I am an experienced seamstress. I bought this sewing table for my daughter, who will use it with a portable brother sewing machine. The shelf in the  center of this cabinet holds the machine in its case perfectly. The fold out leaf is sturdy and will provide adequate space for large sewing projects.  The shelves on the righthand side are perfect for storing fabric, patterns  and large sewing tools. The shelves on the left door will hold smaller sewing tools and notions. I put this sewing table together myself very easily, but I am also experienced at putting together furniture using the cam fastener. It was a piece of cake. I recommend getting a touch up marking pen, like the ones made by Guardsman. These can be bought in fine furniture stores. I used the darkest one to touch up the edges of most pieces of the cabinet and a couple of minor flaws. Our dark cherry sewing cabinet turned out to look great and I think will function very well.