Friska Stockholm Corner standing desk review

Intro

The Friska Stockholm Corner desk is an L-shaped standing desk that can be configured with various styles of topper, frame colors, and optional accessories to perfectly suit your requirements. Its large size makes this an ideal premium solution for sizable office spaces, while its corner-hugging shape is an unusual feature not often found in motorized standing desks.

Unboxing

The Friska Stockholm Corner desk comes well packed, with the desk topper split into two sections and boxed separately from the frame, motorized components, and optional extras. The number of boxes will vary depending on how many add-ons you buy, but the base configuration should ship with two separately boxed toppers and a large box containing the frame and motor. 

If you order some accessories, such as an upgraded control switch or cable tidy tray, these will come with different assembly instructions, which can cause confusion. Following the incorrect instructions can result in incorrectly drilled holes or other similar mishaps, so double-check which guide you’ll need before starting the build process. 

You’ll need to assemble the Friska Stockholm Corner desk with a partner, not only because of its hefty weight but because the assembly instructions can be rather complex, and it helps to have an additional pair of hands while you build. 

First impressions

The assembled desk is robust and solidly built, capable of supporting up to 352lb / 160kg in weight (including the worktop) which is plenty enough for even the heaviest setups. There’s no detectable wobble or otherwise dubious motion when in use, even when fully erected. The desk height can be adjusted from 24.4 - 51.1in / 61.9 - 129.8cm, and while the motor isn’t as ‘whisper quiet’ as the site would claim, its 42dBA isn’t insufferable. The desk moves smoothly at a speed of 1.6in / 4.1cm per second, and while the base controls don’t allow you to save specific height settings, you can upgrade to a ‘memory switch’ that can log two height presets. 

Frustratingly, this isn’t a one-click operation, so you’ll need to hold down the preset button until the final height is achieved, but the upgrade is still decent enough to warrant the $130 / £114 / AU$205 price. There are two sizes available for the Friska Stockholm Corner desk: 63 x 63in / 160 x 160cm, or 63 x 71in / 160 x 180cm, and you can choose your orientation when ordering. 

Design and build quality

The desk can be customized to suit just about any environment, with a decent selection of laminate desktops and frame colors. Sadly, the toppers are all laminate with no option for natural wood, but the final product feels premium regardless of the materials used. Given the sheer size (and lofty price) of the Friska Stockholm Corner desk, we would have liked to see more premium materials for customers who value natural wood over the engineered variety. 

The desk topper should come with most of the assembly holes already pre-drilled or punched in (in the instances where you’ve opted for built-in cable feedthrough or power sockets) to spare you from measuring up and carrying out the work yourself, and these are well-finished with no rough patches or splintering. The website allows you to configure the power button placement and additional inclusions, such as castor wheels and cable management. 

One minor issue arose that we didn’t encounter with other desks in the Friska range — the laminate topper was scratched during the assembly process, with no sharp or abrasive tool in sight. The desk was unblemished out of the box, and no other Friska desk was easily damaged after we attempted to scratch the laminate surface, but remember to take care during construction and try to avoid any actions that would damage the desk itself as you won’t be able to sand out any scratches. 

Anti-collision sensors are included as standard to prevent anything from being damaged when lowering the desk over other items, which is a nice touch from Friska and adds to the overall premium feel of the desk. Fingerprints and smears were persistent in this review unit. However, these won’t be as visible on lighter topper styles and can be easily cleaned with standard furniture polish. 

Overall, it’s easy to configure the Friska Stockholm Corner desk into a truly premium piece of furniture. Optional extras can be installed to provide additional cable holes, lockable drawers, built-in power sockets, and cable management trays, so while the laminate worktop material might be a disappointment for some, you can configure the desk to best suit your requirements. 

In Use

There’s enough space on the Friska Stockholm Corner desk to set up two desktop PCs and several displays. While placing two chairs underneath could be a tight fit, allowing two people to sit and work at the same desk, provided they’re happy to share the sit/stand functionality. Otherwise, it gives a solo user more space than anyone should, perfect for folks who like a spacious work desk or streaming setup.

The desk comes with a 10-year guarantee, and the build quality feels like it’ll be a reliable office feature for years to come. Some cable clips are provided as standard that can help tidy away the motor cables and power lead, and the ability to configure the orientation of the desk itself and any built-in accessories is fantastic for optimizing it within your chosen space. If you plan on purchasing equipment such as a walking treadmill, there’s plenty of room under the desk to accommodate it and additional storage. 

Pricing for the Friska Stockholm Corner desk starts at $1,400 [ around £1,237 / AU$2,220 ]. Shipping to the UK is free and exceptionally fast, offering next-day delivery if you place your order before 2 pm. Shipping to the US isn’t recommended as it costs around $500 [ £440 / AU$790 ], though the company does mention that it plans to set up shipping operations within the US at some point in the future, hopefully bringing costs down to a more reasonable sum. 

Final Verdict

It’s not too often that we see motorized sit/stand desks offered in a corner configuration, but for those with the space to accommodate it, the Friska Stockholm Corner desk is an absolute joy. It works right out of the box and can be customized to suit individual needs, offering significantly more usable space than a typically shaped standing desk, making it ideal for folks who like multi-monitor setups or streamers and content creators with a lot of equipment. 

If you’re in the market for a sit/stand desk and have a corner that can accommodate its length, we can heartily recommend the Friska Stockholm Corner desk. 

• Looking for a chair to compliment your setup? Check out our best Office Chairs