I am a big fan of standing desks. I can’t think of anything worse than sitting in the same chair all day long. Not only can I not do it thanks to multiple injuries…it just isn’t good for you. There have been multiple scientific tests proving that adding a standing desk to your office life is good for your head as well as your health.
When you look for a desk for your office. They are pretty much all the same general design. When Fenge reached out and wanted me to test out their piano style standing desk, I noticed it had a unique feature that I didn’t see on other desks that I wanted to try out. It is a two layer desk with a 135 degree plate versus a conventional shelf…so let’s take a look.
Fenge Standing Desk Specs
- 3 Button Design w/USB Charging
- 135 Degree Ramp Design
- 265 Pound Capacity
- Quiet Motor Operation – Less than 49 Decibels – Single Motor
- 1″ per Second Lifting Speed
- Obtained SGS, UL, TUV, CE and other global certification
- Accessory Hook
- 55″ Tested – 55”Lx25”Wx32.2”- 52”H
- White, Black, Oak, Walnut Brown (tested), Reclaimed Wood
- Frame Warranty 2 Years / Motor 5 Years
Assembly of the Fenge Piano Style Desk
Assembly is really straight forward as you would imagine. Fenge supplies everything you will need along with a screwdriver and allen wrench. I used the supplied tools to test the overall assembly process and I was done in about 35-40 minutes even with having to move the camera and film the entire process. With some lightweight power tools and no distractions, it could be done faster.
The instructions are easy to read but lets be honest…this isn’t a complicated assembly process. All of the places that you have to put bolts in the table had nice inserts. The motor has a pole that extends across the table that is easy to install. The plate, accessory hook and control panel are all installed with simple small screws. So with less than an hour of your time…you are up and running.
What I Liked About the Fenge Piano Style Desk
The Fenge Piano Style desk is a unique design so let’s talk about what I really liked about the desk overall.
The 135 Degree Tray
I agreed to review this desk because of the tray and it is the number one feature of the design. I was really surprised how much I liked it. It is PERFECT for your phone, tablet or anything else you want to lean up against it. I really liked it for my phone the most as it is at the perfect angle for viewing while you are sitting.
The tray also has openings at the bottom for any wires that need to be run to the bottom level for keyboards, mice, laptops, chargers and anything else you might need to keep for a clean setup on the desk. This is something you do not get with a single layer desk or even a monitor stand shelf design. It keeps the wires off of the flat surface and out of sight which is a nice touch.
The USB Charging Port
This is a perfect, often overlooked feature of other standing desks. There is a USB charging port on the controller which is perfect for charging any devices you need. I often have to charge my iPhone, iPad and my wireless keyboard/mouse combo. Having that USB port right there makes it so I don’t have to occupy a computer port or find a long cord that will reach the desk.
The Accessory Hook
I am constantly having to find a place to put my laptop bag. The accessory hook is included and provides the perfect place to hang it so it isn’t on the floor. The hook would also be great for a set of headphones if you have some that you use with games, editing or just listening to videos/music.
Overall Look and Design
When you setup the desk and put it in your home office space, it looks like a quality desk. The desktop is nice and the black powdercoat on the try is really good quality. This isn’t a home office piece that looks like it belongs in a shared work environment. Especially with the dark walnut tops, it has a luxury look to it and there are plenty of other top colors/options including a really nice hand made real wood one (it’s pretty expensive though).
What I Didn’t Like About the Fenge Piano Style Desk
While the Fenge Piano Style desk has a lot going for it, there are some things that I think could be changed that would really add to the functionality of the design.
No Proper Wire Management
Fenge includes a couple of adhesive wire ties for wire management under the desk…but that is it. There is no additional options for trays and if you want to add your own, you are going to end up having to drill your own holes. This is the one area that I think Fenge can really improve on the design. I have A LOT of items on my desk that require power. Some of them even require power bricks so I would really like a tray option like I have on my other desk to have a clean setup.
I would imagine most people do not have as many powered items so if you are just using a monitor and a keyboard with a laptop or small computer…you might be good. The tray on my other desk is crucial in hiding everything so Fenge might look into at least adding that as an available accessory/option.
Visible Motor
The motor on the Fenge desk does stick down lower than the frame and it is visible from the front of the desk. It also has a very bright silver sticker on it to make it stand out even more. It would be nice to have a way to tuck the motor up into the frame like I have seen with other designs like my Amazon special frame that I use for my studio.
Not Good for Really Large Monitors or Computers
There is one reason I would not be able to turn this desk into my daily driver even though I really like the tray. I use a 48″ monitor for my home office. I am in the VERY small percentage of people that do this so this really isn’t a big issue. The desk handled my 27″ screen perfectly so any standard monitor freestanding or with a mount will work fine.
The other item that it will not work for is having a longer computer on the table top. Since you are shortening the flat workspace by having two levels, you can not put a computer on top like I have on my other setup. I like to do this to keep the tower off the floor for two reasons. I don’t have to worry about cable length when the desk is going up and down or about increased dust and dog hair. Like with the wire management, Fenge does not offer a solution to mount a monitor under the desk.
Overall Thoughts on the Piano Style Standing Desk
I really like the design of the 135 degree plate. I ended up using it a lot more than I thought I would. You do lose flat desk area but I found that it does a great job of holding items that I would normally have laying flat that also made them a lot more usable. I personally have found that I never use the space under a monitor stand style shelf so that space isn’t lost for me anyway. You end up with a really cool, functional design that also looks really good as well.
The visible motor is a small thing that can be made even less visible by removing the sticker. I do think that if Fenge did more for wire management options for people like me with a lot of devices, that would help out a lot. Overall, the Fenge Paino Style desk is a unique desk in a space where they all tend to look the same. At $479.99, it also is a pretty good value considering the prices of some of the other options out there.