We first heard these words from Todd Hartman at Commercial Works. He was helping us furnish our newly renovated office space, where our goal was to incorporate some of the latest trends in healthy sitting environments for offices.

But who knew we had an unhealthy sitting environment? After all, aside from sleeping, sitting may be one of the great pleasures in one’s day. (Although this author may be speaking for herself.) But the science is undeniable. According to Dr. James Levine at the Mayo Clinic,  “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”

When you sit for long periods of time, your body goes through physiological changes, affecting metabolism, increasing blood sugar levels and causing obesity that increases the risk for cancer later in life

Well, that’s not good.

So, as CPV began thinking about how to make our workplace as healthy as it can be, we consulted with Todd at Commercial Works, who has noticed a definite uptick in the number of requests from clients for more ergonomic, sit-stand office furniture options.

Sit-stand desks are found to help users stay focused. And they enable them to burn more calories. (Again, this author may be speaking for herself, but this sounds like the new desk’s most salient selling point, given the aforementioned fondness for sleeping and sitting.)

And while it may be impractical to stand up throughout an entire workday, alternating between sitting and standing can help avoid the harmful, long-term effects of sitting. We asked Courtney Jones, an interior designer at Brian Kent Jones Architects, to help us translate all this good stuff into an actual table for our new space. She designed a desk that serves the practical goal of creating a healthy sit-stand workstation. Even better, it was entirely sourced and fabricated within a 20-mile radius of downtown Columbus.  The reclaimed barn wood and steel desks she created for CPV's central workstations are a great solution that mixes form, function and localism.

Another benefit of leaving traditional desk/chair combos in the past? More collaboration. We’re an advertising and marketing firm. A lot of our best client work happens when we leave our individual offices and get together for brainstorming, problem solving and general spitballing.