As someone who believes that human beings should move around as much as possible, I dislike the physical abuse caused by long hours of computer work. As a writer living in the contemporary world, I have no choice but to remain a slave to the keyboard. The way I manage is to abide by one simple rule: the next position is the best position. Thanks to a laptop computer and a wireless connection, I spend my days shifting from one position to another, and from one room to another. Much to the chagrin of the Internal Revenue Service, who still believes that people who work from home need to have dedicated office space, I work everywhere—sitting on the living room couch, lying on the hallway floor, and standing at the kitchen counter.

Classic Standing Desk. Manufactured by Green Design Furniture.

Standing Desk in Sustainable American black cherry

For people who like to move their bodies while they work, an excellent alternative is to have a height-adjustable desk or a duo of desks—one for sitting and one for standing. And luckily, more furniture manufacturers are heeding the call of the working masses for flexibility. The rise of the standing desk is proof that we are collectively realizing the value of movement. And the rise of the “green” standing desk is proof that we can value movement and sustainability simultaneously. For people who want to work on their feet, Green Design Furniture, named for the last name of its founder, offers a Classic Standing Desk.

Like all their wood furniture, the Standing Desk is made from domestically grown, sustainably harvested American black cherry, handcrafted in Portland, Maine–the “green” in their name refers to more than Douglas Green’s surname. This standing desk has a slight difference that may make it more suitable for certain users: the angled top slides away on long dovetailed guides, giving workers not one, but two desk surfaces. The inside space can simply be used for storage. With a large drawer, pen groove, paper lip, and bottom shelf that doubles as a footrest, Green Design’s Classic Standing Desk is a perfect primary or secondary work station. At 48 inches high, it works for a wide range of standing workers.

About the Manufacturer: Headed by inventor and designer Douglas Green, Green Design Furniture began in 1993 as a way for him to “explore pioneering approaches to modern furniture design and production.” Part of the equation for Green was to build furniture with a minimal environmental footprint. Handcrafted from domestically grown, sustainably harvested American black cherry, Green Design products are manufactured in Portland, Maine by master craftsmen. The company makes less than 1,000 pieces per year; the first 100 of any new design are numbered and signed.