Sauder Edge Water Office, Executive Desk with File Drawer Storage, L: 65.12" x W: 29.53" x H: 29.37", Estate Black

Without spending $500+ at a furniture store this is just about the best desk for the price. It may not be real wood and needs to be constructed, however the finished product LOOKS AND FEELS like a quality piece of furniture. I am beyond satisfied.Let's start with shipping:Scheduled for 2 weeks.Company called with an earlier date.Received 5 days early.HUGE heavy box placed in living room for me.When I say heavy I couldn't budge it, so it was unpacked and assembled from where they placed it.Next, the contents:The desk comes in about a thousand pieces, but do not be discouraged... Just stay organized and work slow paying attention to the nitty gritty details. It helped me to leave the stickers on and to only open the screws that are needed working out of the separated packs.Also, be careful! Inspect everything. In my case the top of the desk had a crack. Sauder customer service was AMAZING though, not only did they send a new top to me in 2 days but they even replaced a leg that I had mishandled and put a huge gash in the finish! Seriously I am so very thankful for the splendid treatment as a customer.On to construction:As I said stay organized and have a large carpeted area. The finish will scratch! Make sure you read the directions thoroughly, don't be afraid to go back and double check. I am a 35yo with carpentry experience but still misplaced a piece that caused me to have to go back several steps.Some people stated they used a power tool, I did not. I trust in my own judgment as for feeling the tightness of each screw.That did tack some time on, about 5 hours total from start to finish. Not rushing, just enjoying the experience and the smell of the fresh lumber.Had to adjust the top drawers once completed, this was easy to do. Just pull it out a bit and loosen the first screw so it moves enough to roll smoothly in and out.Finally, the finished product:It is gorgeous.I love it.It is heavy.Buy 1 1/8 inch Sliders for the legs.Also a can of furniture polish, it is a fingerprint magnet.I also purchased an oversized mouse pad to protect the main area of use while also adding additional functionality and cushioning for my electronics.

Love this desk. Was easy to put together. Excellent prices. Sturdy. It's a winner!

Nice furniture, easy to put together, but time consuming. It took me almost 7 hrs by myself to put together. Looks great and solid desk. Even got a chuckle when on the instructions it said some assembly ( and snacks) required.

For the price, this desk is pretty hard to beat, but it isn't perfect. Here's my take on it.Finished Product: Once assembled after around 4 hours, the desk looks great, even fantastic, sitting in my home office. I ordered the black one, but when enough light hits it, I'd almost call it an "espresso dark brown", as you can see some underlying streaks like paintbrush marks that are lighter brown in color. They actually make the desk look more realistic, and a lot nicer than if it were simply solid black. The down side is that because it so dark, and has a fairly shiny finish, it shows every fingerprint and speck of dust, so plan on cleaning it - a lot. The finish is also EASY to scratch if there is anything remotely abrasive on it. In one day, the base of my monitor stand has already made some small scratches in the top from only minor movements. Scratches show up as a much lighter color than the finish, which makes them doubly visible.Packaging: The desk came in one box. One supremely heavy and large box the size of the entire top of the desk. The delivery company only delivers it inside the threshold, so make sure you have some strong people to move it. I could only barely lift one end of it by myself, so got the teenager to help me put it on a hand cart to move it. The packaging around the outside edges was great - heavy foam blocks, those heavy cardboard angle strips on each edge, even shrink wrapped in heavy plastic, so no worries about dented or chipped edges. Once inside the package however, there is nothing protective between any of the faces of the pieces of wood - they are actually touching each other in the stack. There was no damage resulting from this, but I could imagine if there were any grit or other particles that found their way into the package, or if the shipper was a bit rough, that there could be some damage on the pieces. Like I said though, mine were perfect, so maybe it really isn't an issue.Assembly: It assembles fairly easily as long as you pay very close attention to the instructions. TIP1 - Make sure you have a LARGE area that is carpeted or covered with something soft that will protect the desk finish as you lay out all the pieces, since they will scratch easily. TIP2 - Separate out ALL the brown and black drawer slides before you need them - and match them up to the front part of the instruction book with illustrations, grouping and laying them out in order by their part number/letter. It will make a lot easier later on, because in the assembly instructions, it is very unclear which drawer slide part is what letter, so you'll wind up either guessing wrong, or flipping back and forth the front of the instruction book to figure out which slide is what part letter. Overall though, the instructions are really well thought out and thorough, but be prepared for 28 pages of following instructions carefully. It took me about 4 hours give or take, starting from unpacking the box until I had the desk flipped over and in position, and the drawer slides were the only part where I had trouble figuring them out. Also be prepared to do some adjusting on the slides after you get everything assembled, as the drawers, and especially the keyboard tray, may rub against each other or the main part of the desk. The drawer slides do adjust a bit, so it's more of an inconvenience than anything. TIP3 - the instructions say not to use a power screwdriver, but I did, and it probably saved me a few hours of assembly. However, I have a variable speed screwdriver that is very easy to only apply a little torque with, so I never once stripped out any of the screws. If you have something similar, I'd recommend that, over using a hand screwdriver, but be careful not to over-torque something and strip it out.Construction: The entire desk is made of very thinly laminated MDF or particle board. The particle board components, with the exception of the keyboard tray, all seem to be made of a very good grade, having small, closely packed particles. The keyboard tray however, in addition to being thinner, is also made of coarser particles and as a result is much easier to strip out screws. The desk top is a single piece of laminated MDF layered to particleboard. The problem I have with the top made this way is that it lets it flex quite a bit, once the desk is all put together and upright. Trying to lift the desk to move it lets the whole thing flex downward in the middle to the point it becomes difficult to move, and made me concerned that I might damage it. I actually wound up buying 8 Self-Stick, Round Furniture Sliders for Carpeted Surfaces (4 piece) - 1-1/8" Round SuperSliders for the leg bottoms so the desk could be easily moved by sliding it on the carpet, and they work great and aren't visible.Conclusion: Good buy for the money. In fact, for the price, I doubt you could find a better made, better looking desk anywhere, but be aware you'll need to clean it frequently, and be very careful not to damage the finish.