This item took about two hours to put together with two people working on it.  If directions are followed carefully and in order, there should be no difficulty with assembly.  The only problem we had was a little damage to the particle board on the back of the nightstand drawer when we were nailing it together, but, it is not visible at all and shouldn't affect the sturdiness. The finished product looks just like the catalog picture. What you see is what you get. We are using this nightstand for a guest bedroom where it will get occasional use.  It is quite sturdy but I would not recommend this product for a child's room where it would get a lot of heavy use.