Say hello to the new Cubi Platypus Stand-Up Desk Converter. What I love about the Levenger design team is that they are serious people who play around on the job. To wit, their newest creation, named the Platypus.
The real platypus eludes easy taxonomy, being a mammal that lays eggs. Yet the platypus displays a versatility beyond those of normal animals, equally at home on land and underwater. Thus, in homage to this adaptable creature, the design team dubbed the most versatile member of the Levenger Cubi family the Platypus Stand-Up Desk Converter.
I was eager to give the Platypus a test run in my Florida home office because I’ve grown accustomed to a stand-up desk in our summer home in Maine. Once you get used to being able to switch easily between sitting and standing, it’s hard to settle again for a conventional desk that forces you to sit all the time. It not only feels good to stretch my legs but I’m convinced it helps me think a bit more clearly. Sitting for too long makes me irritable and also bothers my Apple watch, which not only nags me to stand up periodically but keeps score, too, nanny that it is.
Most stand-up desk converters, however, look like ironing boards after an unfortunate accident. The Platypus avoids that fate by looking like the nice piece of cherry veneer furniture it is.
Being no heavier than the average cat, you can easily lift it onto your desk. The top gives you enough room for your laptop and a full size legal pad. It actually doubles the usable space on your desk–and then some with its dual compartments underneath the top surface. In those you can store papers and digital devices.
When you want to sit, with no more effort than lifting a cat off a table, you can swing your Platypus down and tuck it under a reading chair, sofa or bed, thereby creating a stable side table perfect for holding a drink, your notepad, phone and book. Its two compartments convert to irresistible vertical nooks for books.
If a standup desk and side table aren’t enough reason to welcome a Platypus into your life, it can also serve you as a lapdesk, either on a sofa, bed, or floor.
I salute the Levenger design team and pledge that I will be no sitting sourpuss, so long as I have my Levenger Platypus.
Steve Leveen
Co-Founder