Assembly was an ordeal on this desk. I've assembled many pieces of furniture in the past, but this one took by far the longest. It arrived and literally dozens of pieces, when it could have easily shipped in a box of approximately the same size, almost fully assembled. It's constructed entirely of MDF. The holes do not all align as perfectly as I would have hoped, but I did manage to assemble it. My biggest complaint is the cam screws, most of which did not tighten properly, and many of the cams continue to fall out before the desk was even finished. The Finish looks very nice, could even pass for a real wood. However I suspect it will scratch very easily. I have already repaired a couple of nicks to the surface by filling them in with a lead pencil.