Dappered’s reviewing a desk? Yes.
Style doesn’t have to be, nor should it be, confined to what one wears. Creating a space around you that reflects your tastes in a thoughtful way can drive creativity, productivity, and the desire to share said space with others. True, this can be accomplished on a budget through thrifty shopping, but sometimes it’s worth making an investment in a key piece of furniture that will be utilized often.
Enter the UPLIFT Stand Up Desk. Recently some of the higher ups at Dappered headquarters (Mrs. Dappered) decided that after four years, it was time to stop sharing a large pub table as a desk, and invest in separate work-spaces. Everyone was on board with standing desks. As enumerated by our friends over at Art of Manliness, the are several benefits to be gained from switching to a standing scenario for work, perhaps the top reason being a longer life. (Hopefully. We all want a chance to be like one of these guys, right?)
Out of the box, unassembled, this thing is a beast. The desktop and legs for the frame are fairly heavy. But assembling the desk was surprisingly easy. and kudos to The Human Solution, the Austin based company that makes and sells the UPLIFT desk, for providing an instructional video that clearly demonstrated how to put the desk together. It really was as easy as the video makes it look, and thanks to the pre-drilled holes on the underside of the desktop, no tears were spilled on the Franklin & Freeman shoes littered around the office. One person could do the assembly job, but it’ll go faster with two.
The lifting mechanics of this desk are really smooth. The desk comes with a basic up/down touch pad to move the desk, or for an additional charge you can get a keypad with memory, so you can set specific memorized heights that the desk will adjust to at the touch of a button. It’s worth the cost ($34) if you think you’ll switch from standing to sitting often. The desk can support up to 355 lbs.
One way to end a sit-down meeting: Raise the desk to eye level.
Your guest should get the hint.
There are lots of extra gadgets/accessories you can add to your desk, like a keyboard tray, locking casters, monitor arm, task light, treadmill. (Yes, you can add a treadmill.) We stayed pretty basic with ours, but did opt for the “Advanced Wire Management System”. If you want an easy way to keep your cords tidy under your desk, it’s recommended. The desk itself will come with several reusable zip ties that adhere to the bottom of the desk for cord control, but if you plan to face your desk out (rather than towards or up against a wall), the cord management system will keep things looking cleaner.
The frame of the desk is pretty basic, but it’s the top that makes this specific desk look so good. The reclaimed wood gives the desk a rugged, solid, dare-we-say “masculine” impression. It just feels better sitting down (or walking up) to a desktop that has a craftsman quality to it, rather than the typical laminate that is the stuff most office desks are made of. Even every day desk accessories look a little bit cooler on a desktop like this one. Yes, even your Logitech keyboard will look better.
Obviously everyone on team Dappered is pretty impressed with this desk (and we better be for the cash we splashed on these things). And the company that sells the desk is impressive. They even assemble the mechanical bits and pieces in Austin Texas (from parts sourced here in the US as well as Globally). The only snag was shipping. A representative from The Human Solution called to confirm the order and explain how shipping would work. Due to insurance liabilities, he said “the desks could only be delivered as far as the front door of the office building”, it would be up to us to move them inside. Ok. And, “the freight service would call the day before delivery to confirm a delivery window”. Sounds normal. Well, no call came the day prior to delivery, and on the morning of, the freight company tried, but was not able to deliver the desks. (Hey, sometimes we roll into the office a little late.) After a short, yet somewhat confusing phone call, the driver turned around and came back with the delivery.
If you’re looking to invest in upgrading your home office or work space, seriously consider the UPLIFT Desk. It’s a good product that looks good, might just improve your health in the long run, and is backed by a company that seems to stand by what they do.
Editor’s Note: And in case you were wondering, like everything else on this site, we did NOT get a discount or anything like that in exchange for this review. Far from it. We researched, purchased (and assembled) these desks all on our own.
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