This small-space-friendly standing desk is the perfect work-from-home setup for my tiny NYC studio --[Reported by Umva mag]

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I've been a standing desk skeptic for as long as I can remember as someone who likes to be comfortable while working. Plus, living in a small apartment means I'm extremely selective about what furniture I add to my space. However, when I realized the benefits of standing desks go beyond just adding more movement into your day, I decided to try an adjustable option.

To find the best standing desk, I turned to Branch because they're one of just a few companies that offer a standing desk suitable for small spaces. It's also a highly-rated brand—its ergonomic office chair is the best you could buy for its adjustable design, and I was expecting the same out of the standing desk. The Duo Standing Desk is easy to set up and use and moves seamlessly to reach the exact right height, whether sitting or standing. Since introducing a standing desk into my workday, not only have I been more comfortable, but I've been more productive as well.

Design

The Branch Duo Standing Desk features a sleek modern design; the base and tabletop can be customized to your needs. The legs are made out of a strong, sturdy metal and come in three different colors: white, charcoal, or a trendy sage green. I'd recommend starting with your base and then selecting a top. There are five top styles, ranging from matching solid colors for a monochromatic desk or wood tones including woodgrain or walnut, all made from MDF. I went with a white base and woodgrain top, and it's the perfect light neutral. This desk is available in three different sizes: 36 x 24 inches, 48 x 24 inches, and a recently added 58 x 27 inches. I chose the smallest option to best fit into my 500-square-foot New York City apartment.

The desk is pretty minimalist overall, with wide frame legs and a small notch to thread cables through in the back. Compared to other standing desks, its technical features feel more discreet — just one small adjustment panel on the front left corner. Living in a studio apartment, I appreciate this, since my furniture is always fully displayed. The edges of the desk's surface are rounded, which is a nice touch if, like me, you sometimes bump into your furniture. Branch also offers a number of add-ons to enhance your workspace, such as a cable organizer and clamp-on power charger. I opted to add a drawer, which attaches right under the desk's center. The drawer glides open easily and is lined in felt, which makes it less noisy to use and keeps objects from sliding.

Our review of the Branch Duo Standing Desk

Setup

The Duo Standing Desk shipped quickly and arrived at my door in two boxes: one for the tabletop and one for the legs and drawer. The desk weighs about 65 pounds, and the boxes were heavy but manageable to move from my building lobby to my apartment.

I've never been the best at assembling furniture, so I enlisted my dad to help. Overall, the desk was pretty straightforward to set up with the instruction manual. The top attaches to the legs; and all the holes were pre-drilled to make the process seamless. The trickiest part of assembly was securing the wiring underneath the desk with cable clips. My dad and I found that having two people made this step easier because I could hold the wires in the right spot to ensure they didn't move around. It also made sense to attach the drawer last (although the brand said to do so sooner) so that it didn't interfere with the wiring. You'll likely also need two people to flip the assembled desk right-side up.

On the Branch website, the brand boasts its desk can be assembled within your lunch break. While it was a typical assembly process, this wasn't exactly the case for us, unless of course, you take really long lunch breaks. Most of the screws need to be secured using a basic Allen wrench, which came with the desk. This can be a slow and tedious process and took us about an hour and a half total — however, setup can be sped up if you have your own wrench or power drill.

Living with the desk

I've used a basic desk for my entire 10-year career and have always worked while sitting, so I wasn't expecting the Branch Duo to change my routine. However, it only took a few uses for me to start reaping its benefits.

From first use, the desk is easy to adjust, with about a 20-inch range of motion. The desk specs say the desk extends from 28 to 47.5 inches, though my desk went from 27.8 to 47 inches. The small control panel is key to using the desk's different features, including raising and lowering it. The screen generally stays black, which adds to the discreetness of the design, but when you hold it down or up, it shows the table's height down to the centimeter. You can also program two presets to auto-adjust to your preferred seating and standing heights. The handset can also remind you to stand up. You customize how often you want this reminder, and there's an option to add a vibration or not, which I appreciate as someone who can be sensitive to noises while working. Since the control panel screen stays black when not in use, I found the light-up reminder to be enough to capture my attention.

It takes about eight seconds to raise 10 inches and go from sitting to standing. The movement is quick and seamless. Since you have to actively push the button to adjust the desk, there's minimal risk of accidental movement. While the desk isn't noisy overall, it does make a noticeable sound, right about 50 decibels, while moving up and down. It sounds almost like a fan buzzing, but it's not loud enough to wake my sleeping dog up, which is generally my biggest concern while working.

I appreciate that the control panel isn't overly technical-looking, but I will admit that it took me some time to learn to use it. It only has two buttons on either side. At first, I accidentally set the sedentary reminder and then struggled to figure out how to turn it off. Luckily, I was able to tuck my user guide into the desk drawer until muscle memory caught on.

As a short girl, I'm sometimes nervous about ordering products that are based on height. Luckily, this desk is petite-friendly, and the wide frame also gives my legs plenty of space while sitting. I'm exactly five feet tall and used it on the lower side of the height range, but it would accommodate taller users as well, up to about six-foot-one, according to Branch's ergonomics calculator. The desk can support up to 275 pounds and it felt sturdy at all heights no matter how much weight I put on it. Now, I don't tend to lean on my desk much while working, so to put this to the test I decided to try raising the desk up and down while sitting on it. Even at its tallest height, I felt secure with no shakes or wobbles. As a dog owner, I also appreciated having a surface that I could raise out of my dog's reach when needed.

Cons to consider

As someone who lives in a small apartment, I take organization seriously and tend to look for furniture that conceals clutter. The biggest downside of this desk for me is its lack of storage, a prevalent design flaw of most standing desks. Previously, my Ikea Lagkapten Desk and Alex Drawers worked double duty as a vanity too, and had lots of drawers, so this took getting used to. I'd recommend getting a separate drawer set for your home office if you need more storage.

It also took time to get used to the control panel and setting up the tricky wiring. Luckily my dad was able to find a workaround for any difficulty we encountered during setup, but if I had been on my own for this process, I would have had to reach out to customer service. Once getting over the learning curve for the control panel, using this desk has been truly seamless. While its tabletop is more narrow than other options, it offers plenty of work space, and Branch makes a compatible monitor arm if you're going to use a desktop.

What are your alternatives?

Branch also offers the Standing Desk which might be a better fit for larger office spaces. Compared to the Branch Duo, it comes in two sizes with a wider 30-inch tabletop and 48- or 60-inch lengths. The Standing Desk has a slightly wider height range of 25 to 52 inches but raises and lowers slightly slower, at an inch in about 1.5 seconds. Both desks have quiet motors and lift capacities of up to 275 pounds, but the Standing Desk has the added benefit of allowing you to store up to four preset heights, making it a good option to share with someone else. It also has a larger control panel that might be more intuitive to use. The Standing Desk also offers a similar customizable design with four top colors and two leg options.

However, if you want your desk to take up even less square footage, consider the Ergotron Mobile Desk, which measures 24 x 22 inches. This small, portable desk can be wheeled around in your home, making it a great option for someone who doesn't have a dedicated workspace. It's adjustable from a minimum height of 29 inches to 45 inches.

The Branch Duo Standing Desk ranges from $499 to $699 depending on your chosen size, which isn't cheap. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly desk, the Flexispot E2 Pro Standing Desk is another great option. This basic desk moves seamlessly to reach your desired height. It comes in a wide range of sizes and styles. It holds less weight than the Branch Duo (154 pounds vs. 275 pounds), but both are made with sturdy metal bases. It can be programmed with up to four height presets, making it a good choice if you share your desk with someone else.

The bottom line

The Duo Standing Desk is a great option for its sleek design, straightforward setup, and wide adjustment range. Its smallest size (36 by 24 inches) is perfect for small spaces. It's ideal for design-minded individuals with multiple customizable colorways to choose from and discrete hardware. Once you start using this desk, you might just become more productive, too. And with a 10-year warranty, you can be confident it will last you throughout many meetings that should have been an email to come.

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