I have several sit-stand workstations that I have built and performed ergonomic studies with (they are hydraulically actuated at a push of a button). But they were tough to build! Notet that there is a huge selection of marketed (read: very expensive) options that operate that way, but many "work from home" folks just take a normal lightweight desk and put it on wooden blocks. In cube-farms, most cubicles have a height variation in how high off the ground your desk can be installed in the cube, and the facilities folks can often just set you up - a good target height being just 3 inches or so less than your standing elbow height.
If you aren't looking for adjustability - just a permanent standing worksurface - a cheap method is this:
(1) Measure you standing elbow height (stand up and make a 90 degree bend at the elbow, and have a friend measure from the floor to just the bottom part of your elbow)
(2) Subtract a few inches from your standing elbow height (3 inches is good), and write that down.
(3) Buy four 4x4 posts (not pressure treated). Cut the 4x4's to the number you wrote down.
(4) Get a nice veneered piece of plywood with a furniture grade veneer, and cut it to 36" x 48" (3 feet deep by 4 feet wide). Round off the edges all around starting with coarse sand paper and continuing with progressively finer grades (e.g. start with 60 grit and end with 400 or even 600)
(5) This step is basically just screwing the top to the posts: with help, position the 4 posts vertically, and set the plywood on top, and one at a time screw them together from above. As you do each one, make sure the top stays level - you may need to sand down or cut a slight bit from one or more posts to get them perfect.
(6) Take a few 1x6 pieces of plank, and add a horizontal brace across the back and each side.
(7) Stain with a water based stain and finish off with polyurethane.
Of course - some basic wood working skills are a pre-req here
The end result is stable and ergonomically correct just for you!
The "attractiveness" though is subjective;) But if you pick a stain that matches your other furniture it can look pretty nice.
