Standing desk or executive desk? An honest answer from people who only sell one

We should declare the interest up front: every desk we make is fixed-height, at a standard 740 mm. We do not sell sit-stand desks. So take this as the view of someone who chose one side on purpose, and who will still tell you when the other side is right.

Buy a sit-stand desk if you genuinely will stand. Some people do, every day, for a few hours, and for them a motorised frame is worth every dollar. If you have been advised to vary your posture for a medical reason, that settles it: follow that advice, and a height-adjustable desk is the tool for it.

Buy a fixed executive desk if you know, honestly, that you will sit. Plenty of people buy a standing desk, stand for a fortnight and then leave it at sitting height for five years. What they end up with is a sitting desk with a motor, a control panel and a narrower range of shapes, finishes and sizes than a fixed desk offers.

The trade-offs are real on both sides. Motorised frames constrain the design: the top has to be light enough to lift, the legs have to be telescopic, and cable management has to cope with a surface that moves. A fixed desk can be heavier, wider, deeper, carry a side cabinet and hide its cables in a structure that never moves. On the other hand, a fixed desk is the right height for you only if 740 mm suits you and your chair.

The quick test: think about last week, not the ideal week. If you stood while working at any point, even at a kitchen bench, a sit-stand desk will probably get used. If you did not, a better chair and a desk at the right fixed height will do more for your day than a motor you never press.

And if you want both, some people put a fixed desk against the main wall and a small standing surface elsewhere in the room. It is not the cheapest answer, but it is the one we see work.