Fully Remi Review: This Budget-Friendly Standing Desk Is Affordable, Not Cheap

I never thought I’d see a desk inside my small New York City apartment, much less one that rises and falls at the touch of a button like the Fully Remi ($429+). But crazier things happened in 2020.

Fully, a subsidiary of Knoll, is one of a few major players in the standing-desk space, which has exploded since the onset of COVID-19. It has two main offerings: Jarvis, a top-of-the-line standing desk available in a bevy of finishes and materials (like bamboo and walnut), and the newer, cheaper Remi, which boasts fewer flourishes — the desktop only comes in laminate, for example.

How does the Remi hold up? I used one for a little more than a month to find out.

Fully Remi Key Specs

Price: $429+

Top Size Options: 38 x 27 inches, 46 x 27 inches, 58 x 27 inches

Height Range: 26.2 – 48.8 inches

Desktop options: Black, white, oak

Frame Options: Black, white

Fully

What We Like

The price. The Remi starts at $429 for a desk that measures 38 by 27 inches (the size I tested), and it comes with a programmable handset for quick and precise height adjustment. You can spec versions of the Jarvis that come close to matching this price tag, but you won’t want to; they’ll be smaller, shallower and omit key features like the Jarvis’s unique OLED handset (costing an additional $35) to change the height of the desk. A Jarvis specced close to the base Remi will run you $534 before taxes — a $105 premium that’s hard to justify when comparing its features to that of the Remi.

Assembly of the Remi is a breeze. The desk arrived in three boxes and took less than an hour to put together with a Phillips-head screwdriver (not included) and a single Allen key that comes with it. To complement the written instructions, Fully offers an easy-to-follow assembly video on its YouTube channel.

The Jarvis indeed comes in more sizes than the Remi, but the latter’s configurations are unique to it. Turns out, the 38- by 27-inch size was perfect for my space, and it’s only available with the Remi.

Overall, I’ve been impressed with my desk. The laminate desktop is smooth, the metal legs are solid and the handset is intuitive, even though it’s not the upgraded OLED version that comes with the Jarvis.

Watch Out For

The height range of the Remi, 26.2 to 45.8 inches (before you add the one-inch desktop), is somewhat exclusive. My girlfriend is 5-foot-3 and struggles to sit at the Remi without the help of a footrest to keep her feet from hanging off the chair. The Jarvis’s base range of 29 – 48 inches is even more limiting, but it comes with the option to extend it to 24.5 – 50 inches (for $20 extra, of course).

Fully

And while all standing desks wobble at a certain height, the Remi starts at around 41 inches — the ideal height for someone who is 5-foot-6. I’m 6-foot-2 and use the desk at 45.5 inches when standing. Needless to say, it wobbles, but not enough to consider it a deal-breaker, and not significantly more than other standing desks I’ve tested (including the Jarvis).

Other Options

Beyond Fully’s own Jarvis, other key brands in this space are Uplift, Vari, Ikea and Steelcase — all of which make standing desks in similar price brackets. If you already own a sitting desk, you could always buy a converter like the Fully Cora ($149) or Uplift E7 ($439).

Verdict

The Remi is a very good desk at a very fair price from a very reputable company. I wouldn’t recommend it to people on the shorter side or those who plan to share the desk with children. But if you need a new desk, preferably one that can adjust to a standing position, the Remi is an obvious place to start — and a smart place to end.

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