The desk is better that I thought it would be.  It is designed well and feels sturdy.  It looks warm and fits well with the other wood in my room.  It was much easier to put together than I thought.  I didn't open the box for several days after it arrived (didn't want to put it together).  I would suggest you get your clean the desk as  you get it out of the box.  Getting it out of the box and cleaning it as it came from the box took longer than putting it together.  After it was assembled, it thought it looked great and it feels sturdy.