How to build an affordable standing desk with almost no tools

Note: This article was featured in Simplified Building’s project blog!

Before

After

Husband’s matching desk

The pipe and connectors are from Simplified Building, a really awesome DIY product operated by passionate folks. Their projects blog is a combination of their ideas and projects others have created, from shelves to kids beds to workout structures. Their customer support is great to chat about project ideas and issues with your order, both of which I had. It’s a 5-star company.

I used Size 6 pipe and various Kee Klamp fittings. I designed the desk on graph paper and measured. The Kee Klamps have about 1″ of play in them which relieves the need to be absolutely perfect.

Wood was from Home Depot, 1.75″ thick for the desk top and 3/4″ thick for the shelves.

It looks great but glitter isn’t for the faint-hearted. It took 4 coats of metallic spray paint, 4 coats of glitter spray paint, 1 coat of clear glitter protector spray paint, and 2 layers of triple thick polyurethane. I swear I spent a week painting and getting glitter everywhere. Glitter spray paint is also twice as expensive and covers half as much as regular spray paint.

Spray, spray, spray

Brush polyurethane

Sparkly

Construction

I had to drill out a few of the Kee feet for the silver floating shelves so the pipe would slide through. The Kee feet are designed to be, well, feet for the ends of pipe, not designed for a pipe to go straight through. *Note: you could also use the Kee Lite Pipe Fitting, which already has a hole through the center.

You can see the drilled-out Kee foot supporting the silver shelf in the back.

Other Kee Klamps support horizontal pipes.

I designed the desk so there’s a low horizontal pipe in the front to rest a foot while standing, and a higher horizontal pipe in the back to rest feet while sitting (see the drafting chair lifter below).

Drafting chair extension pipe

Amazon

You can use your existing chair and put an extension on it.

Anti-fatigue mat

Amazon

Stand for longer.

eidolem