustable–height desk: the precise right height for typing is a bit different than the best height for writing, and I like to switch sitting positions from time to time, and occasionally stand; each position works best with a different desk height.
If you want your setup to be “ergonomic”, I’d recommend finding a chair you like as the first step, and then matching the height of your desk to the chair. Personally I don’t much like standard office chairs, even the fancy Herman Miller, Steelcase, etc. ones; I prefer either a tall stool / saddle seat, or a simple unpadded wooden chair. Unfortunately, most of the stools and chairs I like cost $500+, making them impractical for people on a budget.
If you have a desk that’s too tall for your current chair, as an alternative to getting a new desk, I think these “balance seat” things can be fairly handy, though they’re a bit pricey for what they are. (Like all niche products, they need to sell at much higher margins than a mass-market thing, and something that seems like it should be $40 ends up costing $180.)
I sometimes take one with me when I go work at a coffee shop where I can’t control the table height.
Sure, it looks a little goofy, and I get some questions about it, but I find it’s much more comfortable than trying to type with a very low chair and very high table. |  |
One more thing: you may not need to raise your monitor up too much, even if you use a low desk. See
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=63234Some experts recommend a setup that looks like the “low condition” in the picture below:
