A standing desk is a standing desk—is it? Maybe if you just see it as a way to be less sedentary, but a piece of furniture is so much more than that.
Since these ergonomic tools are now widely accepted, standing desks have become a well-established concept, with many brands using the same good quality universal lift legs and controller mechanisms. That means you’re more likely to get a good desk no matter what you choose, but it also means you’ll see a lot of the same desks.
But it also means you have more options and can focus on what matters, whether it’s value or the quality of your tops and accessories. Our recommendations for the best standing desks focus on using MDF tops – the durable, engineered material that makes up a lot of the furniture you probably own – and because of this, you can get a wide range of finishes, shapes and sizes Perfect for your office.
But Canadian brand Ergonofis is one of the manufacturers going in a different direction, with its desktops and a range of accessories and accessories made of solid wood. After using it for a few months, we think that, if you can afford it, the nice furniture quality countertop really sets it apart from the MDF models. It looks fantastic, and the extra weight makes for a very sturdy countertop that’s especially noticeable when standing.
A Luxury Solid Wood Standing Desk Worth the Splurge
While most standing desks we’ve tested use MDF tops, the Sway’s solid wood surface offers a more stable feel, as well as a more luxurious, A more refined furniture look and feel.
The best thing about Sway is that after using a few MDF tabletop desks, it looks and feels like a fine piece of furniture rather than just a work tool. Great if you want your home office to look more like “home” than “office,” while still taking advantage of the ergonomic advantages of a mechanized desktop.
Our Sway sample table, with a solid cherry wood top (it’s a solid 1.25″ thick plank, is beautifully crafted), matching monitor bridge/shelf and storage drawers, arrives packaged and safe – if you get One, you can set aside if you are concerned about the wood countertop being damaged in transit.
It looks great, and based on our experience so far, the finish should weather well over time, rather than chipping or discoloring like a faux finish. We managed to put a small ding on the edge of the drawer front during assembly (sorry!), but frankly it looked like a natural blemish in the wood and had no effect. The overall finish has a rich, solid surface with visible texture that looks great and feels great to the touch. Ergonofis includes a leather coaster for serving coffee; feels great in the hand and helps protect the table.
The wooden top (we tested the 30″ X 60″ size) is heavy, assembly is simple, and everything is clearly laid out and oriented, so we were up and running in no time. The frame (using the acclaimed Linak motor driver) includes built-in cable management, so it’s easy to keep everything tidy under the table (the table comes with a cable net that does the job well; we opted for a cable that provides tie-down points and a power bar management grid).
Once we settled into using it, programming the controller was a breeze. The touchscreen brain can be set to remember standing and sitting positions for four users, and the commands are intuitive. The touchscreen itself is beautiful, easy to read even in bright sunlight, intuitive to use and looks very solid. You can set standing and sitting heights for four users (great if you share a space), and it’s simple to make small adjustments on the fly – really the easiest interface we’ve tried one.
The coordinating solid wood monitor bridge (starting at $195) is a nice addition, and while it simply rests on a felt pad on a tabletop, it’s stable enough for a 32-inch 4K monitor and a pair of solid studio monitors speakers, without any creaking or shaking, even when repeatedly raising and lowering the table.
The Sway uses lovely materials and is a joy to use, but that comes at a price – it’s an expensive desk. Depending on which one you choose, the Sway can cost anywhere from $100 to $300 more than an equivalent solid wood top from Uplift, which makes our favorite standing desks (we test and recommend their MDF top model).
While Ergonofls offers a wide range of convenience accessories, from laptop stands to drawer units, Uplift offers a modest number of options (for example, no C and T lift legs to choose from) and a cable management system is not included in the total price , as it is included with Uplift’s desk. Ergonofis’ very powerful power supply and cable management grid and privacy screen are an extra $235, and the simpler power supply/power strip is a bit cheaper at $70, but either makes the overall package more affordable than the Uplift’s similar Higher specification – end product.
While we love the smooth operation and memory capabilities, the top-mounted controller surface does take up valuable desk real estate, and we find ourselves occasionally wishing for a side or bottom mount (like Uplift’s solution) so we can have a Put something in that corner. We actually prefer the controller mounting system used on the company’s less expensive Shift standing desk, which places the controller below the desk surface.
The Sway is a beautiful desk—it’s one of the best standing desks we’ve tried in years, and it looks great in most home offices. It’s easy to share between two people, it has a great range, it’s stable and it feels great if you want to spend more time on your feet in your home office but you want something that looks more like a nice piece of furniture , not most models on the market, this is a great option that you will love using.