If you're shopping for a Fully Jarvis standing desk, don't waste time on color. Focus on depth.
I learned this the hard way. In March 2024, a client called me at 4 PM on a Thursday. They needed 12 Jarvis desks for a Monday morning executive floor reveal. Normal lead time? Two weeks. They had 40 hours. Their original order—standard 30-inch depth—was already placed, but the facilities team just realized the monitors wouldn't fit. They needed the 36-inch deep option.
This is where most people mess up. They pick a desk based on width (60 inches? 72?) and maybe the color. But the depth—how far the desk extends from the wall—is the spec that determines whether your setup actually works. And Fully offers five depth options: 27, 30, 36, 42, and 48 inches (the last two on L-shaped frames only). The 36-inch option saved our client's project.
Why depth is the unsung hero of standing desks
In my role coordinating office furnishings for enterprise clients (I've handled over 200 rush orders this year alone, including same-day turnarounds for tech companies), depth is the number one spec I've seen cause reorders. It's not width. It's not height range. It's how far the desk comes toward you.
Here's the pattern: Most buyers pick the 30-inch depth because it's the default. It works for a single monitor on a laptop stand. But if you're using:
- Dual monitors on arms
- A monitor arm with an ultrawide
- Multiple peripherals (keyboard, trackpad, drawing tablet)
- Any setup where you need the screen 20+ inches from your eyes
The 30-inch desk becomes cramped. You push the monitor back, but then your keyboard is at the edge. You're hunched forward. The ergonomic benefit of standing is gone. (Surprise, surprise—the desk you bought to fix your posture actually makes it worse.)
What the specs don't tell you
Fully's website lists dimensions clearly—30-inch depth means 30 inches from front to back. But what matters is the usable depth: the space from the back of the desk to where your arms rest. A 30-inch desk with a clamp-on monitor arm loses about 3 inches to the clamp base. Now you have 27 inches. Subtract the 6 inches from the back to the monitor's VESA mount. Your screen is now 21 inches from your face. That's borderline for a 24-inch monitor, and cramped for anything larger.
For the 36-inch option, you get 33 inches usable. That extra 6 inches transforms a setup from 'managing' to 'comfortable.' My client's monitors (27-inch duals on arms) required 24 inches from the back of the desk to the front of the screen. On 30 inches, that left 6 inches for the keyboard. On 36 inches, they had 12 inches—room for a full-size keyboard plus a trackpad. (As of March 2025, this setup is my go-to recommendation for any dual-monitor workstation.)
I don't have hard data on how many wrong-depth orders happen industry-wide. But based on our 200+ rush orders since 2020, about 35% of size-related reorders involve depth miscalculation. Width errors happen, but they're usually caught at the floor plan stage. Depth sneaks up on you because nobody measures their own reach before ordering.
The L-shaped deep option that saved a contract
Back to my 40-hour story. The client originally ordered 12 Jarvis L-shaped frames with 72-inch width on both sides, 30-inch depth. The facilities team realized—too late—that their dual-monitor setup (plus a dock and a phone) needed more than 30 inches. They called me, frantic. The penalty for missing Monday's executive board meeting? Estimated at $50,000.
I checked Fully's ready-to-ship inventory. The L-shaped frame with 36-inch depth on both sides (the 72×36 option) showed 18 units in stock. I paid $800 extra in rush shipping (on top of the $8,500 base cost) and confirmed delivery by Sunday noon. The desks arrived, assembled, and fit the monitors. The client's alternative was a $50,000 penalty and a failed executive impression. (I still kick myself for not asking about depth during the initial consultation.)
The 42-inch and 48-inch depth options on L-shaped frames are worth mentioning for corner setups where you want a full workstation. But for 90% of users, 36 inches is the sweet spot. It works for most monitor configurations, leaves room for accessories, and doesn't eat too much floor space.
When you might want the standard 30-inch depth
I don't want to imply that 36 inches is always better. There are three scenarios where 30 inches works fine:
- Single laptop users—if you use the laptop screen at eye level (on a stand) and nothing else, 30 inches gives you all the room you need.
- Shallow rooms—if your desk space is against a wall and you need walkway clearance behind, 30 inches is more forgiving.
- Low budget—the 30-inch Jarvis starts at $599, while the 36-inch adds $50. If you're on a strict budget, that $50 matters. But as I've seen, the $50 difference per desk in my experience translated to better feedback scores—clients noticed the extra room immediately.
One more thing: the 27-inch depth option exists for very specific needs (like a narrow hallway desk), but I've never recommended it. The usable space is too tight for any monitor arm. Stick with 30 or 36 as your baseline.
This advice was accurate as of early 2025. Fully may update their options, so verify current specs on jarvis.fully.com before ordering. But the core logic won't change: measure your actual reach, not just the desk width.
